To swim the English Channel takes at least nine hours. It’s hard work and it makes you short of breath. To fly over the channel takes only twenty minutes as long as you’re not held up at the airport, but it’s an expensive way to travel. You can travel by hovercraft(气垫船) if you don’t mind the noise and that takes forty minutes. Otherwise, you can go by boat, if you remember sea-sickness pills. All these means of transport (运输) have their problems, and the weary (厌烦的) traveler often dreams of being able to drive to France in his own car. “Not possible, you say. Well, wait a minute people are once again considering the idea of a Channel tunnel or bridge.” This time , the great London Council(议会) is looking into the possibility of building a channel link straight to London. A bridge would cost far more a tunnel, but you would be able to go by rail or by car on a bridge, whereas (然而) a tunnel would provide a rail link only.
Why is this idea being discussed again? Is Britain realizing the need for links with Europe as a result of joining EEC(欧共体)? Well, perhaps. The main reason , though, is that a tunnel or bridge would reach the twenty square kilometers of London’s discussed stimulate(刺激) trade and revitalise (使…..具有活力) the port, and would ,make London a main trading center in Europe. With a link over the channel, you could buy your fish and chips in England and be able to eat them in France while they are still warm!
The main idea of the passage is ______
A how to develop the trade of London
B crossing the Channel is difficult
C how to get to Europe more conveniently
D what to do in the development of traveling
Key:C
