A Gondola Ride in Venice

Lara and Mom walked along a canal. Mom read aloud from her Venice guidebook. But Lara was too excited to listen. “ This is the Rialto Bridge, ” read Mom. “ It is the oldest bridge on the Grand Canal and—” “ Ooh! ” Lara squealed. She pointed to a row of black boats. “ Mom, can we take a gondola ride?”

劳拉和妈妈沿着运河散步。妈妈大声朗读她的威尼斯旅游指南。 但劳拉太激动了，没法听。 ”这是里亚托大桥，”妈妈读到。“这是大运河上最古老的桥梁，而且——” ”哦！”劳拉尖叫着。她指着一排黑色的小船。“妈妈，我们可以坐缆车吗？”

“ Good idea, ” said Mom. “ My feet are getting sore. ” Mom hired a gondola to go to St. Mark’s Square. Marco, the driver, helped them into the boat. Lara and Mom sat down on the pretty red cushions. Marco gestured with one arm and rowed with the other. “ This is the Grand Canal.

”好主意，”妈妈说。“我的脚越来越痛。” 妈妈雇了一辆敞车去圣马可广场。 司机马可帮助他们上船。 劳拉和妈妈坐在漂亮的红色垫子上。 马可一只手臂做手势，另一只手臂划着。“这是大运河。

It’s one of the major waterways in Venice, ” he said. “ It’s almost four kilometers long. And it’s ninety meters wide in some places. There are 177 canals in Venice. ” A long motorboat passed by. “ That looks like a bus! ” said Lara. That’s a water bus, ” said Marco. “ We don’t have cars in Venice. So people have to walk.

它是威尼斯的主要水道之一，”他说。 ”它差不多有四公里长。有些地方有九十米宽。威尼斯有177条运河。” 一艘长长的汽艇经过。“看起来像公共汽车！”劳拉说。 那是一辆水上巴士，”马可说。“威尼斯没有汽车，所以人们只能步行。

Or they travel on the canals. We have water buses and even water taxis! ” He pointed to a smaller motorboat. Marco steered the gondola into a narrow canal. ” There’s less traffic in this canal, ” Lara said. She stared up at the tall, elegant buildings. “ Venice was a rich and powerful city during the Renaissance, ”

或者他们在运河上旅行。我们有水上巴士，甚至有水上出租车！”他指着一艘较小的摩托艇。 马可驾驶着贡多拉驶入一条狭窄的运河。 “这条运河的交通量少了。”劳拉说。她抬头凝视着高大典雅的建筑。 ”威尼斯在文艺复兴时期是一个富有而强大的城市，”

Marco said. “ People built palace-like houses to show off their wealth. ” They passed under a covered white bridge. “ The Doge’s Palace is on the right, ” Marco said. It was a beautiful white building. Lara wrinkled her nose. “ What’s a doge?” she asked. “ The doge was the ruler of Venice, ” Marco said. “ The palace is a museum now. ”

马可说。“人们建造宫殿般的房子来炫耀自己的财富。” 他们从一座白色廊桥下经过。 ”狗狗宫在右边，”马可说。那是一座美丽的白色建筑。 劳拉皱了皱鼻子。“狗是什么？”她问。 ”狗是威尼斯的统治者，”马可说。“这座宫殿现在是一座博物馆。”

At the end of the canal, Marco turned the gondola into an open lagoon. “ Here we are, ” announced Marco. “ This is St. Mark’s Square! ” Marco helped Mom and Lara out of the gondola. ” Can we go see the Doge’s Palace, Mom?” asked Lara.

在运河的尽头，马可把贡多拉变成了一个开放的泻湖。 ”我们到了，”马可宣布。“这是圣马可广场！” 马可帮妈妈和劳拉从敞车里出来。 “妈妈，我们可以去看狗狗宫吗？”劳拉问。