If you've ever seen the brake cables on a 10 Spd. or mountain bike, thats what your throttle cable looks and acts like. When you step on the gas pedal, it pulls the inner wire of the cable while the outside covering stays fixed. If your cable actually snapped/broke, ask a reputable mechanic to replace it. I don't think this is a common failure on contours, so I suspect your throttle body may be gunked up and sticking or there is a problem with your throttle linkage. The cable will probably be $100 or so to replace. The throttle body and linkage are pretty easy to access and work on, so I wouldn't expect to pay more than about $100 to get it cleaned up and operating properly. Please post if you have a 4 or 6 cylinder engine.
