The Queen of the Adriatic

Venice is a city in northern Italy. It is the capital of region Veneto. Together with Padua, the

city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area. Venice has been known as the “Queen of

the Adriatic”, “City of Water”, “City of Bridges”, and “The City of Light”. The city stretches across

117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy.

Venice is world-famous for its canals. It is built on an archipelago of 117 islands formed

by about 150 canals in a shallow lagoon. The islands on which the city is built are connected by

about 400 bridges. In the old center, the canals serve the function of roads, and every form of

transport is on water or on foot.

You can ride gondola there. It is the classical Venetian boat which nowadays is mostly

used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies. Now, most Venetians travel by

motorised waterbuses (“vaporetti”) which ply regular routes along the major canals and between

the city’s islands. The city also has many private boats. The only gondolas still in common use

by Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferries crossing the Grand Canal at certain points

without bridges.

You can see the amusing city’s landmarks such as Piazza San Marco, Palazzo Contarini del

Bovolo, Saint Mark’s Cathedral or villas of the Veneto. The villas of the Veneto, rural residences

for nobles during the Republic, are one of the most interesting aspects of Venetian countryside.

They are surrounded by elegant gardens, suitable for fashionable parties of high society. The city

is also well known for its beautiful and romantic view, especially at night.

Soure: Interlanguage: English for Senior High School Students XI

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Sydney the Metropolitan City

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population around

4.12 million. It is the state capital of New South Wales and is the site of the fi rst European colony

in Australia. The city is Australia’s largest fi nancial centre.

Sydney is located on Australia’s south-east coast. The city is built around Port Jackson, which

includes Sydney Harbour, leading to the city’s nickname, “the Harbour City”.

This city is a major international tourist destination famous for its beaches and twin landmarks: the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. The metropolitan area is surrounded

by national parks, and contains many bays, rivers and inlets.

Sydney also has many shopping centres and retail outlets throughout the city. The Queen

Victoria Building on George Street also contains many shops. Many of the large regional centres

around the metropolitan area also contain large shopping complexes.

Sydney has several museums. The biggest are the Australian Museum (natural history and

anthropology), the Powerhouse Museum (science, technology and design), the Art Gallery of New

South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Sydney’s Central Business District (CBD) extends southwards for about 3 kilometres (1.25 mi) from Sydney Cove. It is the point of the fi rst European settlement in the area at the southern

end of the bridge known as “The Rocks”. It is densely concentrated with skyscrapers and other

buildings including historic sandstone buildings such as the Sydney Town Hall and Queen Victoria

Building are combined by several parks such as Wynyard and Hyde Park.

Source: Interlanguage: English for Senior High School Students XI

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Labour Thanksgiving Day

There is a holiday called Labour Thanksgiving Day (Kinrô kansha no hi) in Japan. It is a national holiday in Japan and it takes place annually on November 23. It is held as an occasion for commemorating labour and production and giving one another thanks.

Events are held throughout Japan in this holiday, such as Nagano Labour Festival. The event encourages thinking about the environment, peace and human rights. It is not unusual for early grade elementary students to create drawings for the holiday and give them as gifts to local kobans, or police stations.

Labor Thanksgiving Day is actually the modern version for an ancient rice harvest festival known as Niiname-sai , believed to have been held as long ago as November of 678. Traditionally, it celebrated the year’s hard work; during the Niiname-sai ceremony, the Emperor would dedicate the year’s harvest to kami (spirits), and taste the rice for the fi rst time.

The modern holiday was established after World War II in 1948 as a day to mark some of the changes of the postwar constitution of Japan, including fundamental human rights and the expansion of workers rights. Currently Niiname-sai is held privately by the Imperial Family while Labour Thanksgiving Day has become a national holiday.

Taken from: Interlanguage: English for Senior High School Students XI

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Paris

Paris is the capital city of France. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is also one of the world's most crowded cities. Lovely gardens and parks are found throughout Paris.

