5. Answer the following questions:

1. What does the list of tragic accidents illustrate?

2. What is the biggest geographical obstacle in Europe that transport companies have to deal with?

3. How do some bigger truckers improve their efficiency?

4. What are the reasons for Europe’s transport trains’ inefficiency?

5. How is Switzerland trying to cope with the problem of immense truck transit?

6. In what ways have the European governments helped create imbalance between road and rail?

6. Match the words from the text with the definitions below.

Example: … hazard … - something dangerous

1. __________ - generally praised or described as very important or successful

2. __________ - to die because you cannot breathe

3. __________ - (infml) a large truck

4. __________ - fighting or serious disagreement

5. __________ - to destroy something or damage it severely

7. Complete the statements below with phrases from the text.

Example: Foreign visitors are often impressed with Europe’s … high-speed passenger trains …

1. Europe’s single market for goods and services is ………

2. By 2010, Europe’s transcontinental freight traffic will ………

3. When it comes to moving freight, Europe is for ………

4. At present only 8% of European merchandise moves by ………

5. The average speed for freight trains is about 18km an hour because of ………

6. ……… run so late, they combine with others and disappear from the railroad’s records.

7. European countries’ taxpayers spend more than $30 billion a year to ………

8. ……… transports about 20 million cubic meters of freight each year.

9. In France all the investments went to ………

8. Interpret the following phrases:

Example: green rhetoric – pro-ecological way of talking about environmental problems

1. addiction to big rigs - ………

2. the mayor has lobbied in vain - ………

3. roll-on roll-off trains - ………

4. draconian reforms don’t work - ………

5. the citizens of Chamonix will have to hold their noses - ………

6. the political will to fund the investment - ………

9. Complete the sentences with the appropriate form of the words in capitals.

The Swiss parliament is … discussing … whether to build a new St. Gotthard road tunnel.	DISCUSSION
This would punch a hole in an earlier ……… not to build any more Alpine highways.	AGREE
The main thrust of Swiss transport policy has been to try to ……… a shift of both passenger and freight traffic from road to rail.	COURAGE
Switzerland tries to ……… heavy road freight vehicles through measure such as a ban on trucks at night and a distance-related heavy-vehicle tax.	COURAGE
At the same time, the government has been investing ……… in the rail network, most notably in Rail 2000, and the Alp Transit.	HEAVY
The latter involves the ……… of base rail tunnels beneath the Alps to increase capacity on the transit lines.	CONSTRUCTOR
The St. Gotthard base tunnel will be …….. in 2014.	COMPLETION