18.将相和

Lesson Eighteen

Venice Boat

1. Venice is a world-famous water city with criss-crossing rivers. Small boats have become the main means of transportation, equal to cars on the street.

2. The boats in Venice are twenty or thirty feet long, narrow and deep, a bit like canoes.

3. The bow and the stern are tilted up, like a new moon hanging on the horizon; it moves fast and flexibly, like a water snake in a ditch.

4. We sat in the cabin, and the leather cushion was as soft as a sofa.

5. Small boats pass through stone bridges with different forms.

6. We opened the curtains, looked at the ancient buildings standing on both sides of the strait, greeted the ships coming and going, and had endless interest.

7. The boatman is very good at driving.

8. The speed of sailing is extremely fast, and there are many ships coming and going, but he can control it freely and has no hurry.

9. No matter how crowded it is, he can always squeeze through by turning left and right.

10. When he comes to a very narrow place, he can always go through it smoothly, and he can make a sharp turn.

11. The buildings on both sides fly backward. Our eyes are so busy that we don’t know where to look.

12. The merchant carries a large package of goods and hurries off the boat to do business along the river.

13. The young women are talking and laughing in the boat.

14. Many children, accompanied by nannies, go to the countryside in small boats for fresh air.

15. The old man takes his family and goes to church in a small boat to pray.

16. In the middle of the night, the theater is over, and a large group of people come out and step into the boats they had hired.

17. The small boats scatter and disappear in the bend of the river. There is a sound of laughter and farewell in the distance.

18. The surface of the water become silent and the shadow of the moon sway in the water.

19. Tall stone buildings stand by the river, old bridges cross the water, and boats of all sizes are moored on the wharf.

20. Silence envelops the water city, and the old Venice falls asleep again.