What was the most dangerous engineering project? It was the Panama Canal (巴拿马运河). It lets ships pass between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The French started the project in the 1880s. However, the work was too difficult, and they stopped. About 56, 300 people worked on the canal.
The area' around the canal was very dangerous. It was very hot and wet, with about267cm of rain in a year. The heavy rain often made the rivers flood (发洪水).
One of the greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century was the Alaska Pipeline (阿拉斯加输没管). In 1968, an oil company (公司) found the largest oil field in North America.
They worked with some other oil companies to build a pipeline.
The Alaska Pipeline is one of the longest pipelines in the world. It carries oil for 800 miles through the cold, hard land of Alaska. More than 70, 000 workers built it. They worked for more than three years in very cold temperatures. They finished the work in 1977.
A. Thousands of workers died from illnesses and accidents. B. The US spent a lot of money on the canal. C. It is in Central America and is 50 miles long. D. It crosses three mountains and more than 800 rivers. E. The US continued the project in 1904 and finished it in 1914. F. But, how could they get oil from Alaska to the rest (其他) of the US? |