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TEXT 11 D PANAMA CANAL

1. The construction of the Panama Canal had a long and not a simple history The first steps were undertaken in 1880 by a Frenchman, Ferdinand de Lesseps who had built the Suez Canal. His idea was to build the Panama Canal by driving it straight through, at sea level. To carry out this plan it was necessary to deep cuts through rocky hills and mountains, which was soon found to be hard to achieve.

2. Then another French expedition was sent out to see what could be done But again the technical difficulties were too much for them Moreover, lots of workers died from yellow fever.

3. In early 1900's the American government wanted to build a canal across the Isthmus of Panama The isthmus is the neck of land that joins North and South America and separates the Caribbean Sea from the Pacific

Ocean Building a canal across it would mean that American ships could travel quickly between the east and west coasts of the United States instead of having to make a long sea journey around South America.

4. The main problem was that the United States did not own the isthmus: it belonged to a Latin American country called Colombia In 1903, when the Colombian government was slow to give the Americans permission to build the canal, President Theodore Roosevelt sent warships to Panama. The warships helped a small group of Panamanian businessmen to rebel against the Colombian government.

5. The rebels won victory and declared Panama a new mdependent state. A few days later they gave the Americans control over a ten-and-a- half-mile wide strip of land called the Canal Zone across their new country. The way was clear for the Americans to build their canal

6. In 1908 Colonel Goethals - the man who turned a great engineering failure into a great victory - was appointed as a Chief Engineer in charge of the construction of the Panama Canal The first thing he did was to organize a fight against the diseases which had been killing the workers since the canal was first begun. All swamps and lakes were covered with a film of oil to destroy the breeding places of mosquitoes; windows and doors were protected with fine wire netting

i WRITING PRACTICE

a) You've received a letter from RBM Company in which they request you to send your curriculum vitae¹ (CV, i.e. brief personal history). Study the CV of your friend which provides the most important information about the applicant.

7. Colonel Goethals did not follow the idea of building a canal on the same level all the way His idea was to carry the canal at different heights by means of locks and slucies He was successful where so many others had failed. The canal was finished in October 1913, a great achievement in modem engineering. On the 10th of October President of the United States Wilson pressed a golden button in the White House in Washington; 2000 miles away the electric current from the White House made a dynamite charge explode and blew up the last dam between the finished canal and the sea. The Atlantic and the Pacific were now connected with each other.

Name	Andrew Silvery
Address	15, Pan Street.
	Austen, Texas,
	USA
Telephone No.	512 4732 986
Place of Birth	Zurich, Switzerland
Nationality	American
Marital Status	Single
Age
Education	High School,
	Chicago University
Languages	Fluent French besides
	the mother tongue
	English
Previous Experience	2 years in father's office
Interests	Travel, music,
	windsurfing

¹ При приеме на работу Вам потребуется представить краткую автобиографию - Curriculum vitae = CV = resume (USA). Она является основой для оценки и сравнения претендентов. Она должна давать четкие ответы на следующие вопросы:

1. Имя, адрес, номер телефона.

2. Дата и место рождения.

3. Национальность.

4. Семейное положение (женат, холост, перечислить детей и их возраст).

5. Образование (когда и какое учебное заведение окончил).

6. Знание иностранных языков..

7. Предыдущие места работы и должность.

8. Интересы, занятия, хобби.

Ниже приведены возможные ответы на эти вопросы:

1. Petr Ivanovich Volkov; 55 Apt, 20 Bid, Tverskaya St, Moscow, Russia; 4228340