Text 3 EUROPE BY ROAD

1. Do you know:

· where in Europe they drive on the left?

· which countries in Europe generally do not have toll roads?

· where in Europe the world’s longest highway tunnel is?

· the name of Europe’s most famous underwater tunnel? Where is it?

2. Read the text and mark the sentences below as true (T) or false (F).

a) The Millau Viaduct runs under the western Pyrenees.

b) The main north-south motorway in Greece has been rebuilt.

c) The Samport tunnel connects Paris and Barcelona.

d) Tolls are charged on all French roads.

e) You can get from Oslo to Bergen through a tunnel under the dangerous mountains.

f) The journey from Oslo to Bergen takes three hours.

g) If you travel via Channel Tunnel you must leave your car .either at Folkestone or Calais.

Driving in Europe is on the right-hand side, except in Britain, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus. (Some drivers switch their watches to the opposite wrist to remind them where the centerline should be.) The network of limited-access highways is modern, well-marked and expanding, most notably in Eastern Europe and in Greece. The latter has rebuilt its main north-south motorway and is working on the new east-west Via Egnatia Motorway and Rio-Antirio Bridge across the Gulf of Corinth.

The border between France and Spain is also the scene of much work, with the new Samport highway tunnel through the western Pyrenees and continued work on the spectacular Millau Viaduct over France’s Tarn gorge river, which will complete a six-lane motorway between Paris and Barcelona.

Many highways are incorporated into the green-sign European route system. The E-4 takes you from Helsinki to Stockholm and Copenhagen; the E-55 from Salzburg to Brindisi. Britain and Germany generally do not have toll roads. Tolls are charged on Italy’s autostrade and France’s auto routes, and they can be steep. Austria, the Czech Republic and Switzerland are charging tolls through “easy-pass” stickers, which must be purchased in advance.

The European Union is developing a common easy-pass system that would work on all toll roads, bridges, runnels, etc. There are many famous scenic drives off the fastest highways. Examples include Germany’s Romantic Road from Wurzburg to Munich, France’s Route Napoleon from the Riviera to Grenoble, Croatia’s dramatic Dalmatian coast drive south to Dubrovnik and Italy’s Amalfi coast highway.

The world’s longest highway tunnel was opened in Norway in November 2000. The 25-km (15 1/2-mile) Laerdal tunnel takes the new Oslo-Bergen highway under a rugged range of mountains, eliminating a three-hour ferry ride and high passes dangerous in winter. Also in 2000, Denmark and Sweden opened the Oresund bridge-and-tunnel connecting Copenhagen and Malmo, the final segment of a grand project to tie the Scandinavian Peninsula to the rest of the Continent.

Although it’s for rail only, motorists can take advantage of the 50-km Channel Tunnel via shuttle trains that carry cars, coaches and trucks. The shuttles operate between the Folkestone and Calais terminals at opposite ends of the tunnel, running every 15 minutes during peak periods and every hour at night.

3. Complete the missing information.

a) The network of ………… in Europe is modern, well-marked and expanding.

b) The MillaunViaduct in France will complete ………… between Paris and Barcelona.

c) Many highways in Europe belong to …………

d) Austria, the Czech Republic and Switzerland charge tolls through …………

e) In 2000, Denmark and Sweden opened the Oresund bridge-and-tunnel, which …………

f) The shuttles operating in the Channel Tunnel run every …………

4. Interpret the nominal compounds:

5. Find ten words in the text and match them with their definitions.

a) a wide road with several lanes of traffic going in each direction, built for fast travel over long distances – m_______________

b) the line showing the center of the road – с_______________

c) a system of lines, roads, etc., that are connected to each other – n_______________

d) a road, railway or path that goes over a river, and the structure that supports it – b_______________

e) an underground passage through which vehicles travel – t_______________

f) a long bridge on high ports, usually across a valley – v_______________

g) extremely impressive – s_______________

h) a boat that makes short regular journeys between two or more places – f_______________

i) exciting and impressive – d_______________

j) to add or include something as a part of something else – i_______________

6. Fill in the missing prepositions. Choose from the box below.

Example: Driving in Europe is … on … the right-hand side.

a) They are working …… a new motorway and Rio-Antirio bridge …… the Gulf of Corinth.

b) Germany’s Romantic Road runs …… Wurzburg …… Munich.

c) The world’s longest highway tunnel was opened …… Norway …… 2000.

d) The Laerdal tunnel runs …… the rugged mountain range in Norway.

e) Many motorways in Europe are incorporated …… the green-sign European system.

f) The spectacular Millau Viaduct being built …… France’s Tam gorge river.

g) Austria charges tolls …… “easy-pass” stickers.

h) Eurostar trains operate …… the Folkestone and Calais terminals …… opposite ends of the Channel.

