30-day-listening Challenge Day 2

AUDIO

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Listen and fill in the gaps.

… and the next part of this talk is on the Panama Canal. It’s amazing how this one small section of a small country can be so important to the world. Let’s learn a little bit about the canal itself, before we look at how it connects to everything else.

The Panama Canal is 1……………………………….in the Central American country of Panama that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. It is only 2………………………………. . If you go around South America 3……………………………….then you need to travel another 4………………………………. . So the canal saves a lot of travel time. It takes around 5………………………………. to cross the canal.

The French started building the canal in 6………………………………. but they couldn’t finish it. The project was started again in 7………………………………. by the United States and the canal was finally finished in 1914.  Many people died while they were building the canal, some say up to 8………………………………. . For the rest of the 20th century, the United States controlled the canal, but gave control back to Panama in 9……………………………….

Every year, around 10………………………………. ships come through the canal. These are mostly 11………………………………. They transport goods for trade between Asia and America, or Europe. In 12………………………………. the government of Panama made the canal bigger, so that now 13………………………………. of ships can pass through it.

Let’s now turn to the role of the Panama Canal in the global economy …