St Pancras – exercise 2
An exercise checking you understand key facts made in the article about the re-opening of this train station in London.
1. [Multiple choice]
The article suggests that the United Kingdom has been very slow getting round to restoring this major railway station.
(- there have been ‘years of parsimony and dithering’.)
Answers for Quiz [1].
- 1. True (correct)
- 2. False
2. [Multiple choice]
The age of the railway is now past.
(– there is evidence that trains are ‘enjoying a 21st-century renaissance’.)
Answers for Quiz [2].
- 1. True
- 2. False (correct)
3. [Multiple choice]
Many people have great affection for train transport.
(– the article mentions the ‘romance’ of tailway travel, showing that many people are fond of trains and train travel.)
Answers for Quiz [3].
- 1. True (correct)
- 2. False
4. [Multiple choice]
The main guests present at the opening ceremony were business people and politicians.
(– they were from all sorts of different walks of life. There was the Queen of England with the Duke of Edinburgh, local and national politicians, people involved in rail transport on many levels, including architects, and railway ‘chiefs’, ie directors, but also people from the world of media and entertainment – journalists, orchestral players, singers and so on.)
Answers for Quiz [4].
- 1. True
- 2. False (correct)
5. [Multiple choice]
Underneath the main station building people can now buy rail-tickets, meet friends arriving on trains from abroad, or go shopping.
(– the undercroft has been transformed from being just a beer cellar where beer was stored to a large arrival and departure point for Eurostar trains, the purchasing of tickets, and a shopping arcade.)
Answers for Quiz [5].
- 1. True (correct)
- 2. False
6. [Multiple choice]
We have been quick to upgrade our railway system to match that of the French since the building of the Channel Tunnel and the start of Eurostar.
(– it has been a source of some national embarrassment that our trains have been so slow on this side of the Channel. The comment about trains from the continent having been stuck behind slow trains in the past (eg the 8.16 all-stations-to-Folkestone) refers to this fact. Trains can now travel at speed (186 miles per hour) on both sides of the Channel.)
Answers for Quiz [6].
- 1. True
- 2. False (correct)
7. [Multiple choice]
Trains leaving from and arriving at St Pancras station will all be bound for the Continent.
(– it is not just a station serving the Continent, it will also serve Britain with its train links, as there are further transport connections to come – firstly some links all over Britain.)
Answers for Quiz [7].
- 1. True
- 2. False (correct)