7. Match the words from columns to make proper collocations (they all appeared in the text).

Use the collocations to complete the sentences. The synonyms to verbs (in brackets) should help you.

Example: He has ___ rebuilt ___ (built again) its main north-south ___ motorway ___.

a) You should ………… (make use of) full ………… of all the hotel facilities.

b) He decided to ………… (carry on) ………… for the company for one year longer.

c) They have ………… (built) a new ………… through the mountains.

d) You need to ………… (buy) a special ………… before you enter this country.

e) In Switzerland they ………… (ask you to pay) ………… through "easy-pass" stickers.

f) The companies teamed up to ………… (create and improve) a new communication.

8. Put the verb into the correct tense form (Past Simple or Present Perfect).

a) I ……… (never/to have) any trouble with getting the car started.

b) Due to the establishment of new city train routes the passenger service ……… (to be improved).

c) The company CAV ……… (never/to manufacture) 5 million engines a year.

d) In spite of all my protests, Bill ……… (to go) home ten minutes ago.

e) My sister ……… (to lose) the ignition key. She can’t find it.

f) The temperature ……… (to be maintained) at the point of 20 degrees since the beginning of the experiment.

g) The new apparatus ……… (just/to be installed) in the laboratory. The delegation ……… (to arrive) to check it in two weeks.

h) While using this type of equipment, they ……… (not/to receive) any good results this month.

i) Ann ……… (not/to want) to explore that lonely island as the trip ……… (to be) too dangerous.

j) She ……… (to be) to London four times. We ……… (to go) there by plain.

Text 4 IS DRIVING ON THE RIGHT RIGHT OR WRONG?

1.How would you answer the question above?

2.Do you know where in the world people drive on the right and where on the left?

3.Do you know why?

THE ROMANS DROVE ON THE LEFT

Why does half the world drive on the left, and the other half on the right? At last, the answer to this burning question is within reach. "We do not know which side of the road the Romans drove on. There just isn't enough evidence either way," said Catherine Jones, expert on Roman archaeology at the British Museum. But Bryn Walters of the Association for Roman Archaeology says he does know, and his argument is very persuasive. They drove on the left.

Now work in pairs. Student A – read the text below. Student B – read your text. Write questions to the missing parts. Ask your questions to fill the gaps.

Student A

Though the straight roads built by the Roman empire still define the routes of many modern roads in _______________(Where?)___, they have been rebuilt so many times over the past 2000 years that little original material remains. And since Latin literature did not go in for stories about the lives of cart-drivers, which side they drove on was unknown – until this year, when Walters found the track into the old Roman quarry at Blundson Ridge.

The track was only used for _______________(What...for?)___ to a major Roman temple being built on the nearby ridge (near Swindon in England), and then fell out of use, so it is very well preserved. And since the carts went in empty and came out laden with stone, the ruts on one side of the road are much deeper than they are on the other. The conclusion: _______________(What?)___.

Why they chose to drive on the left remains a mystery. Perhaps it dated back to earlier times when travellers on horseback preferred to keep to the left when encountering strangers, so that _______________(Why?)___. (Most people everywhere are right-handed). But at least as far back as Roman times, it seems clear, wheeled traffic in most of Europe and the Mediterranean world kept to the left.

So why does all of Europe (except the British Isles), all of the Western hemisphere (except some former British possessions in the Caribbean), and all of the Middle East drive on the right? That seems to be Napoleon’s fault.

Student B

Though the straight roads built by the Roman Empire still define the routes of many modern roads in Europe and in the Middle East, they have been rebuilt so many times over the past 2000 years that little original material remains. And since Latin literature did not go in for stories about the lives of cart-drivers, which side they drove on was unknown – until this year, when Walters found __________(What?)_ at Blundson Ridge.

The track was only used for bringing stone from the quarry to a major Roman temple being built on the nearby ridge (near Swindon in England), and then fell out of use, so it is very well preserved. And since __________(Why?)___, the ruts on one side of the road are much deeper than they are on the other. The conclusion: Romans drove on the left.

Why they chose to drive on the left remains a mystery. Perhaps it dated back to earlier times when travellers on horseback preferred to keep to the left when encountering strangers, so that their sword-hand was free in case of a problem. (Most people everywhere are right-handed). But at least as far back as Roman times, it seems clear, wheeled traffic in most of Europe and the Mediterranean world kept to __________(Where?)__.

So why does all of Europe (except the British Isles), all of the Western hemisphere (except __________What?)__), and all of the Middle East drive on the right? That seems to be Napoleon’s fault.

