[B+] Alptransit - The World's Longest Tunnel

LET'S UNLOCK WORDS AND PHRASES 🔐

lorry

[ lawr-ee ]

noun

- a large road vehicle that is used for transporting goods

The lorry delivered fresh produce to the supermarket early in the morning.

referendum

[ ref-uh-'ren-duhm ]

noun

- a vote in which all the people in a country are asked to give their opinion about or decide an important political or social question

The government held a referendum to allow citizens to vote on the proposed changes to the law.

inhabitant

[ in-'hab-i-tuhnt ]

noun

- a person or animal that lives in a particular place

Even the inhabitants of these nations reflected the origins of this culture.

alpine transit

phrase

- refers to the movement of goods and people across the mountainous regions of the Alps

Alpine transit systems are crucial for connecting remote mountain villages with larger cities, especially during the winter months.

Gotthard axis

phrase

- a key transport route through the Swiss Alps, connecting northern and southern Europe and facilitating trade and travel

The Gotthard Axis plays a vital role in European transport, linking major cities and facilitating trade across the Alps.

LET'S READ! 📖

Direction: Read the passage aloud. Then, read it silently.

Alptransit

COMPREHENSION CHECK 🧠 A. Directions: Identify if the statements are TRUE of FALSE. If the statement is FALSE, provide the correct answer.

COMPREHENSION CHECK

Trains will be able to travel up to 250 km per, hour reducing the travel time between Zurich and Milan from five hours to three and a half.
The Gotthard axis will have four new tunnels.
The Lötschberg Axis is being built further in the east and has a 34 km long base tunnel that will be completed sometime in 2017.
The Swiss people voted to put all freight onto railways in a national referendum held in 1994.
The construction of the two new railways is expected to reach more than 20 billion euros.

B. Direction: Answer the following questions based on the article.

Which tunnel was replaced by the world's longest tunnel with a length of 57km and was completed in 1881?
What is the aim of the project called AlpTransit?
Why do workers need to prevent the tunnel from collapsing?
What is the size of the machine that can dig itself into the mountain at a speed of up to 40 meters a day?
What will the tunnel do to the Alps?

C. Direction: Match the words in column A with their synonyms in column B.

A	B
1. altitude	a. railroad
2. scenery	b. elevation
3. freight	c. transfer
4. transit	d. goods
5. railway	e. landscape