"City of Water", Venice, Italy, is a magical place. It is one of the few cities in the world where the sound of cars is never heard. Instead, when it is quiet, one hears the lapping of waves against the city's magnificent Renaissance buildings.

Venice is located in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea and is built on islands linked by more than 400 bridges. All transportation is by boat or on foot. Venice's most famous vehicles are gondolas, which drift slowly through the city's famed canals as the men steering the boats serenade passengers with arias from Italian operas.

Venice becomes even more enchanting during the carnival. The carnival is an annual celebration before Lent, a 40-day period of fasting that precedes Easter. The dates of the carnival vary year depending on the date of Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

Venice's architecture includes representations of Italian, Arabic, Byzantine, and Renaissance styles. There are some 450 palaces and homes of major historic importance in Venice. Notable among its 400 bridges is the Bridge of Sighs and among its churches is St. Mark's Basilica. Most of the city's workers find employment in tourism and related industries, though the city also plays a key market role within the vibrant economic system of the Veneto region.

意大利的“水城”威尼斯是一个神奇的天堂，它是世界上少数几个听不到汽车声的城市之一。不过，当它很宁静的时候，你可以倾听水浪拍打着文艺复兴时期留下的宏伟建筑的声音。

威尼斯坐落于亚得里亚海的泻湖，建在由400多座桥梁连接而成的岛屿上。所有的交通方式就是通过船或步行。威尼斯最著名的交通工具就是冈多拉，它们缓缓漂过城市里有名的运河，这时候船夫们会为乘客唱意大利歌剧的曲调。

狂欢节上的威尼斯尤其迷人。狂欢节在每年四旬斋节前举行。四旬斋节即人们在复活节前禁食40天。每年狂欢节的时间都根据圣灰星期三来定，即四旬斋的第一天。

威尼斯建筑具有意大利、阿拉伯、拜占庭和文艺复兴建筑的风格。艺术、历史名胜约450处。市里400座桥梁中的叹息桥和众多教堂中的圣马可大教堂最为著名。这个城市的大部分工人就业于旅游业及相关的行业，同时该城也在威尼托地区活跃的经济体系中起着主要的市场作用。

magical adj. 有魔力的

steer vt. 掌舵

enchanting adj. 迷人的

celebration n. 典礼，庆祝会

employment n. 雇佣，职业

vehicle n. 交通工具

serenade vt. 为……歌唱小夜曲

公司透露要组织集体旅游，大家都在猜想将去什么地方。Benjamin 和Todd 在上班的路上相遇，也谈起了这个话题。

B = Benjamin 本 = 本杰明 T = Todd 托 = 托德

B: Good Morning, Todd.

T: Good Morning. Have you heard that we will have a travel?

B: Of course. I'm thinking about it all these days. Do you know where will we go?

T: I wish it is Venice. Although I had been there once, its charm still attracts me.

B: Venice? "City of Water"?

T: Yeah. More than one hundred canals cut the city into over one hundred islands, connected only by bridges of various styles. Newcomers maybe get lost in the "City of Water", but if you go along the Grand Canal, "the longest street in Venice", you will find your way, because it runs through the city like an "S".

B: So shall we enjoy the scenery by boat?

T: It's the only traffic there, named "gondola". Do you know the beautiful legend of "Bridge of Sighs"?

B: No. Tell me!

T: At sunset, if there is a pair of lovers, when the bell sounds, kissing under the "Bridge of Signs", they will never separate.

B: How romantic!

本：早上好啊，托德。

托：早上好。你有没有听说我们将会去旅游的事儿呢？

本：当然听说了。这些天我一直都在想这个问题呢!你认为我们会去哪儿呢？

托：我希望是威尼斯。虽然我已经去过一次了，但它对我仍有吸引力。

本：威尼斯？“水城”吗？

托：是啊。这个城市被一百多条运河割成一百多座小岛。岛与岛之间只凭各式桥梁错落连接，初来乍到可能会迷失在这座“水城”中。但只要你沿着大运河，这条号称“威尼斯最长的街道”走的话，你就不会迷路，因为它呈S形，贯穿整个城市。

本：所有我们将乘船欣赏风景。

托：那是唯一的交通工具，叫做“冈多拉”。你听过叹息桥的美丽传说吗？

本：没有。给我讲讲吧！

托：如果有一对恋人，在日落时分，钟声响起之际，乘坐冈多拉在叹息桥下相吻的话，他们将会永远在一起。

本：好浪漫啊！

charm n. 吸引力

scenery n. 风景

sunset n. 日落

canal n. 运河

sigh n. 叹息

romantic adj. 浪漫的

假如你的一位外国朋友到你家来做客时，听你说你去过威尼斯，于是便想让你为它介绍一下这座水城。试着完成下面的对话。

1. 外国朋友: Why is it called "City of Water"?

你：______________________________________________________

2. 外国朋友: Will we get lost in Venice?

你：______________________________________________________

3. 外国朋友: I heard that "Bridge of Sighs" has a beautiful legend. What is it?

你：______________________________________________________

1. Because more than one hundred canals cut the city into over one hundred islands, connected only by bridges of various styles. And boat is the only traffic.

2. Maybe. But if you go along the Grand Canal, "the longest street in Venice", you will find your way, because it runs through the city like an "S".

3. At sunset, if there is a pair of lovers, when the bell sounds, kissing under the "Bridge of Sighs", they will never separate.

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