# The development of Tunnel - 科目：雅思听力真题（Part 4） - 考频：高频 - 最近考试：2024.4.20 - 题目数：9 - 来源页：https://www.yaquan.site/paper/86a22753-b470-4fb6-ad95-91800e589797（在线机考练习与音频请访问该页面） - 数据更新：2026-10-29 ## 题目原文 00:00:01,200 You will hear a lecture about the development of the tunnel linking France and England. 00:00:08,200 First, you have some time to look at questions thirty-one to forty. 00:01:03,000 Now listen carefully and answer questions thirty-one to forty. 00:01:10,540 The strip of sea separating France and England, which in English is simply called the Channel, is only thirty-four kilometers across at the shortest point. But in the days of sailing ships, the strong currents and fierce storms made it difficult to cross. 00:01:28,040 In favorable conditions, the voyage took six or seven hours, but it could equally well take days or even a week. 00:01:36,380 In seventeen fifty, a competition was launched in the city of Amiens in northern France for a scheme that would improve trade links between the two nations. The committee awarded the prize to an engineer who proposed a tunnel, though the technology and manpower that it required were simply not available at the time. 00:01:56,320 Half a century later, the idea resurfaced. In eighteen oh two, during a break in hostilities in the war between France and England, a French mining engineer put forward another scheme for a tunnel. The scheme was supported by the peace party among English politicians, but the resumption of war dashed their hopes. 00:02:18,020 By eighteen fifty, Europe was much more industrialized. In eighteen sixty-seven, a French hydrographic engineer presented his government with a proposal for a tunnel to carry trains. As regards the engineering, this was quite feasible. Tunnels through the Alps were under construction, and the Suez Canal was nearing completion. 00:02:40,020 A committee was set up in the following year to explore the possibility, and in eighteen eighty, they started excavating to build tunnels from both coasts. 00:02:50,000 But British public opinion turned against the idea, and in eighteen eighty-two, the government put a stop to the digging. 00:02:59,100 The notion of a fixed link didn't go away, however. And in the nineteen twenties, the idea was put forward in Britain of a tunnel with its entrance half a kilometer out to sea, linked to the coast by a bridge. But in the economic climate of the nineteen thirties, neither country could afford the vast undertaking of any sort of tunnel. 00:03:20,920 During the nineteen fifties, the idea was again considered seriously. But it was not until nineteen eighty-five that it was finally agreed, and the two governments staged a competition for the best proposal. 00:03:36,180 The committee came down in favor of the tunnel for trains and shuttles only. The reasons that were given largely centered on the finances, which were considered to be the soundest put forward. 00:03:48,660 It was also thought that compared with the alternative options, the technical risks of the tunnel were considerably reduced, not least because as a pure engineering exercise, it called for little in the way of innovative technology. In fact, solving logistical, environmental, and other problems created more headaches than the engineering. 00:04:09,920 The tunnel was regarded as the safest way for people to get across the Channel, and unlike a bridge, it wouldn't impede shipping. 00:04:18,120 Excavation of three tunnels started in nineteen eighty-seven from both sides at once, and the first one to form a continuous link between the two countries reached its breakthrough point in December nineteen ninety, just to the French side of the international border. The tunnel was eventually opened to traffic in nineteen ninety-four. 00:04:39,260 The system consists of three tunnels. The two outer tunnels, which carry the shuttles and trains, are known as running tunnels. They're each separated by eight meters of rock from the smaller service tunnel, which goes along the middle between them and is used for maintenance. 00:04:58,300 Every three hundred and seventy-five meters, the three tunnels are linked by cross passages, which provide ventilation and easy access for maintenance. 00:05:09,020 Once the high-speed train link between the English coast and London is- 00:05:16,080 That is the end of part four. You now have forty-five seconds to check your answers to part four. ## 题目与答案 ### 31. 1802 1802 - final agreement construct link - government cancelled tunnel project - tunnel suggested encouraged by peace movement - committee setup - construction impossible for financial reasons - first attempt at digging tunnel **答案**：tunnel suggested encouraged by peace movement 原文定位：In eighteen oh two, during a break in hostilities in the war between France and England, a French mining engineer put forward another scheme for a tunnel. The scheme was supported by the peace party among English politicians, but the resumption of war dashed their hopes 同义替换：「suggested」↔「put forward another scheme for」；「encouraged by peace movement」↔「supported by the peace party」 ### 32. 1867 1867 - final agreement construct link - government cancelled tunnel project - tunnel suggested encouraged by peace movement - committee setup - construction impossible for financial reasons - first attempt at digging tunnel **答案**：railway tunnel suggestion 原文定位：In eighteen sixty-seven, a French hydrographic engineer presented his government with a proposal for a tunnel to carry trains 同义替换：「suggestion」↔「proposal」；「railway」↔「carry trains」 ### 33. 1880 1880 - final agreement construct link - government cancelled tunnel project - tunnel suggested encouraged by peace movement - committee setup - construction impossible for financial reasons - first attempt at digging tunnel **答案**：first attempt at digging tunnel 原文定位：A committee was set up in the following year to explore the possibility, and in eighteen eighty, they started excavating to build tunnels from both coasts 同义替换：「first attempt at digging」↔「started excavating to build」 ### 34. 1882 1882 - final agreement construct link - government cancelled tunnel project - tunnel suggested encouraged by peace movement - committee setup - construction impossible for financial reasons - first attempt at digging tunnel **答案**：government cancelled tunnel project 原文定位：There are moss and lichens on older buildings, and particularly numerous are the insects which find breeding places and shelter there;But British public opinion turned against the idea, and in eighteen eighty-two, the government put a stop to the digging 同义替换：「cancelled tunnel project」↔「put a stop to the digging」 ### 35. 1930 1930 - final agreement construct link - government cancelled tunnel project - tunnel suggested encouraged by peace movement - committee setup - construction impossible for financial reasons - first attempt at digging tunnel **答案**：construction impossible for financial reasons 原文定位：But in the economic climate of the nineteen thirties, neither country could afford the vast undertaking of any sort of tunnel 同义替换：「construction impossible」↔「could not afford the vast undertaking」；「financial reasons」↔「economic climate」 ### 36. 1985 1985 - final agreement construct link - government cancelled tunnel project - tunnel suggested encouraged by peace movement - committee setup - construction impossible for financial reasons - first attempt at digging tunnel **答案**：final agreement construct link 原文定位：But it was not until nineteen eighty-five that it was finally agreed, and the two governments staged a competition for the best proposal ### 37-38. Which TWO reasons were given for choosing the train/shuttle tunnel scheme in a 1985 competition? Which TWO reasons were given for choosing the train/shuttle tunnel scheme in a 1985 competition? - cheapest scheme - most popular with the public - safest for travellers - least impact on the environment - best financial basis - greatest stimulus to technology **答案**：safest for travellers,best financial basis 原文定位：The committee came down in favor of the tunnel for trains and shuttles only. The reasons that were given largely centered on the finances, which were considered to be the soundest put forward;The tunnel was regarded as the safest way for people to get across the Channel, and unlike a bridge, it wouldn't impede shipping 同义替换：「travellers」↔「people」 ### 39. 39_____ 39_____ **答案**：running tunnels 原文定位：The system consists of three tunnels. The two outer tunnels, which carry the shuttles and trains, are known as running tunnels ### 40. 40_____ 40_____ **答案**：cross passages 原文定位：Every three hundred and seventy-five meters, the three tunnels are linked by cross passages, which provide ventilation and easy access for maintenance --- 以上内容由鸭圈雅思真题库（www.yaquan.site）提供，收录近期雅思考试真题回忆，支持在线机考模式免费练习。