8．
阅读理解
A city without cars
would be very strange, right? But Venice is such a city.
Venice is in the
northeast of Italy. It wasn't built on land, like Beijing or Shanghai, but on
more than 110 islands. Seawater is everywhere around the city.
Even so, travel isn't
difficult. The waterways have always been the best ways to get around. There
are 117 waterways and more than 400 bridges that can guide you where you want
to go. People in Venice move from place to place by boat. They like to enjoy
the scenery and cool summer nights while taking boat trips. They can talk to
other people as they go along.
Venice grew out of
small islands in saltwater lakes when some Italians escaped from a war more
than 1,500 years ago, and built homes there.
Water makes the city
special, but it is also a big problem.
Once, people used too
much underground water. This made the city get lower little by little. Now the
city has gone down by 23 centimeters. Another problem is the rising seawater.
The temperature has risen over the years.
This has made the ice
of the Arctic Ocean (北冰洋)
melt (融化).
Every year, high
waters hit the city in autumn and winter. When a lot of water comes, more than
half of the city is underwater.
Scientists are trying
different ways to stop the city from getting even lower.
