Part II 1. BRIDGES Read the following text and fill in the gaps with the words from the box below. bridges constructed structure stones languages Design material |
A bridge is a (1) __________ built to span a valley, road, body of water, or other physical obstacle, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. (2) __________ of a bridge depends on the function of a bridge, the nature of the terrain (= place, territory) where the bridge is (3)__________ , the (4) __________ used to make it and the funds (= money) available to build it.
The Oxford English Dictionary tells us that the origin of the word bridge comes from an Old English word ‘brycg’, of the same meaning, derived from a hypothetical Proto-Germanic root ‘brugjō’. There are cognates in other Germanic (5) __________ (for instance ‘brücke’ in German, ‘brug’ in Dutch, ‘brú’ in Icelandic, ‘brúgv’ in Faroese or ‘bro’ in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish).
The first (6) __________ appeared in ancient times. They were made by nature itself — for example, a log fallen across a river or (7) __________ in the water. The first bridges made by humans were constructed with the help of wooden logs which served as girders, stones, long bamboo sticks or other harvested fibers which were woven together to form a connective rope.
One of the oldest arch bridges, The Arkadiko Bridge, is one of four Mycenaean arch bridges and part of a former network of roads in the Peloponnese, in Greece. Dating to the Greek Bronze Age (13th century BC), the bridge is still in existence and use.
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