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.

    The Browns and Mary leave the train station for their home. After half an hour, they get to the Browns' home. Mary sees her new home, and she is very happy. She puts her jacket on the bed. Then Mrs. Brown says, "Mary, don't put your dirty jacket on the bed. "

    It's time for lunch. Mary is happy because she sees her favorite food chicken on the table. She tastes it and says, "Very nice. " Then Mr. Brown says, "Mary, you can't eat before your grandparents eat. And you mustn't talk when eating. "

    After lunch, Mary goes into Peter's room. Peter is not happy. He says, "Mary, you can't come into my room without(没有) asking me.

In the evening, the Browns go to bed but Mary doesn't. She is not happy because she thinks there are too many rules at the Browns' home. With her jacket, Mary goes to the train station. She likes it because there're no rules there.

    Critical thinking(批判性思维) is trying to improve the way you think. People use critical thinking in every area of life to solve problems and evaluate claims(评估主张).

    Like every other skill, critical thinking takes practice. When a problem comes our way, we need to think critically to decide how to solve it. When we see an advertisement, for example, we should stop and think. Advertisements are made to make people feel certain that they are true, and then people can buy the products. But is what the advertisement says true? Is it making a claim? Or does it only interest us? Critical thinking is important and stops us from making poor choices. In fact, we are using it if we ask questions naturally about what we see.

    Practice makes perfect. While you are growing in critical thinking, you'll become a wiser and more thoughtful person. There are many ways of doing practice. Here are a few.

    Read about a topic people disagree on. Look at articles or books on all sides of the subject. For each side of the subject, think carefully and evaluate it.

    When you see or hear a claim, ask questions about it. Who is making the claim and why?

    Evaluate your own thinking. Where and why do you think uncritically? How can you improve?

    Critical thinking should be part of everything we do. It may help you to succeed at work or school. Make yourself into a habit of critical thinking. Change your thoughts and change your world.

One day, you open the fridge and find some moldy (发霉的) food. But before you can throw it away, your mother stops you. She doesn't want to waste it, so she cuts off the moldy part and eats the rest. Is it safe to do this?

Mold can grow on almost all kinds of food. It is usually green, white, black or gray. Mold makes food soft and changes its color. Moldy food tastes quite bad and it's not safe to eat.

If you find mold in soft food, just throw it away. Soft food, such as bread, tomatoes or hot dogs, usually contains(含有) water, which allows mold to grow easily below its surface. Bacteria (细菌)can also grow along with it.

But it's easy to remove mold from hard food because mold can't grow very deep inside this kind of food. According to BBC news, you should cut about 2.5cm around and below the mold to remove it. It's OK to cut the moldy parts out of hard food and eat the rest. But if the food is completely covered with mold, you should still throw it away.

Most kinds of mold are bad for us. But some kinds of mold can be used to make food. For example, penicillin(青霉菌) can be used to make many types of cheeses , such as blue cheese. These cheeses are safe to eat and they're quite delicious as well.

Several years ago, the United Nations（the UN）issued（发行） a set of stamps celebrating poetry（诗歌）from around the world. The purpose was to show the important role poetry plays in shaping a nation's culture. For the Chinese stamp, the organization chose Li Bai's Thoughts on a Tranquil Night. For me, it was the perfect choice. I was moved by the feelings that everyone in the world could share: loneliness, homesickness and admiration for beauty and the wonders of nature. 

That poem was written more than 1, 300 years ago during the Tang dynasty. There were so many poets at that time. Li Bai seemed to be friends with most of them, including Gao Shi, Du Fu, Wang Changling and Meng Haoran. Those of you who have watched the film Chang'an probably know that, although being separated, these men knew each other's work and always tried to keep in touch. And, in a sense, they felt connected by a common goal—to do something useful for their country. 

Culture does serve the nation. It is the foundation（基础）on which a nation is built. It provides a nation with its values and spirits. The Chinese appreciate beauty, truth and goodness in their own culture as well as in other cultures. If they had lived during the same era, I believe that Li Bai and Shakespeare would have liked each other's poems. I can imagine them drinking, reading and talking about their poems. Shakespeare would have said, "Ah, yours is a lovely culture. I hope it lasts forever." And Li Bai would've said, "My wish for your culture is the same."

If you get stuck in a heavy rain, what would you do? You may be worried and want to find shelter immediately. But Song Dynasty poet Su Shi behaves differently {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Tune: Calming the Waves(定风波). 

Tune: Calming the Waves is one of Su's ci (词), {#blank#}2{#/blank#} type of poetry that was popular during the Song Dynasty. The ci begins by telling the reader that being{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (catch) in the sudden rain, Su has nothing but sandals(草鞋) and a cane(手杖). This shows {#blank#}4{#/blank#} his journey is challenging. Su {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (he) was no stranger to facing challenges. At that time, Su was charged with going {#blank#}6{#/blank#}the emperor through his literary work and therefore was banished (贬谪) to Hangzhou. But even so, he always stayed positive. Just{#blank#}7{#/blank#} he described in the ci, instead of being upset, Su chose to "walk{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (slow) and chant at ease(自在)". After the rain, looking at "the dreary beaten track" again, he{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (find) everything was the same as it {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(be) before. A small rain shower is just a brief part of the day, just as his political setbacks are but a small part of his life.