When the Western European nations rose to power in the 15th and 16th centuries, their aim was to find a trade route to the East.

admin2015-12-31  29

问题     When the Western European nations rose to power in the 15th and 16th centuries, their aim was to find a trade route to the East.
    Competition for the priceless Eastern trade was intense, and France, with ports on the Mediterranean, was a special rival of England. During the 17th and 18th centuries she considered the possibility of piercing the Isthmus of Suez for a shortcut waterway to the East. With Napoleon when he occupied Egypt went a noted French engineer, to study the problem.
    But it was not until 1859 that a Frenchman, Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had long been fascinated by the idea of a canal, turned the first spadeful of earth to start the excavations.
    De Lesseps, by virtue of his diplomacy and charm, had found favor with the Egyptian viceroy. Over bitter opposition from the British, who saw communication with their Indian empire threatened, he had won concessions from the Egyptians and Turks, making possible for the work to go forward.
    Although de Lesseps had hoped to have the enterprise financed by all the great western powers, most of the capital was provided by France and Egypt. Finally de Lesseps’ dream was realized, and in the summer of 1869 the waters of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean were united.  
Great Britain did not want to see the French build the Suez Canal because it would give France an advantage in Eastern trade competition and because______.

选项 A、it endangered ties with India
B、it would give France a military advantage
C、France might then gain control of Egypt
D、the English disliked both the French and the Egyptians

答案A

解析 根据文章第四段第二句,英国人强烈反对德·勒赛普的方案,因为他们看到他们与印度帝国间的交往会受到威胁,但勒赛普还是赢得了埃及和土耳其的特许权,使得他的工程能继续下去。因此,本题的正确答案应选A“英国反对法国修建苏伊士运河的原因是怕它与印度的联系会受到威胁”。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/0EPO777K
0

最新回复(0)