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 flower shop 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）it’s own existence. The terrain（地势）on which it is built began to sink while the level of the surrounding waters is constantly rising. Howe’ver, many measures have already been taken to prevent the city from sinking.
1. In the second paragraph, the author ______.
A. showed up where Venice is B. told us who built the city of Venice
C. described what Venice is like D. talked about why Venice is surrounded by waters
2. Which of the following shows the right relationship?（○=Italy;△="Venice;□=St.Marks" Square）
3. Why is the Florian the famous cafe? Because ______.
A. it appeared in Byron and Goethe’s poems
B. it is more close to St. Mark’s Square than the Quadri
C. it was founded in 1720,much older than the Quadri
D. Byron and Goethe were once it’s customers
4. From the article we can see that ______.
A. many people have fled because Venice’s existence is being threatened
B. the level of the surrounding water is constantly rising because the city of Venice began to sink
C. the government has already taken many measures to save the city from going down
D. many steps have already been taken to prevent the terrain from rising
