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.

    The White House is an important historical building in the USA. It lies1the country's capital. Many people expect to see the palace with their own eyes.

    We spent six months getting tickets to visit the White House. I was2with excitement while we were waiting in the White House South Lawns. The first thing3 interested me was the colorful flowers and green grass.

    Everything inside and outside was4kept in the white House. We went through many security checks(安检) 5entering the building. In the east hallway on the first floor, I saw the pictures of past presidents on the walls. The6had over 2700 books. The Vermeil Room and China Room showed different collections.

    We walked upstairs to the State Floor. The East Room, the7in the White House, was the most wonderful in its size and furniture. This is the room where the president usually8the reporters. The Green, Blue and Red Rooms on the same floor got their names because of the9 of the furniture and walls. These rooms are 10 having parties for state guests.

    The Spring Festival is the Chinese 1 .It usually comes 2 February.Everyone in China 3 it very much.Before the festival, they usually 4 their houses and do a lot of 5. 6 that day, people always have a 7 dinner.They eat dumplings and some other 8 food.At night, they 9 music and dance show 10 TV.

    The Chinese people in other countries also 11 the Spring Festival.They 12 some traditional Chinese food from the 13. Sometimes they can enjoy the 14 dance and fireworks there.

    All the Chinese around the world are 15 on that day.

    I'm Victor, from the United States. This is my first time in 1 .One day some new colleagues(同事) invited me to 2 . At first, I was quite happy and learned to use chopsticks, but later 3 started.

    That day, I had a 4. I felt uncomfortable with my nose, 5 I turned away from the table and blew my nose(擤鼻涕). My colleagues looked at me 6 . They explained to me that in Japan, people don't blow their noses in 7—especially at table.

    When I was trying to stick my 8 in my bowl of rice, one of my colleagues said, "Don't do that. Just leave them on the table." Later, I found that leaving your chopsticks in your rice 9 death in Japanese culture!

    The next time I 10 to blow my nose, I left the table and went to the toilet. 11 I returned, it was nearly time to leave. I noticed there were some small bowls 12 water in them on the table. It smelt good and I started 13 it before it got cold. Then I saw some of my colleagues cover their mouths. They were trying not to 14. "What's the matter?" I asked the colleague next to me. "It's for washing 15 fingers," he said. For a moment, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

    Dinner customs (习俗) are different around the world. If you are a guest in Ghana (加纳), these pieces of1will help you a lot.

    In Ghana, dinner is usually from four to six in the afternoon. But there are no2rules (规则) about time. Whenever a guest arrives, a family3food. When you go to a home, the person4receives guests takes you to the living room first. At this time5welcomes you. Then you go to the dining room. There you wash your hands in a bowl of water. All the food is on the table.

    In Ghana you usually eat with your fingers. You eat6the same dish as everyone else. But you can only eat from one7of the dish. It is impolite to get food from8side of the dish. After dinner, you wash your hands again in a bowl of water.

    Most meals in Ghana contain a dish called fufu. People in Ghana9fufu from the powder (粉末) of some plants. Sometimes they cut fufu with a saw(锯子) 10 it is very hard. You must chew(咀嚼) fufu well, or you may get sick. You should only eat fufu with the fingers of your right hand.