5. Writing Skills

Make up a story of the famous building you like best of all using the plan below.

Proper name of landmark Common name of landmark What is it? Who built the landmark? For whom was it built? Where did the ideas for this landmark originate? When was it built? What are the physical characteristics of this landmark? What is it made of? Why? How was it built?

Is the landmark natural or human-made How do your landmarks reflect their natural surroundings? How has this landmark changed over time? What is special or important about it? Specific location of landmark: Significance of landmark (why was it built?) How is it used today? Interesting fact(s)

Unit four. Tunnels and canals

1. Reading Comprehension text 1. How to Buil the Tunnel

Since the dawn of civilization, people have been building tunnels for accessing tombs or underground quarries, or in the hill slopes for allowing the flow of water from porous rocks. Romans were skilled tunnel builders, who made several kilometers long underground passages using the work of slaves. They made a 5.6 km long tunnel for draining the Fucino Lake, east of Rome. The project, aimed for impeding the flooding of the area, required the work of 30,000 people for 10 years.

Modern construction of tunnels started in the 1760’s in England, when channels were constructed for inner transport. If hills were in the way, the top could be overcome by modifying it in platforms and building of locks, so that ships reached the next level. This method depended on a good alimentation with water to the top, as water descended through the system each time locks were used. That’s why the first channels tended to eschew hills, making the journeys very long and therefore the technique of building tunnels through the versants emerged.

Tunnels provide some of the last available space for cars and trains, water and sewage, even power and communication lines. Today, it’s safe to bore through mountains and burrow beneath oceans – but it was not always this way. In fact, it took engineers thousands of years to perfect the art of digging tunnels.

By the 17th century, tunnels were being constructed for canals.

Without roads or railways to transport raw materials from the country to the city, watery highways became the best way to haul freight over great distances.

With trains and cars came a tremendous expansion in tunnel construction.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, the development of railroad and motor vehicle transportation led to bigger, better, and longer tunnels.

Today, not even mountains and oceans stand in the way.

With the latest tunnel construction technology, engineers can bore through mountains, under rivers, and beneath bustling cities. Before carving a tunnel, engineers investigate ground conditions by analyzing soil and rock samples and drilling test holes.

There are three steps to a tunnel’s success. Today, engineers know that there are three basic steps to building a stable tunnel. The first step is excavation: engineers dig through the earth with a reliable tool or technique. The second step is support: engineers must support any unstable ground around them while they dig. The final step is lining: engineers add the final touches, like the roadway and lights, when the tunnel is structurally sound.

Based on the setting, tunnels can be divided into three major types.

Soft-ground tunnels are typically shallow and are often used as subways, water-supply systems, and sewers. Because the ground is soft, a support structure, called a tunnel shield, must be used at the head of the tunnel to prevent it from collapsing.

Rock tunnels require little or no extra support during construction and are often used as railways or roadways through mountains. Years ago, engineers were forced to blast through mountains with dynamite. Today they rely on enormous rock-chewing contraptions called tunnel boring machines.

Underwater tunnels are particularly tricky to construct, as water must be held back while the tunnel is being built. Early engineers used pressurized excavation chambers to prevent water from gushing into tunnels. Today, prefabricated tunnel segments can be floated into position, sunk, and attached to other sections.

The world’s longest tunnel (54 km) connects the Japanese islands Honshu and Hokkaido, under the Tsugaru Strait. It consists in a larger railway tunnel and two smaller road tunnels, also employed for maintenance, draining and ventilation.

The EuroTunnel (under the English Channel) is 50 km long and each of its twin tunnels are 7.6 m wide. It was built with an average speed of 12 cm per minute.

1. Read the statements below. If the statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is false, write F. If it is false, correct the information.

1.	Before building a tunnel, detailed ground analyses and probe drills are made.	( )
2.	Tunnels are excavated generally using tunnel digging machines	( )
3.	Tunnels dug in stone are excavated through perforation and dynamiting.	( )
4.	A tunnel is an underground passageway.	( )
5.	Tunnels are dug in various types of materials, from soft clay to hard rock, and the method of excavation depends on the ground conditions.	( )