I. Fill in the blanks with the correct words.

1. Today Britain and France are___ _____ _____of the Channel Tunnel.

2. Psychologically, the British always ____themselves as being separated from Europe by the English Channel.

3. The ferry ____with Europe depends on the weather and other natural factors.

4. Napoleon___ _____ _____of building a bridge or tunnel across the English Channel.

5. In 1986 a third ____was made to build a tunnel connecting Britain and France.

6. The Eurotunnel, which is a joint British-French group, is responsible for ____the trains.

7. The rock ____was used to strengthen the coastline against the storms.

8. Cars are not allowed to move in the tunnel because there would be problems with ventilation to remove the ____from the movement of the cars.

9. Lorry drivers travel separately from their ____in a carriage at the front of the shuttle train.

10. The tunnel began ____in the autumn of 1994.

II Complete the sentences with the best answer (a, b or c).

1. Many British people who were against the tunnel project

a) were motivated by psychological arguments.

b) considered that it could be a danger to Britain's security.

c) believed that it was too expensive.

2. The tunnel has become a reality and now most people see

a) that it is quite easy to reach Africa.

b) that the ferry link has no future.

c) the advantages of a direct transport link with Europe.

3. The idea of building a tunnel which would connect Britain and France

a) was first suggested by a French engineer whose name was Albert Mathieu in 1802.

b) was proposed by an unknown English scientist in the 17th century.

c) was first suggested by Napoleon.

4. The engineers chose Folkestone on the British side because

a) it was the safest part of the coastline.

b) it was easier to dig into the rock.

c) this part of the Channel is narrowest.

5. The tunnel itself consists of

a) two tunnels for trains and one for motor cars.

b) two main tunnels for electric trains and an auxiliary tunnel intended for workers to service the main tunnels.

c) one large tunnel intended for motor cars.

6. In the course of building the tunnel

a) there were many problems what to do with the rock waste.

b) there were many problems connected with the sand which was dug out.

c) the workers had many problems with the supply of the drilling equipment.

7. At first the engineers wanted to build a tunnel only for cars

a) but the project was rejected because it was too expensive.

b) but this project was not accepted because there would be problems with ventilation to remove the exhaust from the movement of the cars.

c) in order to make the journey from Britain to Europe quicker.

8. The trains used in the tunnel

a) are known as speed trains.

b) move very slowly because of security reasons.

c) are ordinary electric trains, and do not differ from those which are used everywhere in Europe.

III. Are the statements true or false? Correct the false statements.

1. The building of the Channel tunnel was started quite soon after the end of World War II.

2. The electric trains which service the tunnel run from London to Paris.

3. The shuttle trains are all the same for passengers, freight and cars.

4. The carriages are not well constructed, and it takes a lot of time for the drivers to move into them.

5. The Eurotunnel Company plans to run passenger shuttle services every 15 minutes and freight shuttle services every 20 minutes at peak periods.

6. Today the whole journey from London to Paris takes only five hours.

7. Today the shuttle trains can transport about 2,000 cars per hour in each direction, which is 50 per cent more than what the ferries can carry along the shortest sea-route during the summer periods.

8. At first the builders thought that it would cost only 2 billion pounds, but in reality it was a bit more.

9. The tunnel has great advantages because it does not depend on weather conditions.

10. The new transport link between Britain and Europe means an end to the ferry service.