J.D.S. Handle, British geneticist

UNIT 4

CITIES AND COUNTRIES

Not only is the universe queerer then we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose

J.D.S. Handle, British geneticist

3. Read the following essay and find out what makes Istanbul a unique city in terms of its:

1) geographical position;

2) cultural heritage;

3) historical perspective.

Istanbul By John Freely   I approach Istanbul today as I did when I first saw the city more than half a lifetime ago; taking a ferry from a suburban village on the Bosporus, the incomparably beautiful strait that
	divides Europe from Asia. On the way, I pass beneath two bridges that link the European and Asian sides of Istanbul, the only city in the world that spans two continents. Between the scimitar-shaped inlet of the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara is the old city of Stamboul, known first as Byzantium and later as Constantinople—after its

celebrated emperor. The chronicler Procopius more than 13 centuries ago described the city, its seven hills today crowned with the monuments of two world empires, as being "surrounded by a garland of waters." As the ferry approaches its berth I can see the former Byzantine cathedral of Hagia Sofia on the First Hill and the Süleymaniye Mosque dominating the Fourth Hill—imposing edifices erected a thousand years apart.

Stepping ashore, I find myself at the epicentre of the entire city's tumultuous life, the quay thronged with shoppers from the Spice Bazaar and the street markets around Yeni Cami (called the New Mosque because it was founded only four centuries ago). Fish sandwiches are sold from boats. Loudspeakers blare the latest songs. Peddlers sell sunglasses on bright summer days and umbrellas when it pours—when stovepipes are hawked we know winter is near.

Midway through the 27th century of its turbulent existence, the city has survived sieges, sacks, conquests, civil wars, riots, plagues, fires, earthquakes, and the modern construction necessitated by a population that's mushroomed from less than a million to more than nine million in 75 years. It has retained its identity through successive changes of name, population, language, religion, and political status, its character and spirit enduring through the centuries as if it had an ageless soul. As the French traveller Petrus Gyllius remarked in the mid-16th century: "It seems to me that while other cities are mortal, this one will endure as long as there are men on Earth." This is my Istanbul.

LANGUAGE FOCUS

GRAMMAR / USE OF ENGLISH

4. Read the following paragraph about Hon-Kong. Write out the fragments containing: a) infinite constructions; b) present participles; c) past participles; e) verbal nouns.

Hon-Kong is said to be a frantic, hurly-burly mixture of capitalism and exoticism, often called the “most thrilling city on the planet.” Changes seem to be constantly happening in this city of 6.9 million. It proves to be our era exemplified—historically, ethnically, architecturally, socially, economically, aesthetically and, above all, sensually. It is a place for you to feel. Founded by Europeans, developed by Asians, governed by Chinese, designed and run by entrepreneurs, architects, economists, and adventurers from the four corners of the world, in its streets and waterways you may sense the turning of the Earth itself.

Its classic experience is, and always has been, a crossing of Victoria Harbour on one of the Star ferries, brave little craft that have been observed plough this short route, back and forth, night and day, for 100 years. The ship sails and there is a ringing of bells and shouting of seamen that might sound to have come directly from the China seas of antiquity. As always the harbour seems to be jammed with a thousand vessels, but they range from the most ravaged and antique of sampans to container ships so futuristic that they scarcely look like ships at all. The skyline of the harbour is sure to be cluttered with construction cranes, and its buildings are a dizzy ensemble of styles, tastes, and ages—vast, showy skyscrapers, drab old tenement blocks, structures clad in gold or silver, the whole orchestrated by the inescapable thumping of steam-hammers and violently expressing the power of materialist progress.

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 873