For over a millennium, the Alps have stood as a solid rampart inhibiting European travel and trade. Before the European Union (EU) effectively erased the economic borders between the European nations, this wall did not much matter, as the trade routes were primarily localized. However, with the opening of the continent's economy, Switzerland began to see heavy truck traffic taking a major toll on its delicate highway passes roads intended more for tourism than for commerce. The solution was a constructive one-figuratively and literally: Dig a tunnel. Not just any tunnel would do-only the deepest, longest, most technically difficult hole ever bored: the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

At 35 miles long, this new tunnel is four miles longer than Europe's next longest contender: the Channel Tunnel between England and France. However, the real achievement of the Gotthard Base Tunnel has not been its length as much as its impressive depth. The Channel Tunnel is relatively shallow, while the new Swiss tunnel lies 1.2 miles below the mountain range's surface. Adding to the challenge presented by the necessary length and depth of the tunnel, the Gotthard massif, the rock formation through which the builders had to drill, is a geological jigsaw puzzle of folded and refolded layers of rock. The effort, although singularly demanding and expensive, will have a greater payoff economically than most such endeavors. Trucks will no longer need to burn gas grinding over the summit in low gear, as they will be replaced by fast, direct-route freight trains. high-speed electric passenger trains, outfitted to carry massive tons of cargo, will zip across the level tracks at 155 miles per hour. Also important for the Swiss economy, the road that snakes over the remote Gotthard Pass will once again be the province of tourists, preserved forever from the heavy trucks that once posed such a threat to this unparalleled scenic attraction.

1. It can be inferred from this passage that

A. the tunnel may help reduce consumption of fossil fuels in trade traffic.
B. the Swiss will profit from this tunnel more than the rest of Europe.
C. digging through a mountain is easier than tunneling under a body of water.
D. tourism is a very small part of Switzerland's economy.
E. the European Union forced Switzerland to build the Gotthard Base Tunnel.


2. The author most likely mentions the mountain's "folded and refolded layers of rock" (Highlighted) in order to

A. discourage others from attempting similar feats.
B. provide one example of a factor that facilitated construction.
C. describe in detail how the geology of the Gotthard massif was formed.
D. underscore the difficulty of this engineering achievement.
E. explain the techniques employed in drilling the Gotthard Base Tunnel.


3. Which statement, if true, would most strengthen the author's argument that the Gotthard Base Tunnel solution was "a constructive one-figuratively and literally"?

A. Polls indicate that tourists miss driving over the scenic mountain passes-although not enough to avoid taking the trains through the tunnel instead.
B. The tunnel will require the same level of upkeep as the highway passes.
C. A study shows that improving the roads of the Gotthard massif would have been cheaper than digging the tunnel.
D. The tunnel has generated an explosion of new revenue from increased tourism and commerce.
E. Research suggests that in 50 years, the highway passes will need to be improved anyway, despite the presence of the tunnel.