I. Answer the following questions:
1. How can you prove that the George P. Coleman Bridge is the second largest double-swing-span bridge in the world?
2. Do you agree that before the reconstruction the bridge was a major headache?
3. What is peculiar about the George P. Coleman Bridge?
4. How many vehicles can it carry nowadays?
5. How is it possible that swing spans don’t hit each other while rotating?
LANGUAGE FOCUS
II. Match the meanings of these terms with their definition:
|
1. downstream 2.design 3. сounterbalance 4. tunnel 5. framework 6. upstream 7. to rotate 8. lane 9. tunnel 10 swing bridge 11. congestion |
a. in the direction contrary to the flow of a stream b. in the direction in which a stream etc. flows. c. an underground passage dug through a hill or under a road, river. d. a preliminary plan or sketch for making something e. weight or influence balancing another f. essential supporting structure g. abnormal accumulation or obstruction of traffic h. to move round an axis or centre, revolve i. A movable deck bridge which opens by rotating horizontally on an axis j. division of a road for a stream of traffic k. An underground passage for vehicles or pedestrians, especially one which is created by digging into earth. Occasionally, tunnel structures are built in an excavated area then covered over. |
III. Fill in the correct prepositions:
to find a solution … the river crossing problem, to be assembled … site and floated … place , the central span … 200 feet … the towers, the structure carries … excess … 27,000 vehicles … a day, to propose a design … a bascule bridge 244 m … length … two towers each 65 m … high, to be raised … an angle …86 degrees
IV. Say in other words:
Tower Bridge was built because of the demand for access across the Thames. A tunnel under the Thames could only carry pedestrian traffic. Although each leave of the bridge weighs quite much, they are counterbalanced to limit the force and time necessary to raise them. Two heavy piers were put into the river bed to support the structure. Victorian gothic style makes the bridge a distinguishing landmark.
V. Reconstruct the following texts and title them:
1. London … (noun) is a bridge …(adverb) the River … (proper noun) in London, connecting the …(adjective) centre of the city to the district of Southwark. … (preposition) 1750 it was the only bridge … (participle 1) the Thames in London. The present bridge , … (participle 11) in 1973, replaced one that was sold to a US businessman and rebuilt in Arizona.
2. … (noun) bridge is a bridge across the … (noun) Thames and is one of the most … (adjective) structures in London. It was … (participle 11) between 1886 and 1894 and is close to London … (noun) and the Tower of London. Its towers are in … (adjective) style and the part of the bridge with the road on … (pronoun) can be … (participle 11) to allow ships to pass through.