The Rialto Bridge is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal. It is the oldest bridge across the canal, and was the dividing line between the districts of San Marco and San Polo. But on this day, there was a twist: it was filled with Venetians, not tourists.B) "People are cheering and holding their carts in the air," says Giovanni Giorgio, who helped organize the march with a grass-roots organization called Generazione '90. The carts he refers to are small shopping carts—the symbol of a true Venetian. "It started as a joke," he says with a laugh. "The idea was to put blades on the wheels! You know? Like Ben Hur. Precisely like that, you just go around and run people down."C) Venice is one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world. But that's a problem. Up to 90,000 tourists crowd its streets and canals every day—far outnumbering the 55,000 permanent residents. The tourist increase is one key reason the city's population is down from 175,000 in the 1950s. The outnumbered Venetians have been steadily fleeing. And those who stick around are tired of living in a place where they can't even get to the market without swimming through a sea of picture-snapping tourists. Imagine, navigating through 50,000 people while on the way to school or to work.D) Laura Chigi, a grandmother at the march, says the local and national governments have failed to do anything about the crowds for decades, because they're only interested in tourism—the primary industry in Venice, worth more than 3 billion in 2015. "Venice is a cash cow," she says, "and everyone wants a piece."E) Just beyond St. Mark's Square, a cruise ship passes, one of hundreds every year that appear over their medieval (中世纪的) surroundings. Their massive wake creates waves at the bottom of the sea, weakening the foundations of the centuries-old buildings themselves. "Every time I see a cruise ship, I feel sad," Chigi says. "You see the mud it drags; the destruction it leaves in its wake? That hurts the ancient wooden poles holding up the city underwater. One day we'll see Venice break down."F) For a time, UNESCO, the cultural wing of the United Nations, seemed to agree. Two years ago, it put Italy on notice, saying the government was not protecting Venice. UNESCO considers the entire city a World Heritage Site, a great honor that means Venice, at the cultural level, belongs to all of the world's people. In 2014, UNESCO gave Italy two years to manage Venice's flourishing tourism or the city would be placed on another list—World Heritage In Danger, joining such sites as Aleppo and Palmyra, destroyed by the war in Syria.G) Venice's deadline passed with barely a murmur (嘟哝) this summer, just as UNESCO was meeting in Istanbul. Only one representative, Jad Tabet from Lebanon, tried to raise the issue. "For several years, the situation of heritage in Venice has been worsening, and it has now reached a dramatic situation," Tabet told UNESCO. "We have to act quickly—there is not a moment to waste."_____ 1. The passing cruise ships will undermine the foundations of the ancient buildings in Venice._____ 2. The decrease in the number of permanent residents in Venice is mainly due to the increase of tourists._____ 3. UNESCO urged the Italian government to undertake its responsibility to protect Venice._____ 4. The participants in the Venetian march used shopping carts to show they were 100% local residents._____ 5. One woman says that for decades the Italian government and local authorities have only focused on the revenues from tourism.

As Tourists Crowd Out Locals, Venice Faces 'Endangered' ListA) On a recent fall morning, a large crowd blocked the steps at one of Venice's main tourist sites, the Rialto Bridge. The Rialto Bridge is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal. It is the oldest bridge across the canal, and was the dividing line between the districts of San Marco and San Polo. But on this day, there was a twist: it was filled with Venetians, not tourists.B) "People are cheering and holding their carts in the air," says Giovanni Giorgio, who helped organize the march with a grass-roots organization called Generazione '90. The carts he refers to are small shopping carts—the symbol of a true Venetian. "It started as a joke," he says with a laugh. "The idea was to put blades on the wheels! You know? Like Ben Hur. Precisely like that, you just go around and run people down."C) Venice is one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world. But that's a problem. Up to 90,000 tourists crowd its streets and canals every day—far outnumbering the 55,000 permanent residents. The tourist increase is one key reason the city's population is down from 175,000 in the 1950s. The outnumbered Venetians have been steadily fleeing. And those who stick around are tired of living in a place where they can't even get to the market without swimming through a sea of picture-snapping tourists. Imagine, navigating through 50,000 people while on the way to school or to work.D) Laura Chigi, a grandmother at the march, says the local and national governments have failed to do anything about the crowds for decades, because they're only interested in tourism—the primary industry in Venice, worth more than $3 billion in 2015. "Venice is a cash cow," she says, "and everyone wants a piece."E) Just beyond St. Mark's Square, a cruise ship passes, one of hundreds every year that appear over their medieval (中世纪的) surroundings. Their massive wake creates waves at the bottom of the sea, weakening the foundations of the centuries-old buildings themselves. "Every time I see a cruise ship, I feel sad," Chigi says. "You see the mud it drags; the destruction it leaves in its wake? That hurts the ancient wooden poles holding up the city underwater. One day we'll see Venice break down."F) For a time, UNESCO, the cultural wing of the United Nations, seemed to agree. Two years ago, it put Italy on notice, saying the government was not protecting Venice. UNESCO considers the entire city a World Heritage Site, a great honor that means Venice, at the cultural level, belongs to all of the world's people. In 2014, UNESCO gave Italy two years to manage Venice's flourishing tourism or the city would be placed on another list—World Heritage In Danger, joining such sites as Aleppo and Palmyra, destroyed by the war in Syria.G) Venice's deadline passed with barely a murmur (嘟哝) this summer, just as UNESCO was meeting in Istanbul. Only one representative, Jad Tabet from Lebanon, tried to raise the issue. "For several years, the situation of heritage in Venice has been worsening, and it has now reached a dramatic situation," Tabet told UNESCO. "We have to act quickly—there is not a moment to waste."_____ 1. The passing cruise ships will undermine the foundations of the ancient buildings in Venice._____ 2. The decrease in the number of permanent residents in Venice is mainly due to the increase of tourists._____ 3. UNESCO urged the Italian government to undertake its responsibility to protect Venice._____ 4. The participants in the Venetian march used shopping carts to show they were 100% local residents._____ 5. One woman says that for decades the Italian government and local authorities have only focused on the revenues from tourism.