Venice, one of the cities in Italy, was founded in A.D.811 by the people of Malamocco, fleeing（逃跑）from the Franks. It was said that they were guided by pigeons carrying little crosses, and settled where now Venice lies.

Venice is built on 117 islands. It has 150 canals and 400 bridges. The narrow streets, with their historic names, are covered with stones, but have no footpaths. They are dotted with flowershop signs and lanterns. Shops and palaces stand by side. The brick bridges are high enough to allow boats to pass freely under them.

The center of public life is St. Mark’s Square where tourists and citizens sit in the famous Florian and Quadri cafes to listen to music, enjoying themselves. The Quadri is more popular but the Florian, founded in 1720, is the best-known cafe because it has received such great persons as Byron (an English poet) and Goethe (a German poet).

Unfortunately the special position of Venice is threatening（威胁）its own existence. The terrain（地势）on which it is built began to sink while the level of the surrounding waters is constantly rising. However, many measures have already been taken to prevent the city from sinking.

In the second paragraph, the author _______.

Which of the following shows the right relationship?（○=Italy; △=Venice; □=St. Mark’s Square）

Why is the Florian the famous cafe? Because _________.

From the article we can see that _______.

  The Atlantic Ocean is one of the oceans that separate the Old World from the New. For centuries it kept the Americans from being discovered by the people of Europe.

       Many wrong ideas about the Atlantic made early sailors unwilling to sail far out into it. One idea was that it reached out to “the edge of the world.” Sailors were afraid that they might sail right off the earth. Another idea was that at the equator（赤道）the ocean would be boiling hot.

       The Atlantic Ocean is only half as big as the Pacific, but it is still very large. It is more than 4,000 miles (6,000km) wide where Columbus crossed it. Even at its narrowest it is about 2,000 miles (3,200km) wide.

       Two things make the Atlantic Ocean rather unusual. For so large an ocean it has very few islands. Also, it is the world’s saltiest ocean.

       There is so much water in the Atlantic that it is hard to imagine how much there is. But suppose no more rain fell into it and no more water was brought to it by rivers. It would take the ocean about 4,000 years to dry up. On the average the water is a little more than two miles (3.2km) deep, but in places it is much deeper. The deepest spot is near Puerto Rico. This “deep” measures 30,246 feet-almost six miles (9.6km).

       One of the longest mountain ranges of the world rises from the floor of the Atlantic. This mountain range runs north and south down the middle of the ocean. The tops of a few of the mountains reach up above the sea and make islands.

       Several hundred miles eastward from Florida there is a part of the ocean called the Sargasso Sea. Here the water is quiet, for there is little wind. In the days of sailing vessels（船）the crew were afraid they would be becalmed（停滞不前）here. Sometimes they were.

       Today the Atlantic is a great highway. It is not, however, always a smooth and safe one. Storms sweep across it and pile up great waves. Icebergs（冰山）float down from the Far North across the paths of ships.

       We now have such fast ways of traveling that this big ocean seems to have grown smaller. Columbus sailed for more than two months to cross it. A fast modern steamship can make the trip in less than four days. Airplanes fly from New York to London in only eight hours and from south America to Africa in four!

TIANJIN, Feb. 6 - The computer viruses known as "Kompu" and "Happytime" will attack China next week, but damage will be limited, predicted the Tianjin-based National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center on Sunday.

The center - the only anti-virus products testing and certification center authorized by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security - raised the alert about the two viruses, which are expected to hit the country from Feb. 6 to 12.

The experts explained that the Wm_Kumpu virus originated in Estonia and appears on the computer screens with the messages "Mul on paha tuju!" and "Tahan kommi", which mean "I am in bad mood" and "Give me some candy".

The Vbs_Happytime, a virus in e-mail attachments, can eliminate.exe and .dll files in the computer hard disks.

Experts warned computer users who may log on to the Internet to receive mail or visit Internet chat rooms when they finish the week-long Spring Festival vacation and return to work on Monday.

The center advised computer system maintenance technicians to scrutinize their systems and upgrade anti-viral software as precautions against the viruses, before the routine working week starts on Monday.

Experts with the center said that there is no need to immediately format computer hard drives stricken with the viruses, since the viruses can not possibly damage all data on the hard disk in a short period of time. Computer users can use software and tools to restore the lost data.

At the beginning of this century, medical scientists made an interesting discovery; we are built not just of flesh and blood but also of time. They were  (1)  to show that we all have “a body clock”  (2)  us, which controls the  (3)  and fall of our body energies,  (4)  us different from one day one to the next.

