阅读理解
To swim across the English Channel takes at least nine hours. It' s a 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 if you don' t mind the noise, and that takes forty minutes. Otherwise you can go by boat, if you forget your sea-sickness ills. All these means of transport have their problems and the weary( 不耐烦的)travel-er 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 Greater London Council is looking into the possibility of building a Channel link straight to London. A bridge would cost far more than a tunnel, but you would be able to go by rail or by car on a bridge, whereas a tunnel would provide a rail link only.
Why is this idea being discussed again? Is Britain becoming more conscious of the need for links with Europe as a result of joining the 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 disused dockland(船坞地) ~ A link from London to the continent would stimulate trade and re-vitalize(使…重新有活力) 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 were still warm!