Hurricane katrina: the overview; new orleans is inundated as 2 levees fail; much of gulf coast is crippled; toll rises part a: which two statements express the central ideas of the text?

a. authorities in new orleans weren’t prepared for the chaos and destruction that would result from the levees breaking and the resulting flood.

b. the destruction caused by the flooding in new orleans was equal to what residents were expecting from hurricane katrina.

c. if residents had been given adequate warning about the hurricane and incoming flood by the government, countless lives could have been saved.

d. despite the widespread destruction caused by hurricane katrina and the flood, displaced residents are being adequately provided for by volunteers.

e. evacuation efforts for residents of new orleans, and other gulf coast states, were severely impeded by the damage caused by the hurricane and flooding.

f. louisiana didn’t have the proper plans in place to respond to a disaster of this magnitude, and because of this they lost more citizens than expected.

The “big dig” the “big dig” (the central artery/tunnel project) has been complex and challenging. located in boston, massachusetts, this tunnel is eight lanes wide and three-and-a-half miles long. what is most amazing about this tunnel is that it is constructed under a major highway and skyscrapers located in boston’s financial district. construction crews used “clamshell excavators” during this dig. these machines carved narrow trenches, and then a special substance was pumped into the trench to keep the dirt from caving in. finally, steel beams were lowered into the trench and concrete was pumped in. one problem that engineers faced while constructing the tunnel is the fact that the soil beneath boston is extremely loose and soggy. engineers solved this dilemma by freezing the soil and pumping very cold water into pipes beneath the city. to strengthen the soil even further, a special type of glue was injected into the ground to with the consolidation of the soil. 23 which phrase best defines the word excavator as used in the passage? a. a device used to measure underground temperatures b. a device used to level uneven surfaces c. a device used to move heavy objects d. a device used to dig holes