The   (5)  of “a body clock” should not be too  (6)  since the lives of most living things are controlled  (7)   the 24 hour night-and-day cycle. We feel  (8)  and fall asleep at night and become   (9)  and energetic during the day. If the 24 hour-cycle is  (10)  , most people experience unpleasant  (11)   . For example, people who are not  (12)   to working at night can find that  (13)   of sleep causes them to  (14)  badly at work.

  (15)   the daily cycle of sleeping and  (16)  , we also have other cycles which  (17)  longer than one day. Most of us would   (18)  that we feel good on some days and not so good on  (19)   ; sometimes our ideas seem to flow and at other times, they  (20)  ​do not exist.

       Those who doubt TV’s influence on our lives might consider the effect of automobile on American society. When the automobile first appeared on the highways, most Americans saw it as a horseless carriage, not as an important symbol of a new way of life. Similarly, those of us who grew up before television tend to think of it as just another medium in a series of 20th-century mass-communication systems, such as movies and radio. But television is not just another medium.

       If you were born before 1950, television came into your life after your formative years. Even if you are now a TV fan, it will be difficult for you to understand the changes it has brought. For example, imagine spending six hours a day at the local cinema when you were 12 years old. No parent would have allowed it. Yet, among the children we asked, nearly half the 12-year-olds watch an average of six or more hours of television per day. For many of them the habit continues into adulthood（成年）. From our surveys（调查）,we estimate（估计）that about one third of all American adults（成年人）watch an average of four more hours of television per day.

       None of us is totally dependent upon television for our view of the world. However, many of us have not had the opportunity to observe the reality of police station, courtrooms（法庭）, corporate board rooms（法人会议室）; or hospital operating rooms. Critics（评论家）complain about the stercotyped（不变的）characters and plots of TV dreams. But many viewers look on them as representative（代表）of the real world.

       If adults can so easily accept the reality of television, imagine: its effect on children. By the time the average American child reaches public school, he has already spent several years in an electronic nursery school. At the age of 10, the average child spend more hours a week in front of the TV screen than in the classroom. Given continuous exposure（暴露）to the world of TV, it’s not surprising that the children we tested seemed to be more strongly influenced by TV than the adults.

       At the other end of the life cycle, television becomes the steady and often the only companion of the elderly. As failing eyesight makes reading difficult, and getting around becomes it problem, many old people spend much of the day watching TV. Here the action of fictional drama helps make up for the inaction of their lives.

The sharing economy, represented by companies like Airbnb or Uber, is the latest fashion craze. But many supporters have overlooked the reality that this new business model is largely based on escaping regulations and breaking the law.

Airbnb is an internet-based service that allows people to rent out spare rooms to strangers for short stays. Uber is an internet taxi service that allows thousands of people to answer ride requests with their own cars. There are hundreds of other such services.

The good thing about the sharing economy is that it promotes the use of underused resources. Millions of people have houses or apartments with empty rooms, and Airbnb allows them to profit from these rooms while allowing guests a place to stay at prices that are often far less than those charged by hotels. Uber offers prices that are competitive with standard taxi prices and their drivers are often much quicker and more trustworthy.

But the downside of the sharing economy has gotten much less attention. Most cities and states both tax and regulate hotels, and the tourists who stay in hotels are usually an important source of tax income. But many of Airhnb’s customers are not paying the taxes required under the law.

Airbnb can also raise issues of safety for its customers and trouble for hosts' neighbors. Hotels are regularly inspected to ensure that they are not fire traps and that they don't form other risks for visitors. Airbnb hosts face no such inspections.

Since Airbnb is allowing people to escape taxes and regulations, the company is simply promoting thefts. Others in the economy will lose by bearing an additional tax burden or being forced to live next to an apartment unit with a never-ending series of noisy visitors.

The same story may apply with Uber. Uber is currently in disputes over whether its cars meet the safety and insurance requirements imposed on standard taxis. Also, if Uber and related services flood the market, they could harm all taxi drivers' ability to earn a minimum wage.

This downside of the sharing needs to be taken seriously, hut that doesn't mean the current tax and regulatory structure is perfect.

There are three kinds of goals：short-term，medium-range and long-term goals.Short-term goals are those that usually deal with current activities，which we can apply on a daily basis.Such goals can be achieved in a week or less，or two weeks，or possible months.It should be remembered that just as a building is no stronger than its foundation，our long-term goals cannot amount to very much without the achievement of solid short-term goals.Upon completing our short-term goals，we should date the occasion and then add new short-term goals that will build on those that have been completed.

