File Test 10 Reading

File Test 10 Reading

Multiple Choice

In surveys to find out who the most important Britons of all time are, Isambard Kingdom Brunel often comes out on top. This famous engineer was noted for the creation of the Great Western Railway and a series of famous steamships. The son of noted engineer Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, Isambard K. Brunel was born in Portsmouth, England on April 9, 1806. His father was working there on the block-making machinery of the Portsmouth Block Mills. The young Brunel was sent to France to be educated at the College of Caen in Normandy and the Lycée Henri-Quatre in Paris. He rose to prominence when, at 20 years-old, he was appointed as the resident engineer of the Thames Tunnel, his father’s greatest achievement. The first of its kind ever built, Isambard spent nearly two years trying to drive the horizontal shaft from one end of it to the other. (–––– 1 ––––)

• His colleagues and admirers felt the bridge would be a fitting memorial and started to raise new funds and to amend the design.

• Though a failure at its original purpose for passenger travel, it eventually found a role as an engineering ship.

• The initial group of engines ordered by Brunel to his own specifications proved unsatisfactory.

• Two severe incidents of flooding injured the younger Brunel and ended work on the tunnel for several years, though it was eventually completed.

• A special medical tool failed to remove it, as did a machine to shake it loose created by Brunel himself

Multiple Choice

(–––– 2 ––––) He used his prestige to convince his railway company employers to build the Great Western, at the time by far the largest steamship in the world. It first sailed in 1837. The Great Britain followed in 1843, and was the first of its kind to cross the Atlantic Ocean

• His colleagues and admirers felt the bridge would be a fitting memorial and started to raise new funds and to amend the design.

• Though a failure at its original purpose for passenger travel, it eventually found a role as an engineering ship.

• The initial group of engines ordered by Brunel to his own specifications proved unsatisfactory.

• Even before the Great Western Railway was opened, Brunel was moving on to his next project to build ships which could sail across the Atlantic.

• A special medical tool failed to remove it, as did a machine to shake it loose created by Brunel himself

Multiple Choice

Building on these successes, Brunel turned to a third ship in 1852, even larger than both of its predecessors. The Great Eastern was cutting-edge technology for its time — it was the largest ship ever built until the RMS Lusitania launched in 1906 — and it soon ran over budget and schedule in the face of a series of difficult technical problems. The ship is widely perceived as a waste of money. (–––– 3 ––––)

• His colleagues and admirers felt the bridge would be a fitting memorial and started to raise new funds and to amend the design.

• Though a failure at its original purpose for passenger travel, it eventually found a role as an engineering ship.

• The initial group of engines ordered by Brunel to his own specifications proved unsatisfactory.

• Even before the Great Western Railway was opened, Brunel was moving on to his next project to build ships which could sail across the Atlantic.

• A special medical tool failed to remove it, as did a machine to shake it loose created by Brunel himself

Multiple Choice

Besides the railway and steamships, he was also involved in the construction of several lengthy bridges, including the Royal Albert Bridge near Plymouth, and an unusual telescopic bridge in Bridgwater. He also designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol but did not live to see it constructed. (–––– 4 ––––) Work started in 1862 and was complete by 1864, five years after Brunel’s death.

• His colleagues and admirers felt the bridge would be a fitting memorial and started to raise new funds and to amend the design.

• Though a failure at its original purpose for passenger travel, it eventually found a role as an engineering ship.

• The initial group of engines ordered by Brunel to his own specifications proved unsatisfactory.

• Even before the Great Western Railway was opened, Brunel was moving on to his next project to build ships which could sail across the Atlantic.

• A special medical tool failed to remove it, as did a machine to shake it loose created by Brunel himself

Multiple Choice

In 1843, while performing a conjuring trick for the amusement of his children, he accidentally swallowed a coin which became lodged in his throat. (–––– 5 ––––) Eventually, at the suggestion of his father, Sir Marc, Isambard was strapped to a board and turned upside-down, and the coin was jerked free. Brunel suffered a stroke in 1859, just before the Great Eastern made its first voyage to New York. He died ten days later and is buried, like his father, at Kensal Green Cemetery in London. His son, Henri Marc Brunel, also enjoyed some success as a civil engineer.

• His colleagues and admirers felt the bridge would be a fitting memorial and started to raise new funds and to amend the design.

• Though a failure at its original purpose for passenger travel, it eventually found a role as an engineering ship.

• The initial group of engines ordered by Brunel to his own specifications proved unsatisfactory.

• Even before the Great Western Railway was opened, Brunel was moving on to his next project to build ships which could sail across the Atlantic.

• A special medical tool failed to remove it, as did a machine to shake it loose created by Brunel himself