Reading passages

195-According to the passage, of all amphibious 
vehicles, only the Hovercraft --- .
A) offers the passengers seats supported with 
cushions 
B) operates with equal efficiency on both land and 
sea 
C) has a large fan which keeps the engine cool 
D) has become popularly known 
E) requires smooth ground or a calm sea 
The Rhine is a European river which rises in the 
Swiss Alps and flows northward for a distance of 
1320 kilometres, entering the North Sea just south of 
the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It is 
navigable all the way from the sea to Basle, 
Switzerland, and for this reason is of great 
commercial importance, serving the industrial region 
of Ruhr and such inland ports as Cologne, Mannheim 
and Strasbourg. It is connected by canal with the 
Danube and the Rhone Its most famous stretch is the 
Rhine Gorge, the steep sides being given over to 
vineyards. Politically, too, the Rhine has played a big 
part in European history, providing a natural frontier 
between French speaking people to the west and 
Germanic peoples to the east. 

---

 
 
36 
196 -It is stated in the passage that the industrial 
importance of the Rhine --- .
A) stems from its role as a link between Switzerland 
and the sea 
B) comes from its length of more than a thousand 
kilometres 
C) is a direct result of its rising in the Alps in 
Switzerland 
D) is due mainly to the river's political significance 
E) has been lessened in recent years because of 
failed vineyards 
197 -We understand from the passage that, the 
Danube and the Rhone ---- .
A) have, over the years, lessened the commercial 
importance of the Rhine 
B) flow through more countries than does the Rhine 
C) are of greater significance for Europe than the 
Rhine 
D) flow into the same sea as the Rhine 
E) are not connected with the Rhine naturally but 
artificially