The intermediate goals build on the foundation of the short-range goals.They might deal with just one term of school or the entire school year，or they could even extend for several years.Any time you move a step at a time，you should never allow yourself to become discouraged or overwhelmed.As you complete each step，you will enforce the belief in your ability to grow and succeed.And as your list of completion dates grow，your motivation and desire will increase.

Long-range goals may be related to our dreams of the future.They might cover five years or more.Life is not a static thing.We should never allow a long-term goal to limit us or our course of action.

As a third﹣generation native of Brownsville，Texas，Mildred Garza never pleased move away．Even when her daughter and son asked her to move to San Antonio to help their children，she politely refused．Only after a year of friendly discussion did Ms Gaf finally say yes．That was four years ago．Today all three generations regard the move to a success，giving them a closer relationship than they would have had in separate cities．

 No statistics show the number of grandparents like Garza who are moving closer to the children and grandchildren．Yet there is evidence suggesting that the trend is growing．Even President Obama’s mother﹣in﹣law，Marian Robinson，has agreed to leave Chicago and into the White House to help care for her granddaughters．According to a study grandparents com.83 percent of the people said Mrs．Robinson's decision will influence the grandparents in the American family．Two﹣thirds believe more families will follow the example of Obama’s family．

“In the 1960s we were all a little wild and couldn’t get away from home far enough fast enough to prove we could do it on our own，”says Christine Crosby，publisher of Grate magazine for grandparents．“We now realize how important family is and how important to be near them，especially when you’re raining children．”

   Moving is not for everyone．Almost every grandparent wants to be with his or her grandchildren and is willing to make sacrifices，but sometimes it is wiser to say no and visit frequently instead．Having your grandchildren far away is hard，especially knowing your adult child is struggling，but giving up the life you know may be harder．

France has become the first country to forbid supermarkets to throw away unsold food. The law requires supermarkets to donate unsold food to charities and food banks. If supermarkets do not obey the law, they will have to pay $4,000 in fines.

Each year, French throws away about seven million tons of food. That is one-fifth of the amount of food bought each year. Along with individual consumption, restaurants and stores add to the food waste. Other European countries are also making efforts to reduce food waste. In Denmark, a new “waste” supermarket has opened, where customers can buy unsold food in cheaper price.

Some people welcome the new law. Louise Saint-Germain is the president of a small non-governmental organization called A Hand Stretched Out for Tomorrow in English. She said the increase in donation will allow her group to feed more people.

But other s are worried the law will lead to more donation than they can handle. Aline Chassagnot manages a Salvation Army store. “We simply don’t have the ability to hand out more food to more people. And we’re not the only ones,” she said. “Yes, there’s waste and there are enough poor people around,” she said. “But really taking into account a person’s needs and dignity might mean another way of thinking. That’s not so simple.”

 Many large supermarkets in France argue that the law doesn’t really change much. The director of one Carrefour supermarket in western Paris says her store has been donating unsold food to charities for years.

“Nothing is wasted,” the director said. “In the kitchen, chefs turn day-old bread products into new desserts. And food that is damaged or past its shelf life is turned into biofuel(生物燃料),” the director added. The biofuel helps power supermarket trucks.

Whenever we see a button, we are eager to press it because we know something will happen. This is true in most cases, for example on a doorbell and on the “on/off” button on the TV. But some buttons are actually fake, like the “close” button on a lift.

    Many people are in the habit of pressing the “close” button because they don’t have the patience to wait for the lift doors to shut. But lifts’ “lose” buttons are a complete scam（骗局）, at least in the US—the doors will not close any faster no matter how hard you press.

    It started in the 1990s when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in the US, making sure that all lifts stayed open long enough so that people with disabilities could enter. Only US firefighters and repairmen can use the buttons to speed up the door-closing process if they have a code or special keys.

    But to normal lift riders, the buttons aren’t completely useless. According to psychologists, fake buttons can actually make you feel better by offering you a sense of control.

    “Perceived（能够感知的）control is very important. It reduces stress and increases wellbeing,” Ellen J. Langer, a psychology professor, said. “Having a lack of control is associated with depression.”

    Experts have revealed that a lot of buttons that don’t do anything exist in our lives for this same purpose. For example, many offices in the US have fake thermostats（温度调节器）because people tend to feel better when they think they can control the temperature in their workspace.

    But psychologists found it interesting that even when people are aware of these little “white lies”, they still continue to push fake buttons because as long as the doors eventually close, it is considered to be worth the effort.

    “That habit is here to stay,” John Kounios, a psychology professor, said. “Even though I have real doubts about the traffic light buttons, I always press them. After all, I’ve got nothing else to do while waiting. So why not press the button in the hope that this one will work?”