首页
登录
职称英语
Passage Two (1) They helped fleeing Romans evade Attila the Hun and hel
Passage Two (1) They helped fleeing Romans evade Attila the Hun and hel
游客
2024-11-03
4
管理
问题
Passage Two
(1) They helped fleeing Romans evade Attila the Hun and held a glittering city aloft for more than 1,500 years. But the wooden pilings rising out of the Grand Canal in Venice are so decayed that as we clung to them one afternoon it wasn’t at all clear whether they would be sturdy enough to prevent us from capsizing into its murky waters.
(2) It was rush hour in Venice, so the canal’s usual tumult of crosscurrents and tides was churning with the wake of water taxis, ferries and delivery boats. Each volley of waves slapped against the side of the inflatable kayak we were using to cross Italy’s most storied waterway; the pilings were our best chance to avoid being immersed in it.
(3) This probably wasn’t quite what my girlfriend had in mind when we first started thinking about a trip to Venice. After scouring guidebooks, we found that the logical thing seemed to be to move about the city like other tourists: by foot, water bus and the occasional overpriced gondola ride. But as novice canoers, we were intrigued by the thought of exploring the waterways ourselves. We spent hours researching where and how to rent a small craft in Venice but found that the combination of Italian bureaucracy and the mighty gondolier lobby has made it virtually impossible.
(4) Our solution? An inflatable kayak that’s portable enough to check as luggage yet sturdy enough to hold 500 pounds and withstand the rigors of Class II rapids. Getting it there was easy because it weighs just 32 pounds and tucks into a suitcase-sized tote bag (along with a foot pump). And it was surprisingly affordable: our two-person kayak, by West Marine, retails for $ 699, but we found one brand-new on eBay for $ 163.44, about the price of a 45-minute gondola ride.
(5) Paddling the canals offers a visceral way to appreciate Venice’s mythic waters. On a purely practical level, it’s a lot easier to get lost walking Venice, with its twisting passageways and thousands of alleys, than to maneuver through its 200 easily navigable canals. The water also offers easier access to some of the city’s overlooked neighborhoods, like the Jewish ghetto in Cannaregio.
(6) Of course, any attempt to explore Venice’s canals involves a confrontation with the reality of water itself. Lord Byron and Casanova may have swum the canals in centuries past, but today swimming is banned for public health reasons. The canals are a drainage basin for 1.4 million people in the area around Venice, and a sewer system for the 60,000 residents of the historic center and the 20 million tourists who visit it each year. Dr. Edward S. Van Vleet, a University of South Florida Marine biochemist, has been studying the canals since 1985, and says the combination of chemical pollution and household waste make for a particularly noxious mix.
(7) The most surprising sensory revelation of traveling the canals is the sound or, more precisely, the glorious absence of noise. Because Venice has no cars or traffic noise, today’s city is true to its centuries-old nickname, La Serenissima, and that tranquility is amplified on the water. A five-minute paddle from the tourist bedlam of the Rialto are aquatic side streets where even at midday, the hush was interrupted only by droplets from our paddles.
(8) And nearly everywhere you paddle are sumptuous ruins, signs of a sinking city. Peer behind the rusty wrought-iron gates of many homes that abut the canal and you might see partly submerged first-floor porches, foyers or sitting rooms that were abandoned long ago, as rising waters forced the residents to flee upstairs.
(9) While many gondoliers seem none too pleased at the prospect of sharing their waterways with nonpaying travelers, most boaters were polite. Many pedestrians appeared bemused by the novelty of a kayak, snapping photographs, waving and shouting the occasional " Buona idea!"
(10) Out on the bustling Grand Canal, however, the pace is too fast and the water too treacherous for such niceties. It took us three days of maneuvering the side canals to work up the courage to try to make it across the 60-yard width of the Grand Canal, a feat that at first glance appears as wise as crossing an Interstate on a tricycle.
(11) As we paddled from the Rio Di S. Zan Degola onto the Grand Canal, we hugged the shoreline, then sprinted into a cove of half-rotted pilings, buffering ourselves from the waves. Vaporetti powered past us from both directions, water taxis darted by, and delivery boats loaded with appliances. After two false starts, we spotted a crease in traffic and made a dash for it. Water splayed from our paddles as we sprinted out into the open water, swiveling our heads left and right to make sure we weren’t about to be rammed by a turnip boat.
(12) After a minute of heavy paddling, we had reached the middle of the canal, where water was calmer and the city’s sounds again seemed muted. Then we scurried across the other busy lanes. When we reached the bank, mercifully, there was a wine bar waiting to commemorate the achievement. [br] According to the author, paddling a kayak across the Grand Canal is________.
选项
A、an impressive and distinctive achievement
B、an act involving risks and dangers
C、an act which is prohibited by law
D、the most sensible solution in the particular situation
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3829271.html
相关试题推荐
PassageOne(1)Arthurwastakentothehugemediaevalfortressatthe
PassageOne(1)Arthurwastakentothehugemediaevalfortressatthe
PassageOne(1)Arthurwastakentothehugemediaevalfortressatthe
PassageThree[br]Whatshouldpeoplekeepaneyeonwhenjoiningthegigec
PassageTwo[br]Whatdoestheauthormeanbysaying"Tiethefirststepto
PassageOne[br]Whatdotheexamplesofairshowandthebiggestshipindic
PassageThree(1)Youdonotneedtoplayinabandtobepartofthebu
PassageThree(1)Youdonotneedtoplayinabandtobepartofthebu
PassageThree(1)Youdonotneedtoplayinabandtobepartofthebu
PassageThree(1)Youdonotneedtoplayinabandtobepartofthebu
随机试题
关于路径-目标理论,说法错误的是()。A.不同的领导行为适合于不同的环境因素和
19世纪末奥地利建筑师卡米罗·西特(CamilloSitte)的著作《建筑城市
试回答突起路标工程质量检验评定标准的问题。(4)突起路标工程质量检验评定实测项目
A.左归丸 B.右归丸 C.二仙汤合二至丸 D.生脉散 E.六味地黄丸围
患者,女,30岁,阑尾炎术后第5天,体温36.5℃,伤口无渗血渗液。今早8时许,
治疗食积兼肝郁气滞,宜首选的是A.神曲 B.麦芽 C.鸡内金 D.山楂
(2014初)下列各项中,应作为营业收入核算的是:A.预收其他企业的货款 B.
GIS最大气室的气体处理时间不超过8h。252kV及以下设备单个气室长度不超过(
(2018真题)磷酸铵盐干粉灭火剂不适合扑救()火灾。A.汽油 B.石蜡
商业银行应指定部门专门负责全行操作风险管理体系的建设和实施,内容包括()。A.协
最新回复
(
0
)