3. Complete the text by putting one word in each space. Use the words in the box. Check the meaning of any new words in the dictionary.

▪ mechanism ▪ walkways ▪ steel framework

▪ wharf ▪ hinges ▪ bascule ▪height

▪ traffic-way ▪ symbol ▪ towers

This flamboyant piece of Victorian engineering, designed by Sir Horace Jones, was completed in 1894 and soon became a (1) ______________ of London. Its two Gothic towers contain the (2) ____________ for raising the roadway to permit large ships to pass through. The (3) _______________ are made of a supporting (4) _____________clad in stone, and are linked by two high level (5)_______________ which were close between 1909 and 1982 due to their popularity with suicides and prostitutes. The bridge now houses The Tower Bridge Experience, with interactive display bridging the bridge’s history to life. There are fine river views from a look at the steam engine room that powered the lifting machinery until 1976, when the system was electrified.

This bridge built in 1894, is still in daily use even though the traffic in and out

of the London (6) ___________ has increased to an extraordinary extent during the

course of the 20th century.

Even today Tower Bridge regulates a large part of the impressive traffic of the Port of London. Due to a special mechanism, the main (7) ___________ consisting of two parts fixed to two (8) ___________ at the ends can be lifted up. In this way, the entrance and departure of extremely large vessels is possible, and allows them to reach the Pool of London.

While the central stay measures 142 feet, each (9) _____________ to be raised weighs 1,000 tons. Nowadays the pedestrian path is closed. This footpath crossing which used to be allowed was by the upper bridge which connected the top of each tower, situated at a (10) ____________ of 142 feet above the waters of the famous Thames.

Tower Bridge commands wide and magnificent views of both the city and the river. After Tower Bridge, the wharves of London extend until Tilbury – the gigantic port of this city, which has one of the heaviest movements of ocean-going traffic in the entire world, occupies practically the whole of the Thames from Teddington. It is virtually impossible to get a complete idea of its colossal extent ion. In fact it is one wharf after another, apparently continuing endlessly.

There is one way to form a closer idea of the grandiosity of this port: to view it from Tower Bridge on a clear day. To get the most accurate idea of its formidable extension and complexity, one can recommend taking one of the boats that during the summer months are organized to ply popular sightseeing trips along the Thames.