Read 3 2.2

The Golden Gate Bridge spans the Golden Gate, connecting San Francisco to Marin County. It was completed in 1937 after four years of construction, during which only 11 workers died due to new safety measures. Alcatraz Island, located 2.4 km offshore from San Francisco, was the site of a federal prison from 1934 to 1963. Over 40 million vehicles now cross the Golden Gate Bridge annually.

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Read 3 2.2

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READING PASSAGE 2

Youshould spend about 20 minutes on Questions 13-25, which are based

on Reading Passage 2 below.

—THE GOLDEN BRIDGE.

GATE
A. The Golden Gate Bridge stretches across the Golden Gate - the opening of the
San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean. It was first named Chrysopylae,
meaning golden gate, by CaptainJohn C. Fremont in 1846. It is a suspension
bridge that is crossed by thousands of cars, bicycles and people each day, and
links San Francisco with Marin County. Marin Headlands is a place where
people enjoy the views that stretch from Golden Gate Park to AlcatrazIsland,
the latter being the home of the famous prison that each year attracts
thousands of tourists from around the world.

B. AlcatrazIsland, often referred to as the Rock,is located 2.4 km offshore from

San Francisco. The small island early-on served initially as a lighthouse, then
later a militaryfortification,a militaryprison, and most famouslyas a federal
prison until 1963. Later, in 1972,Alcatrazbecame a national recreation area,
and now the island is a recognised historic site operated by the National Park
Serviceas part of the Golden Gate NationalRecreationArea and is open to
tours. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Pier 33, near Fisherman's
Wharf in San Francisco.

C. The United States DisciplinaryBarrackson Alcatrazwas acquired by the United

States Department of Justice on October 12, 1933, and the island became a
federal prison in August 1934. Over the years of its operation, the jail held
many famous criminals including the infamous Al Capone, and Robert Franklin
Stroud (later depicted in the movies as the Birdman of Alcatraz).The island
also provided housing for the Bureau of Prison staff and their families. During
its 29 years of operation, the jail claimed no prisoners had ever successfully
escaped. Prisoners are recorded to have been involved in only fourteen escape

Test 2 123
would-be escapees were caught
attempts, two men t"ing twice. Twenty three
and three were lost at sea and
six were shot and killed during their escape,
incident occurred on May 2, 1946 when a failed
never found. The most violent
to the so-called Battle of Alcatraz.
escape attempt by six prisoners led

Baermann Strauss,who would go on to become the Chief Engineer

D. Joseph
spent his life envisaging
involvedin constructionof the Golden Gate Bridge,
Golden Gate. Strauss was an
building a bridge that could stretch across the
bridges in the US, and
engineer born in Cincinnati, famous for building
Bridge was completed
decided to make his dream a reality. The Golden Gate
it was $35 million
after four years of construction work. The final cost to build
bridge, a new
US dollars. Only eleven lives were lost during construction of the
safetyrecord for the time. In the 1930s,bridge builders expected one fatality
per $1 million in construction costs, thus builders expected 35 people to die
while building the Golden Gate Bridge. One of the bridge's safety innovations
was a net suspended under the floor. The Golden Gate Bridge opened to the
public in 1937 and at 12 0'clock noon President Roosevelt pressed a telegraph
key in the White House announcing the event. Though Strauss lived to achieve
his engineering ambition, he died one year subsequent to completion of the
project.

E. The Golden Gate Bridge has helped to build fame for San Francisco and is
today the city's biggest icon. It was built based on an Ag Deco theme. Wide
ribbingon the horizontaltower bracingemphasisesthe sun's light on the
bridge. The tower stands 500 feet above the road. The architect Irving Morrow
was hired by Strauss to paint the bridge orange to match the setting and
surroundings of the bridge, whilst still being easy to see for passing ships.
There were a total of 38 painters that worked on the bridge, along
with 17
ironworkers who replaced corroding steel and rivets.

F. The Golden Gate bridge is a 5 lane bridge which

stands at around 400 feet in
height. Tolls are collected but only on the way
in (going south). Before the
bridge existed, the only way to travel betweep
San Francisco and Marin County
was by ferry boat. The ferry service began for
purposes of transporting water to

24 | Reading Passage 2
San Francisco. The Sausalito Land And Ferry Company launched in 1867 and
then became the Golden Gate Ferry Company. It took approximately20
minutes to cross and cost $1.00, the price was later dropped to compete with
the second travel option of the new bridge. The Golden Gate Bridgewas the
bridge with the longest span in the world from its completion until the
Verrazano Narrows Bridge was built in New York in 1964. Today, it still has the
seventh-longest main span in the world.

G. At the southern most end of the Golden Gate Bridge is Fort Point. Fort Point
was designated a National Historic Monument on October 16, 1970. It was
at the beginning of the CivilWar to protect San
made from brick in 1853—1861
Franciscofrom attack by sea. Spain had built an adobe structure on top of a
white cliff at Fort Point's current location in 1793-94.A number of other
locations on both sides of the golden gate were developed as gun batteries for
later conflicts such as WVT. Fort Point was also used as a base of operations for
building the Golden Gate.

H. About 40 million crossings over the Golden Gate Bridge are made per year,
counting both north- and southbound crossings,compared to 33 million
crossing the first year it was open. An unbelievable amount of visitors and each
day the list continues to grow as tourists flock to visit San Francisco's Golden
Gate Bridge.

Test 2 |25
Questions 13 - 1 7