Question

    The British government declared that a ''proper piece of work'' was being carried out to look into the possibility of linking Scotland to Northern Ireland via a bridge spanning the Irish Sea. At the moment, the leading candidates for the locations of the route are Portpatrick on the Scottish coast and Larne on the Northern Irish coast.

Length aside, there are a number of other significant challenges that such an enormous project would raise. For example, there’s the depth of the sea, which at times reaches 300 metres, and the large spans that would be required to let any ships pass under the bridge safely, explained Ian Firth, a structural engineer at the Institution of Civil Engineers.

''One solution might be to use floating foundations. '' he said. ''You have a floating pontoon(水上浮台) held below the surface of the water.You still have to get down there and drill holes in the rock down below, but you're now just tying it down with some cables. Then the floating platform is held below the waves----you don't want it at the surface because then you’re getting wave action and tidal action. You stand your bridge structures on those floating platforms. That’s the sort of thing that potentially could be doable. ''

Even so, such a structure would still leave those travelling across it at the mercy of high winds and heavy rain, even taking into account any weather shielding measures that could be fitted. However, there may be another solution.

''There's another type of floating structure, a submerged(水下的) floating tunnel. It’s not through the rock but under the water, '' said Firth. ''You attach it down, shall we say 20 metres below the water, so that ships can go happily across the top of it, but the thing is actually floating. If you're in your car, you’re driving, in effect, through a tunnel. That is a very interesting, and I think really quite potentially practical solution. ''

But it's early days and there are many factors to consider, such as the ability of the transport links either side of the crossing to cope with additional traffic, and the fact that it may be more efficient to upgrade the existing ferry infrastructure, before any kind of design work could begin.

''At the moment it is an idea and not much more than that. To begin with, we'd need a pre-feasibility study which looks at what the options are so that we can actually frame the range of a feasibility(可行性) study, '' said Firth, ''After that people like me could go away and turn over what the options are. I believe it's possible. But 'possible' and 'affordable' are two different things. I’m not trying to put numbers to it, but it is eye-wateringly expensive, and nothing like it has been attempted before. But we're in the business of finding solutions to challenges. We civil structural engineers are good at that kind of thing. ''

1.From Paragraphs 1 and 2, engineers may focus efforts on the ______ of the bridge-to-be.

A.cost B.location

C.structure D.reliability

2.What might be the major drawback to the first solution?

A.It is impossible to build a bridge on floating platforms.

B.It takes much labor to tie floating platforms with cables.

C.Wave and tidal action can easily destroy floating platforms.

D.Traffic flow will be subject to severe weather conditions.

3.What can we learn from Firth's words in the last paragraph?

A.Bridge construction is more of an assumption than a detailed plan.

B.Engineers have reached a consensus on the feasibility of the project.

C.They are trying to update the structural design to control costs.

D.Previous similar attempts do help them draw up a feasible plan.

4.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A.Why not float?

B.A bridge too far?

C.Overlooking the Irish Sea

D.Meeting new Scottish friends

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.A

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。本文是以英国一个巨大的、具有挑战性的桥梁项目贯穿全文的，全文都在谈论如何从架构上设计桥梁。但目前这只是一个想法，还没有具体的细节计划。

1.

细节理解题。根据第二段的For example, there's the depth of the sea, which at times reaches 300 metres, and the large spans that would be required to let any ships pass under the bridge safely, explained Ian Firth, a structural engineer at the Institution of Civil Engineers.( 土木工程学会的结构工程师Ian Firth说，例如，海水的深度有时可以达到300米，大桥的跨度需要让任何船只安全通过)可知，工程师要考虑水深、大跨度等问题，这些都是与桥梁的结构有直接关系。C. structure(结构)符合以上说法，故选C项。

2.

细节理解题。根据第四段的Even so, such a structure would still leave those travelling across it at the mercy of high winds and heavy rain可知，这样的一种结构会让穿越它的人们受到大风和暴雨的影响，即第一种解决方案没有考虑恶劣天气情况对交通的影响。D. Traffic flow will be subject to severe weather conditions.(交通流畅性将受到恶劣天气的影响)符合以上说法，故选D项。

3.

推理判断题。根据最后一段的At the moment it is an idea and not much more than that. (目前这只是一个想法，仅此而已。)可知，目前此次桥梁建设项目还只是一个假设。A. Bridge construction is more of an assumption than a detailed plan.(桥梁的建设更多的是一种假设，而不是一个详细的计划)符合以上说法，故选A项。

4.

主旨大意题。根据文章的主要内容，尤其第一段的The British government declared that a ''proper piece of work'' was being carried out to look into the possibility of linking Scotland to Northern Ireland via a bridge spanning the Irish Sea.(英国政府宣布了一项“适当的工作”正在进行，其目的是调查将苏格兰和北爱尔兰通过一座横跨爱尔兰海的大桥连接起来的可能性)和最后一段的At the moment it is an idea and not much more than that. (目前这只是一个想法，仅此而已。)可知，本文是以英国一个巨大的、具有挑战性的桥梁项目贯穿全文的，全文都在谈论如何从架构上设计桥梁。但目前这只是一个想法，还没有具体的细节计划。B. A bridge too far?(一座桥还远吗？)可以作为本文标题，故选B项。