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, traveling isn't that difficult. The waterway has always been the best way to get around. There are 117 waterways and more than 400 bridges that connect one river with another and can also 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 the river.

    Water makes the city special, but it is also a big problem. Sometimes tourists will have such strange experiences. One moment they walk across the Rialto Bridge, and there's nothing special. But when they come back to the bridge an hour later, it's underwater and everyone is wearing rain shoes.

    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 that the temperature has risen over the years. This has made ice of the Arctic Ocean（北冰洋）melt（融化）.

    Scientists are trying different ways to stop the city from getting even lower. The Italian government has asked some of Italy's biggest companies to build the MOST project, which was planned to be built under the seawater to stop the rising water. Anyway, this project is helping solve the problem.

    Venice lies in the northeast of Italy. You can't{#blank#}1{#/blank#} cars in this strange city. Although it was built on {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 110 islands and seawater is almost everywhere around the city, traveling is{#blank#}3{#/blank#} There are 117 waterways and more than 400 bridges that connect one river with another one. People can take a {#blank#}4{#/blank#}from place to place there{#blank#}5{#/blank#} water makes the city special, it is also a big problem. Scientists are trying different ways to stop the city from being covered by water in the future.

    How would you persuade (劝说) your parents to support your dream? American actress Emma Stone created a PowerPoint presentation (陈述) to get her argument across.

    Stone is a rising star in Hollywood. She has played the role of Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man's high school love interest, in two Spider-Man movies.

The actress said she has something in common with her character in the film. "Gwen is clear on what she wants to do with her life... I think I am in the same ballpark (同一范围) there."

    Stone made up her mind to become an actress at the age of 15. But would her parents agree to her leaving school early and pursuing (追求) her dream? The young girl decided to think outside of the box.

    "I used a lot of computers when I was younger, and my dad's a businessman, so I just thought a presentation is the way to get my point across," she said.

She titled the presentation Project Hollywood and used pop singer Madonna's classic song Hollywood as the soundtrack, saying "just please let me move to LA to be an actress."

    Her tactic (策略) proved to be a success. In 2004, Stone dropped out of high school and moved with her mother to Los Angeles. She was homeschooled after that.

Now Stone is a successful actress with many films to her name. Her next step is to try different things like "bizarre (奇怪的)" characters or comedy. Will she persuade directors with PowerPoint presentations too?

    Answer the following questions:

    Giving Directions in Different Places

    If you ask people of different countries "Could you tell me the way to the post office?", you will get different answers.

    In Japan, people use landmarks(路标) instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers," Go straight down to the corner. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The post office is across from the bus stop."

    In Kansas, America, there are no towns or buildings within(在……之内) miles. So instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distance. For example, people will say, "Go north two miles(英里). {#blank#}2{#/blank#}"

    People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions. They will often say, "Follow me." {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Sometimes if the person doesn't know the answer to your question, he or she, like a New Yorker, might say, "Sorry, I have no idea." But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers "I don't know."{#blank#}4{#/blank#} They usually give an answer, but often a wrong one. A visitor can always get lost in Yucatan!

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You might not understand a person's words, but maybe you can understand his or her body language. He or she will usually point to the correct direction. Go on in that direction and you may find the direction.

A. Turn east, and then go another mile.

B. But one thing will help you everywhere.

C. People there think "I don't know." is not polite.

D. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market.

E. Then he or she will take you through the street of the city to the post office.

    I will never forget the lesson about my window. Four years ago, I moved to a house in a large town. One of my new neighbors' house was only a few feet away from mine.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Through one of my windows, I could see her reading by her window every afternoon.

    A few months later, I found I couldn't see the woman clearly. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I said to myself, "Why doesn't she clean her window? It looks terrible!"

    One afternoon, I decided to clean my house including (包括) the window.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} So I sat down by the window for a rest. What a surprise! I could see the woman reading there clearly again! By that time, I knew that my own window was too dirty, not hers! {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I had been watching her through my dirty window in the past days!

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Now I try to clean the window of my heart before judging(评判)others.