Following the Sun A People living in England hate winter because it can be long and dreary. The weather is cold and wet for weeks and months at a time, and the gray sky makes people dream of vacations in sunny locations. It’s difficult to reach some of these destinations because England is an island. Some lucky families get to travel to Italy during the winter. Though the trip is a long one by car, English families have been driving it for many decades. Today, thanks to two important tunnels, their trip to the sun is much faster and safer than it used to be. B Two major natural obstacles lie between England and Italy. One is the English Channel, a narrow body of water between England and France. The other is the Swiss Alps, a mountain range in Switzerland, between France and Italy. The Alps are the most beautiful mountains in the world, and they are amazingly high. C Obviously, no one can drive on water. So there have long been ferryboats to carry cars and passengers across the English Channel. The problem, however, is that ferry travel is slow and unpleasant. In winter, storms can cause further delays or, at the least, seasickness. And, as anyone who has ever traveled through mountains knows, roads are winding and long, and driving is slow. It is a stressful, nerve-racking experience. The main highway between France and Italy used to go over the mountains near Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps. At times, winter snow completely blocked the highway and caused even longer delays. In 1949, therefore, the first step was taken to provide a shortcut through Mont Blanc. D In that year, the French and Italian governments agreed to construct the seven-mile tunnel. Digging started from both sides of the mountain ten years later, in 1959. Rock slides, floods, and even an avalanche caused problems for the engineers and workers. However, in just three years, in 1962, the two digging teams met under the mountain, and in 1965, the tunnel was opened. It has shortened the driving distance for English families by 120 miles and saves them many hours of their vacation time. Millions of people drive through the tunnel every year, and of course, not all of them are English! E About ten years after the Mont Blanc tunnel was completed, France and England decided to build a different kind of tunnel—under the English Channel. This was not a new idea, for the Channel’s narrow width made a tunnel or bridge an obvious possibility. A channel tunnel had first been proposed in 1802, and at least three different attempts were made, but all had eventually been abandoned. Finally, in 1987, new construction began on a 32-mile underwater tunnel. In three years, the two digging teams met, and the Channel Tunnel, or “Chunnel,” as it became known, was completed. Now, instead of spending hours on a ferry boat in rough weather, English families in search of sun load their cars onto trains that speed through the Chunnel in only 20 minutes. F The Chunnel and the Mont Blanc Tunnel are only two of the many important tunnels in the world. As long as people want faster and safer ways to travel, someone, somewhere, will be digging. Which sentence best summarizes the ideas in paragraph D? a. Despite difficulties, the seven-mile Mont Blanc tunnel between France and Italy opened in 1965 and has saved time for millions of drivers. b. The Mont Blanc tunnel did not open until sixteen years after the governments of France and Italy agreed to construct it. c. Before the Mont Blanc tunnel was built, engineers and workers met under the mountain to discuss the problems. d. People who drive through the Mont Blanc tunnel are not only English people.