Experts have put forward detailed plans for a tunnel to connect Taiwan with the Chinese mainland.
The shortest proposed route would be 126 kilometers more than twice the length of the English Channel Tunnel. And the longest proposed route would be 207 kilometers.
A recent conference in Xiamen, Fujian Province brought together more than 70 experts. The event was co-sponsored (共同赞助) by universities from Taiwan and the Chinese mainland.
Fujian is the province where both proposed routes would begin. There is direct passenger access between the mainland and Taiwan by air and sea at the moment. Experts say that it is better to start research sooner rather than later, although there is a lack of government funding(资金). There are no technical problems to build a Taiwan tunnel. But it will require an improved political relationship across the Straits（海峡）.
A professor of Tsinghua University said, "A special feature of huge projects is that the period of preparation is longer than the period of construction."
For example, he said, the English Channel Tunnel took 14 years of planning and had been discussed for two centuries. And preparations for the huge Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River began in the 1950s.
The Xiamen conference focused on the longest southern route, which would pass Jinmen and Penghu.
The first stage of the new project could be a bridge to cross the five kilometers between Xiamen and Jinmen. This would mean that travelling from Xiamen to Jinmen by car would only take five minutes.
The longest tunnel now being planned anywhere in the world is the 54-kilometer land tunnel to link Lyon in France with Turin in Italy. The tunnel will not be completed until 2015-2020.
56. Which is the longest tunnel in the world at present?
A. The tunnel between Lyon and Turin. B. The English Channel Tunnel.
C. The Taiwan Straits tunnel. D. The passage doesn't mention it.
57. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Universities both at home and abroad have sponsored (赞助) the plan.
B. If the project is completed, the world's longest tunnel will appear.
C. You can reach Taiwan from the mainland directly at present.
D. The starting point of the proposed tunnel is in Fujian.
58. The example of English Channel Tunnel shows _______.
A. it's not easy to complete a huge project
B. there are many problems to be solved before doing something
C. discussions among countries usually take a lot of time
D. the preparation takes longer time than the construction
59. What is the major difficulty in carrying out the plan?
A. Improving the relationship between Taiwan and the mainland.
B. The lack of money for the project from the government.
C. The detailed plans for the tunnel.
D. The technical problems with the tunnel.