Form 11. Test in Reading. Semester II

Read a text . After reading look at the statements and  decide if they are “Tue” or “False” according to the text you have read.

                                                       THE SUEZ CANAL                                                      

Read a text . After reading look at the statements and  decide if they are “Tue” or “False” according to the text you have read.

                                                       THE SUEZ CANAL                                                      

The Suez Canal , which was opened to shipping in 1869 , is by no means the first man-made link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean : a much smaller canal was constructed around 2600 years ago , and even that may not have been the first . For well over a thousand years , this canal was sometimes maintained , and sometimes neglected , then abandoned in the 8^th century AD .

In 1799 there was a French proposal to excavate a canal large enough for ocean-going ships to sail from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea . The plan was dropped , in the belief that the surface of the Red Sea was nine meters higher than the Mediterranean . In fact , the sea levels had been miscalculated . Despite this setback , French interest in the idea continued , and was encouraged by the discovery in 1847     that the two seas were at almost the same level .                                

The Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps set up a company to attract the necessary investment and build the canal . Construction began in 1859 , and ten years later the opening of the canal was marked by several weeks of celebrations , including fireworks , a ball attended by six thousand people , and Verdi’s opera Aida , which had been commissioned for the event . De Lesseps later began the much more difficult project of constructing the Panama Canal.

The 1799 plan was dropped because of a mistake .

Read a text . After reading look at the statements and  decide if they are “Tue” or “False” according to the text you have read.

                                                       THE SUEZ CANAL                                                      

The Suez Canal , which was opened to shipping in 1869 , is by no means the first man-made link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean : a much smaller canal was constructed around 2600 years ago , and even that may not have been the first . For well over a thousand years , this canal was sometimes maintained , and sometimes neglected , then abandoned in the 8^th century AD .

In 1799 there was a French proposal to excavate a canal large enough for ocean-going ships to sail from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea . The plan was dropped , in the belief that the surface of the Red Sea was nine meters higher than the Mediterranean . In fact , the sea levels had been miscalculated . Despite this setback , French interest in the idea continued , and was encouraged by the discovery in 1847     that the two seas were at almost the same level .                                

The Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps set up a company to attract the necessary investment and build the canal . Construction began in 1859 , and ten years later the opening of the canal was marked by several weeks of celebrations , including fireworks , a ball attended by six thousand people , and Verdi’s opera Aida , which had been commissioned for the event . De Lesseps later began the much more difficult project of constructing the Panama Canal.

De Lesseps contributed to the cost of building the canal .