IV. Reading Comprehension
Passage 1 Read the following passage and choose the BEST answer for each
question.
What does it take to build one of the world’s mega bridges? In northern Europe,
the Baltic Sea converges with the North Sea at the Oresund Strait. It’s ten miles wide
with lousy weather. And it’s done a great job of keeping Denmark separate from
Sweden. The Oresund Strait is a frustrating barrier because each shore has
something the other needs. Copenhagen, Denmark, needs cheaper housing. Malmo,
Sweden needs more jobs. Connect the dots and you could unleash an economic
powerhouse. A bridge would make them one big metropolis, but it’s never been
possible. Until now. Enter the Oresund Bridge. The world’s longest cable-stayed bridge that can
carry cars plus the enormous weight of trains. Three thousand five hundred and
eighty-three feet of road and rail dangling from 160 cables. Two hundred feet above
the sea, the support tower soars 670 feet, jabbing at clouds and making the Oresund
Bridge one of the tallest cement structures in Sweden. Companies from both
countries must form a consortium to build the bridge together.
The consortium’s first challenge was figuring out how to build a bridge ten miles
long. Immediately, they face a dangerous setback. On the Denmark side, right at the
shoreline, is the Copenhagen International Airport, Kastrup. Computer simulations
show that building a bridge with high towers would obstruct air traffic… or worse. A
low bridge would be safer for air traffic, but it would block Denmark’s ship traffic. When engineers can’t build over the water, they consider building under it, with
a tunnel of ten miles long. According to architect Peter Lundhus, that would be the
beautiful solution: building a tunnel from one side to the other. But that would be an
expensive solution. So the third solution was decided, of course, to build a part
bridge and then a tunnel where we were getting close to the airport. A bridge would
have been easier or cheaper, but would not have been a good idea for the airplanes.
Somewhere, they need dry land for the tunnel to emerge from underwater. They
need an island, so they’ll have to build one from scratch. 【題組】44. Why did the consortium decide to build a part bridge and a part tunnel for the
Oresund Bridge?
(A) Because it would allow for ship traffic to pass through.
(B) Because it would obstruct air traffic less than a high bridge.
(C) Because it would be a cheaper solution.
(D) Because it would be a more beautiful solution.
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