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Space. Use only one word in each space.

 

Just as the railway looked like running out of surprises, someone decided to build a track under the sea! However it could so easily (1) …been a different story. The French and British Governments received a number of suggestions for the cross channel link, varying from a combined bridge and submerged tube system (2)… a motorway suspension bridge. But these were not to be. As Rocket and Mallard had excited past generations, so the tunnel has intrigued today’s and such an interest in trains couldn’t have come at a better time for the railway. For some years it had been struggling with ever-increasing competition from both air (3) … road transportation, but that was about to change.

Consisting (4) … three tunnels (a rail tunnel each way and a central service tunnel) and measuring 31 miles (5) …, with 23 of those under the seabed, the tunnel is an incredible feat of engineering. The idea of tunneling under the English Channel was not a new (6) … . It had been dreamt about since the mid eighteenth century. The plan to join the British Isles to the European continent (7)… boring a tunnel under the sea between Dover and Calais was proposed several times and was rejected because (8)… the estimated cost, the military risks, and the doubt as to the feasibility of construction. Finally, in the 1980s, the proposal was accepted and tunneling began. So it took until 1994, over 200 years and £8,5 billion later, to become a reality.

During its construction, the French were also busy building a new high-speed rail link (9) … Calais and Paris. The new track meant trains could reach speeds of 186 mph (300km) on that section of the journey – a speed England hopes to match in the (10) … future.

Currently, (11) … Eurostar train can travel from London Waterloo to Folkestone, through the tunnel to Calais and on to Paris in just three hours. Needless to say, the new route has been welcomed by freight companies. By 1998 Railfreight Distribution was, (12) … average, sending 20 trains a day through the tunnel to France and beyond. In addition, regular shuttle trains ferry cars and lorries along the same journey.

2. Answer the following questions on the text:

1) What were the suggestions for the cross channel link?

2) Why is the tunnel an incredible feat of engineering?

3) How long did it take to build a tunnel?

4) What were the reasons for rejecting the proposal?

5) What is the highest speed the trains could reach?

 

Text IV

Marinnation

1. Read the text and answer the following questions on the text:

1) What kind of city will Marinnation be?

2) What are the problems of Marinnation focused on?

3) Where will it be built?

4) When could Marinnation be ready for habitation?

5) Would people want to live in Marinnation? Why?

6) Is the tone of the passage judgmental or informative? How can you prove it?

A Japanese construction company plans to create a huge city-state, akin to the legendary Atlantis, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The city, dubbed ‘‘Marinnation,’’ would have about one million inhabitants, two airports, and possibly even a space port. Marinnation, if built, would be a separate country but could serve as a home for international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank.



Aside from the many political and social problems that would have to be solved, the engineering task envisaged is monumental. The initial stage requires the building of a circular dam 18 miles in diameter attached to the sea bed in a relatively shallow place in international waters. Then several hundred powerful pumps operating for more than a year, would suck out the sea water from within the dam. When empty and dry the area would have a city constructed on it. The actual land would be about 300 feet below sea level. According to designers, the hardest task would be to ensure that the dam is leak proof and earthquake proof.

If it goes well, it is hoped that Marinnation could be ready for habitation at the end of the second decade of the twenty first century. Whether anyone would want to live in such an isolated and artificial community, however, will remain an open question until that time.

Text V


Date: 2016-04-22; view: 1077


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