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.

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.

1. A massive storm destroyed the town.

2. I hope my dream to become a doctor will become a reality.

3. To have the Olympics is a significant cost.

4. It is incredible what technology can do now.

5. The cost to fix the damage after the earthquake is mega.

6. He is alleged to have stolen the painting.

7. Living in India for six months appeals to me.

8. 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.

1. 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?

2. What significant problems need to be fixed to make this highway a reality?

3. What incredible projects/constructions have been built in the world?

4. Are there other projects/constructions like this that would be mega? Describe it/them.

5. Why would this highway allegedly cost trillions of dollars?

6. Does the idea of this highway appeal to you? Why?

7. Is the prospect of this highway a good idea? Is there something better?