Inside Reading Unit 1 Test

Inside Reading Unit 1 Test

Name: ______Date: ______

Reading Comprehension: True/False

Mark each statement as T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the reading passage.

Read this passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

The Chunnel

Tourists and business people who travel between England and France now have the opportunity to make the trip via the Channel Tunnel and enjoy an underground adventure. The Chunnel is the common term for the tunnels that have been created under the English Channel connecting the two countries. The Chunnel runs between Folestone, England, and Calais, France, and was completed in 1994.

The idea of creating a passage under the English Channel is centuries old. In fact, Napoleon's engineers drew plans to connect the two countries via a tunnel that included chimneys for ventilation. The chimneys would have emerged from the water at various places along the passage. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), the tunnel was not completed until over 150 years after Napoleon's death, and the design was considerably different.

There are actually three tunnels. One tunnel carries trains from England to France. Another tunnel carries trains from France to England. A third tunnel is located between the two tunnels. It carries service vehicles and provides an emergency exit. The service tunnel connects to each outside tunnel, and workers can walk into either of the tunnels through ports to do repairs. During a fire in the early years of the tunnel's operation, passengers were able to escape by walking through the service tunnel to safety.

The tunnels were created by a tunnel-boring device similar to the one that was used to bore the Seikan tunnel in Japan. The boring devices themselves cost billions of dollars and are built for specific projects, so they are quite unique and cannot be reused. In fact, one of the boring devices used for the Chunnel was for sale on Ebay.com, but the delivery and storage requirements made it unattractive to prospective buyers.

The Eurostar trains travel up to 300 km/hr (186 miles/hour) for the 31 miles, which equates to a short trip lasting only about 20 minutes. The trains each carry 794 passengers and have carried millions of passengers since the completion of the project. The trains provide revenue for both countries, as well as quick access between them.

At the time, the construction of the Chunnel was controversial. It required government subsidies and consumed an enormous amount of capital. But proponents of the project predicted that the benefits would far exceed the costs. The Chunnel is a symbol of corporate and government cooperation, as well as a medium of commerce and a source of tourism revenue.

1. / The tunnel-boring device used to create the Chunnel was used to create other tunnels as well.
A) / True
B) / False
2. / The Chunnel provides international travel for both commerce and tourism.
A) / True
B) / False

Reading Comprehension: Multiple Choice

Choose the option that best completes each sentence.

3. / Napoleon's engineers designed a route under the English Channel that included ___.
A) / two passenger trains
B) / a service tunnel
C) / an alternate escape tunnel for passengers
D) / ventilation chimneys
4. / In the modern-day Chunnel, besides the two tunnels used for passenger travel, a third tunnel was created ___.
A) / for an express train for first-class passengers
B) / as a service tunnel and escape route
C) / as an alternate track in case one of the other tunnels is blocked
D) / to transport cargo

Vocabulary: Word Families

Choose the word form that correctly completes each sentence.

5. / The family ____to Canada when the war broke out in their country.
A) / immigration
B) / immigrate
C) / immigrated
6. / ____ is known to be one of the main reasons for increased cultural diversity along coastlines.
A) / Immigration
B) / Immigrate
C) / Immigrated
7. / The ____ for the new building was chosen based on traffic flow and accessibility.
A) / location
B) / locate
C) / located
8. / Please ____ your nearest exit in case of an emergency.
A) / location
B) / locate
C) / located

Vocabulary: Multiple Choice

Choose the word that best completes each sentence.

9. / As a college student, her views were ___. As she got older, however, they became more conservative.
A) / unique
B) / similar
C) / structured
D) / liberal
10. / Each tunnel-boring device is ___ because it is made for one specific project.
A) / similar
B) / unique
C) / ethnic
D) / predictable
11. / Construction crews were unable to ___ the high number of setbacks they would encounter as they dug the underground passage.
A) / predict
B) / create
C) / locate
D) / structure
12. / It was the mayor's dream to ___ a highlyefficient transit system that would attract a lot of tourists to her city.
A) / create
B) / predict
C) / immigrate
D) / liberate
13. / You can't ___ that people will embrace a new highway in their backyard, even if they know it will make traffic flow more easily.
A) / immigrate
B) / assume
C) / locate
D) / create

Vocabulary: Fill in the blank

Use the wordsbelowto complete the sentences. Use each word one time.

immigrate / notwithstanding / emerges
prediction / environment / technique
14. / The subway train enters the tunnel in San Francisco and ______after a twenty-minute ride under the bay.
15. / Determined to ______to Germany, the Czech family spent years getting the proper documents in order.
16. / The renovation team found a successful ______for holding up the columns while they rebuilt the roof.
17. / My statement about the future reliability of your car is a ______, not a promise.
18. / The park rangers led very restrictive tours through the wilderness because they were concerned about the possible effects on the ______.
19. / The predictions of the skeptics ______, the expansion project was a success in the community.

Writing Prompts

Read the question. Write your answer in paragraph form.

20. / Throughout history, large engineering projects such as bridges, railroads, and subways have allowed people to travel more easily. What are some of the benefits of these transportation systems?