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The Panama Canal --Connecting Oceans

A short canal saves ships thousands of miles

The Panama Canal (巴拿马运河) is an artificial 51-mile waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The idea for a Panama Canal dates back to the discovery of the Isthmus of Panama (巴拿马地峡) by Spanish explorer Vasco De Balboa in 1513. He discovered how narrow it was. Only 80.5 kilometres of land separated the Atlantic from the Pacific! The Spanish surveyed the area in hopes of building a canal. But the local government decided it was impossible.

Fast-forward to 1869, Ferdinand De Lesseps had completed the 163-km-long Suez Canal  (苏伊士运河), a waterway linking Europe and Asia. France asked him to repeat his success at Panama. He agreed to have a try. When digging started in 1881, Ferdinand De Lesseps thought building a canal across Panama would be easy. But he didn't realize that digging in a jungle (丛林) would be so dangerous. Ferdinand De Lesseps and his team gave up their project after thousands of workers died from diseases caused by mosquitoes(蚊子). American President Theodore Roosevelt quickly took over where the French crew had left off. He bought the canal property (运河的所有权) and sent a team of workers to finish the project. Led by John Stevens, the American team got rid of the mosquitoes. This effort helped the team of nearly 40,000 workers to stay healthy and productive (富有成效的) . The team used powerful steam shovels (蒸汽挖土机) to make a path for the canal. But even with the help of such large equipment(装备), the work progressed slowly. Finally, after nearly 10 years of non-stop digging, the canal successfully opened in 1914.The story didn't make the headlines, though. The public was focused(专注) on World War I. Therefore the canal wasn't dedicated  (举行落成典礼) until July 12, 1920. Since the canal first opened, more than 960,000 ships have traveled through it. The Panama Canal has become an important link in global（全球性的）shipping. A journey that used to take months now takes two weeks.

1.How wide was the Isthmus of Panama which separated the Atlantic from the Pacific?

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2.Who bought the Panama Canal property?

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3.What did the team use to make a path for the canal?（in no more than three words）

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4.How long did it take people to complete the work on Panama Canal?（in no more than three words）

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5.Why is the Panama Canal an important link in global shipping?

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