At night, many palaces and statues are lit up. For this reason, Paris is often called the City of Light. Every year, millions of people visit Paris. The most popular place to visit is the Eiffel Tower. This huge structure has become the symbol of Paris. The Louvre, one of the world's largest art museums, draws many visitors. The Cathedral of Notre Dame, a famous church, is another favourite place to visit.

Taken from The World Book Student Discovery Encyclopedia, 2006

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Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is a famous area of waterfalls. It is one of the most beautiful natural wonders of North America. It is on the Niagara River, about halfway between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The Niagara River forms part of the border between Canada and the United States.

At Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada is on one side of the river, and the U.S. state of New York is on the other side. Niagara Falls really has two waterfalls. The Horseshoe Falls are in Canada, and the American Falls are in the United States.

The Niagara River drops into a steep gorge or canyon, at the falls. Most of the water flows over the Horseshoe Falls. They are not as high as the American Falls, but they are 2,600 feet (792 metres) wide–about 0.5 mile (0.8 kilometre). The American Falls are about 1,000 feet (305 metres) wide. Beyond the falls are the Whirlpool Rapids. There, the powerful swirling water has carved a bowl out of the rock.

At night, coloured lights shine on the thundering falls. About 10 million people visit Niagara Falls each year.

Taken from The World Book Student Discovery Encyclopedia, 2006

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Pueblo Bonito

One thousand years ago, in the desert of the Chaco Canyon, the Anasazi people built nine multi-storey buildings called ‘Great Houses'. They used stone for the walls and wood for the floors, doors and roofs. They transported more than 200,000 trees from forests almost 80 kilometres away. How did they move the trees? We don't know.

In some buildings there are huge circular rooms called ‘kivas'—the biggest one is under ground and it is about 16 metres wide. Why did the Anasazi build circular rooms? We don't know. Perhaps they used them for religious ceremonies or for storing crops. We know the Anasazi people abandoned the Great Houses. Why did they leave? Hunger? War? We really don't know.

Taken from Cambridge English for Schools, 2000

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Great Zimbabwe

In 1871 Karl Mauch, a German, discovered a huge stonewalls in Zimbabwe, Africa. The walls covered 25 hectares around what is now called ‘Great Zimbabwe'. Great Zimbabwe is the most impressive Iron Age site in Africa. On top of a hill, there is a large castle and under neath this is the ‘Great Enclosure'. The Great Enclosure has enormous walls – sometimes 11 metres high and 1.2 metres thick. Inside the Great Enclosure there are many huts, passages and rooms and a mysterious 9-metre-high stone tower that has no stairs, no windows, and no doors. Why did they build the tower? We don't know. We don't even know who built Great Zimbabwe – it is a mystery to African and foreign archaeologists. They think the Great Enclosure was built about 1,000 years ago.

Taken from Cambridge English for Schools, 2000

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Easter Island

Easter Island is in the South Pacific, 3,700 kilometres from the coast of Chile. On the island, there are 600 large statues. We don't know who built them but they were probably constructed between 1150 and 1500. We don't really know why they are there. The Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl, believed that they were built by people from South America. To prove this, he made a simple raft and sailed there, all the way from Peru.

Archaeologists think that the statues represent dead tribal leaders. We don't know why the statues left alone on the island. Perhaps they were killed by disease or war. Perhaps the builders used all the natural resources on the island. There are many unanswered questions about Easter Island.

Taken from Cambridge English for Schools, 2000

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Lawang Sewu

        Lawang Sewu is one of the famous historical buildings in Indonesia. It is named Lawang Sewu which means a thousand doors. Besides its thousand doors, it is also well known for the fascinating stained glass windows representing the Dutch Symbolism. The stained glass windows are similar with those of the places like The Hague and Rotterdam and also the Royal family. The building has numerous long winding corridors which open out to the offices on one side of the office and the other end of the building on the other hand. It is a famous landmark in the region of Semarang and a pride for Java.

Taken from Readings to Remember, 2004

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