WHY DID NAPOLEON GO IMPOSE DRIVING ON THE RIGHT?

In the long Dark Age after the fail of the Roman Empire, and even in the Middle Ages, there would not have been much need for the drive-left rule, since what little wheeled traffic there was travelled mostly on narrow tracks. But when you met somebody else on those narrow tracks both parties had to veer either left or right and in that sense the Roman rule seems to have survived: mostly, people swung out to the left.

In early modem Europe, with the volume of road traffic rising steadily, the old Roman custom of driving on the left was the likelier candidate to become the new legal standard - as it did in Britain, in Sweden, and in various other places that Napoleon never reached. But wherever the French emperor's armies invaded, they imposed a new rule: driving on the right. Why? Napoleon never said, and subsequent historians have mumbled half-explanations about his need to impose discipline on European road traffic so that his armies could get through. But why did he go against the existing custom, frequently ignored though it undoubtedly was, and impose driving on the right? Probably precisely because driving on the left was the custom.

Napoleon was a product of the French Revolution (however far he was from the ideals of the original revolutionaries), and the whole ethos of the revolution was about the breaking of the old rules and the creation of a new, rational world. The year 1789 became Year One of the new era, and even the months were renamed.

Driving right is no more rational than driving left, but it is more "revolutionary". That would have appealed to Napoleon - and since his armies went everywhere from Russia to Spain, almost all of mainland Europe ended up driving on the right. (The Swedes finally gave up and switched a couple of decades ago.)

4.Match the adjectives listed below with the nouns in expressions 1 – 10, which appeared in the text. Choose five expressions and use them in your own sentences.

5.Match the words from the text with their definitions.

a) the movement of vehicles along a particular route

b) a group of countries or states that are controlled by one ruler or government

c) to enter a country, town, etc. using military force in order to take control of it

d) training people to obey rules and orders

e) an accepted way of behaving or of doing things in a society

f) a period of about 30 days, for example May or June

g) based on reason rather than emotions

h) to attract or interest somebody

i) different

j) (before noun) used to emphasize that something exists or is definitely true

k) to say something in a quiet voice in a way that is not clear

l) the country with the capital in Moscow

m) something that has been produced

n) the main area of land of a country, not including any islands near to it

o) opposite of 'broad', 'wide'

p) existing at the beginning of a particular period, process or activity

6.What about the rest of the world?

Portugal and Spain, like almost all other countries in Europe accepted driving on the right. That meant that all the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in the Americas also ended up driving on the right. So did the infant United States, presumably because it felt closer to fellow revolutionaries in France than to the former British oppressor.

Even British North America (now Canada) eventually switched to the right, because it made no sense to drive on different sides of the road along the world's longest land frontier. And the Middle East drives on the right because
the Ottoman Empire, which used to rule most of the region, was heavily under the influence of the right-driving French and Germans at the critical time when its army laid down formal traffic rules in the latter half of the 19^th century.

But in most of sub-Saharan Africa, except for former French colonies, people drive on the left because of the British influence. They do the same in almost all the countries from Pakistan and India to Australia and New Zealand; only ex-French Indochina and the Philippines, an ex-U.S. colony, drive on the right. Even Indonesia (which was briefly occupied by the British two centuries ago) and Thailand (which was never colonized at all) drive on the left. So does Japan, though nobody seems to know whether this is due to the l9^th - century British influence, or whether it is as deeply rooted in Japan as it was in post-Roman Europe. Korea now drives on the right, but only because it passed directly from Japanese colonial rule to American (and Russian) influence at the end of the Second World War. And I just don't know why China now drives on the right, or if it ever drove on the left.

The metric system, the other great standardization that we inherited from the French revolution, has become the global norm. Only the United States (and Britain, at least where road signs are concerned) still stick with the old English measures. But by making the ‘wrong' side his standard, Napoleon has left us a world permanently divided between countries that drive on the right (about 3.5 billion people) and those that drive on the left bout 2.5 billion). Napoleon was a great admirer of the Roman army. If only he had known which side the Romans drove on, it might all have been different.

7.List the countries from the text where people drive:

8.Complete the missing words in the table below.

9.Answer the following questions:

1. Explain the phrase "the infant United States".

2. What does British North America refer to?

3. Which two countries does the world's longest land frontier separate?

4. Where in Africa do people drive on the left?

5. Which country in the south-east of Asia was never colonized by Britain?

6. What kind of division should we blame Napoleon for?

10.Use the correct form of the words from the table to complete the sentences. Change the form of the words in capitals.

Example: They introduced ___ standardized ___ tests to be used in all schools. (standard)

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 2096