I was born in Venice, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy, and studied architecture at university here. Though I have also spent time away, I have always come back because it’s my home.

In Venice, there are no roads, only canals, so you have to get around on foot or by boat. I live on a canal in the Rialto area in a house that was built in 1588 for the Muti family, who were merchants in the silk trade. In the mid-eighteenth century, it was home to the Vezzi family, who made thinks like plates and bowls in fine china and became rich sending these around the world. These merchants’ houses in Venice are like palaces. Their owners had to have space to show off their goods, but the building also had to be an office, a factory, a store and a home. My house came into our family in 1919, when it was bought by my grandfather. He died before I was born but he was the director of a museum where I often do research on old documents. On some of these, I’ve seen notes in his handwriting, so, in a strange way, I met him through these documents.

Sadly, the population of Venice has dropped from 120,000 in the 1950s to about 60,000 now. This doesn’t include the thousands of tourists who come to visit. I welcome the tourists but unless something is done to stop everyday shops like bakeries and chemists from disappearing, the city will die. I want people who love the city to come here to live and work and give Venice back a life that is not just about tourism.

26. What is the writer’s main reason for writing his text?

A. To persuade more tourists to visit his city

B. To give readers the history of his hometown

C. To say what he feels about his birthplace

D. To describe some important moments in his life

27. The family who first owned the writer’s home

A. used to buy and sell silk.

B. produced plates and bowls.

C. were skilled architects.

D. helped to build the canals.

28. What does the writer say about his grandfather?

A. His grandfather taught him how to study documents.

B. He didn’t find his grandfather’s handwriting easy to read.

C. He wasn’t able to get to know his grandfather personally.

D. His grandfather turned his home into a museum.

29. What is the writer’s attitude to Venice today?

A. He hopes tourists will stop visiting the city.

B. He would like people to get jobs working with tourists.

C. He believes the city would benefit from having fewer inhabitants.

D. He thinks local businesses should be encouraged to stay.

30. What might the writer say about his house?

A. I have never lived anywhere else apart from in my home in the Rialto area of Venice.

B. My house is on a canal in Venice and my family, starting with my grandfather, have lived there since 1919.

C. We don’t know who lived in the house before 1588 but it was owned by merchants from then until the eighteenth century.

D. The house was made bigger in the mid-eighteenth century because the owner wanted it to look like a palace.