Bridge to
connect America with Russia, so you can road trip from NYC to Moscow
Do
you like road trips?
Would
you like to drive a car from New York to London across Russia?
Russian
Railways President Vladimir Yakunin, has a dream to make a massive highway connecting the USA from
Alaska with Russia. This could be a
reality. The project has officially been named the “Trans-Eurasian
Belt Development” (TEPR). We’re talking 20,280 km of road.
The proposed mega-road trip route would begin in New York City and cross the
U.S. and then into Calgary Canada and then onto Yukon Canada. Then the route
would enter Alaska. From New York to Alaska would already be more than 7,000km
and would take about 3 days of non-stop driving.
Once the route gets to Alaska, this is
where the proposed road construction would begin. The TEPR would need to build
842km of road through Alaska. This part would take about 8 hours to drive
across. You would then drive through an 85km long tunnel, which would take
about an hour to go through. Then, you enter Russia. And that’s where the real
fun starts.
“Once in Russia, the longest part of the
road trip is still ahead. Russia, being the largest country in the world, is
about 10,044km across. The route goes through the popular cities in Russia
including its capitol, Moscow. This takes about 4 days to drive. The rest
of the European countries are significantly
smaller than Russia, with only about 2400km left which would be approximately
one full day of driving. The route passes through the following six European
countries: Belarus, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and
France. Finally, after reaching the English Channel at the northwest
corner of France, the route crosses over into the UK and reaches the final
destination of London. That’s a total
of 20,280km and almost nine days of non-stop driving. And there are incredible stops along the way.”
So you can see Planet Earth’s longest mega-road
trip. Allegedly the plan will cost m
trillions of dollars. But, what makes this so appealing to Russia is the prospect
of a major mega-highway, which will connect America with Russia. Think about
all the McDonalds and gas stations, and tourist dollars!
Try
to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest
meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and
have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the
reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary
depending on how they are used.
The
answers are below the table.
massive
|
A
|
1
|
To come true
|
be a reality
|
B
|
2
|
Accused of happening. Saying something
happened but not proven
|
significantly
|
C
|
3
|
Possibility to become to happen
|
incredible
|
D
|
4
|
Huge, very very big
|
mega
|
E
|
5
|
Interesting, attractive
|
Allegedly
|
F
|
6
|
Amazing, not real, hard to believe
|
appealing
|
G
|
7
|
Important, big, very noticeable
|
prospect
|
H
|
8
|
Very big
|
A=4/8 B=1, C=7, D=6, E=8/4, F=2, G=5, H=3
Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the
meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.
A massive storm destroyed the town.
I hope my dream to become a
doctor will become a reality.
To have the Olympics is a significant cost.
It is incredible what technology can do now.
The cost to fix the damage
after the earthquake is mega.
He is alleged to have stolen the painting.
Living in India for six months appeals to me.
He is a good prospect to play soccer for Samsung
next year.
Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the
words/phrases in your answer.
Do you think the idea to build
a highway from New York to Russia is too massive?
Do you think it can’t become a reality?
Why or why not?
What significant problems need to be fixed to make this highway a reality?
What incredible projects/constructions have been built in the world?
Are there other
projects/constructions like this that would be mega? Describe it/them.
Why would this highway allegedly cost trillions of dollars?
Does the idea of this highway appeal to you? Why?
Is the prospect of this highway a good idea? Is there something better?