A city without cars would be very strange, right? But Venice is such a city.

    Venice is   1    the northeast of Italy.  It wasn't built    2  , like Beijing or Shanghai, but on more than 110 islands. Seawater is  3  around the city.

    Even so, travel isn't difficult. The waterways have always been the best way to get around. There are 117 waterways and more than 400 bridges   4 can guide you where you want to go. People in Venice move   5  by boat.  They like to enjoy the scenery and cool summer nights while  6 boat trips. They can talk to other people as they go along.

    Venice grew out of small islands in saltwater lakes when some Italians    7    from a war over 1,500 years ago, and built homes there.

    Water makes the city special, but it is also a big problem. Sometimes tourists will have such strange8. One moment they walk across the Rialto Bridge, and there's 9   . Butwhen they come back to the bridge an hour later, it's underwater and everyone is wearing rain shoes.

    Once, people used 10  underground water. This made the city get lower   11  .Now the city has gone down by 23 centimeters. Another problem is the   12 seawater.The temperature has risen over the years. This has made the ice of the Arctic Ocean(北冰洋) melt.

    Every year, high waters hit the city in autumn and winter.  When a lot of water   13   , more than half of the city is underwater.

    Scientists are trying different ways to stop the city from getting   14 lower. The Italian government has asked some of Italy's biggest companies to build the MOST project, which was planned  15   under the seawater to stop the rising water. Anyway, this project is helping solve the problem.

    What do you often do for your father on Father's Day? Father Day has a very 1 history and it became a state festival in 1972 in America. Because some Americans thought that if we had a Mother's Day, we should also have a Father's Day.

    Father's Day is becoming very 2 in North America. People there do different kinds of things for their fathers on that day. And businessmen find it is a good way to make people buy presents for their fathers from their 3.

    Except(除…以外)America, very 4countries have a Father's Day, though some have a Children's Day, or a 5 day for boys or for boys and girls. More and more countries are having Mother's Day, 6 maybe Father's Day will become popular soon.

    Now what are people in North America doing on Father's Day? The newspapers, radios, and TV 7 children what they should do -buy, buy, buy Father's Day present for your father. They even want the wife to buy a Father's Day present not for her father but for her 8.

    The presents they buy for their dads are often not very9, as children don't have much money. But the important thing to remember about Father's Day is that American children can show their 10 to their fathers on that day.

    Do you often celebrate Mother's Day? In the US, Mother's Day is a holiday on the second Sunday in1. It is a day when children give

Their 2 cards, presents and flowers.

    One of the best3 to celebrate Mother's Day is to give your mother the day off. Let her have a good rest 4 other members of the family do the 5.

    Many families begin Mother's Day with6in bed. Usually Dad and the children will let Mum7late as they go into the kitchen and get ready 8her favourite meal. A Mother's Day breakfast can make anything your mum likes.

    After the food is cooked, keep everything9 on a plate. Don't forget to put the bottle10only one flower. It's spring here, the children can pick the nicest11from the garden outside. When everything is ready, carefully carry the plate and Mum's favourite books and newspapers up to her bedroom. Cards and small presents from the children can be put on the plate12it is given to Mum in bed.

    Many families take Mum out to her favourite 13for a meal, Itisagoodday1oletyour mum14and let her see what a wonderful 15 she has.