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Manhattan
Manhattan is an island 13 miles long and 2 miles wide. It’s the centre of American advertising, art, theatre, publishing, fashion. The island is named after a Native American people who once lived there. Manhattan is divided into the East Side and the West Side. The dividing line is Fifth Avenue. Manhattan is also divided into Lower (Downtown) Manhattan, Midtown, and Upper (Uptown) Manhattan. Lower (Downtown) Manhattan is the southern part of the island, nearest the Atlantic Ocean. Upper (Uptown) Manhattan is the northern part of the island. Lower (Downtown) Manhattan
The Declaration of Independence was read to the American troops here on July 9, 1776, in the presence of George Washington. It was here on April 30, 1789, that Washington took the oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall.
Close to ‘Little Italy’ another immigrant area is situated – Chinatown. Chinatown is the only immigrant community in Manhattan that is still growing. Chinatown has seven newspapers of its own. More than 200 restaurants serve traditional Chinese food.
Midtown Many of New York offices and jobs are concentrated in Midtown, as well as many of its famous skyscrapers. The first skyscraper in New York was built in 1902. It was twenty storeys high. The first building boom for skyscrapers came in late 1920s. These skyscrapers were abundantly and richly decorated. The most beautiful and famous of such skyscrapers of that time are the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building, the third tallest building in the world. A visitor can go to the top of the Empire State Building and admire the view of Manhattan. It has 102 floors. The Empire State Building has become a symbol of New York. The fourth tallest building in the world, the commanding position of the most famous building ever erected by man (443 metres) offers inspiring views around the horizon, night or day, in wet weather or dry, to visitors from around the world. The Empire State Building has become not only a symbol of New York but also part of its history – when a plane crashed into it in 1945. Rockefeller Centre, which was built by John Rockefeller Junior between 1931 – 1939, is the world’s largest privately owned business and entertainment centre. Today it consists of nineteen buildings, which include offices, shops, and various places of entertainment: Music Hall, Museum of Modern Art, Carnegie Hall.
There were plans to destroy Carnegie Hall in 1950s but a campaign by well-known musicians saved it. The buildings are connected by underground passages. The centre is also famous for its Christmas Tree and lights that are put up each year, as well as its outdoor winter ice-skating rink. In the 1950s there was a second building boom, which introduced a new style – buildings of steel and glass. The United Nations Secretariat Building was the first steel-and-glass skyscraper. On weekends, weather permitting the flags of all member states can be seen flying along United Nations Plazza in English alphabetical order. The United Nations uses six official languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese. Visitors who come to Headquarters among the gifts in the Public Lobby can see a model of Sputnik 1 (from Russia), the Foucault Pendulum (from the Netherlands), a statue of Poseidon (from Greece), a painting “Brotherhood” (from Mexico), and the Chagall window – a dramatic, blue, 15 by 20 foot stained glass panel. The new style became very popular, and today there are a lot of steel-and-glass skyscrapers in Manhattan. St Patrick’s Cathedral is another midtown landmark. The Gothic Revival structure, New York’s most famous church was opened in 1879. Today it features high-society weddings and the shrine of the first American male Saint, St John Newman. New York is an outstanding Theatre District. The centre of it is Times Square. Times Square got its name from the New York Times, the most popular newspaper in America, which has its main office there. The Theatre District begins at Times Square and occupies an area near Broadway. Broadway has long been the centre of theatre life in the United States.
Since the early 1970s the high cost of producing plays has forced many theatres to close or to become cinemas, and Broadway is not as important as it once was. The World Trade Centre (the Twin Towers) were the tallest buildings in the world, but a terrorist bomb exploded in the Centre in 1993 killing six people and injuring more than a thousand. On September 11th 2001 the Twin Towers were both destroyed in another terrorist attack. Two planes crashed into the towers, and a short time later both towers collapsed. The area where the building used to be is now called Ground Zero. A memorial to the victims of the attack is planned for the site. Upper (Uptown) Manhattan Practically the whole of the Manhattan area is a sea of concrete. Luckily for New Yorkers, there is one exception: Central Park. This huge park in the middle of the city was designed in the 1850s by the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. He wanted to build a large beautiful park where a lot of New York residents could rest and enjoy nature. You can take a ride through Central Park in a little carriage pulled by a horse, or rent a bicycle. There are many attractions in the park: a zoo, a skating-rink(êàòîê), an old-fashioned carousel, a lake with boats, and an outdoor theatre. After Central Park was opened in 1876, some wealthy New Yorkers soon built mansions along Fifth Avenue. Now many of these mansions hold art collections. There are so many museums in this part of Fifth Avenue, that it is called “Museum Mile”. One of the museums is the Metropolitan Museum Art, with huge collections of art from all over the world. It’s one of the largest and finest museums in the world. The American Museum of Natural History is the largest science museum in the world. Uptown Manhattan has a Memorial to Christopher Columbus in Columbus Circle and Columbia University which was founded in 1754. Ellis Island Immigration Museum tells the moving tales of the 12 million immigrants who entered America through the golden door of Ellis Island. Today the descendants of these immigrants account for almost half of the American people. The American Immigrant Wall of Honour is a special feature of the Ellis Island Museum. Overlooking the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline, it is the longest wall of names in the world. Each name was placed on the Wall by individuals who donated $100 in memory of their ancestors for the restoration of Ellis Island.
The Bronx The Bronx in the north is more residential rather than industrial part of the city. In the past it had a reputation as a poor area with a lot of crime and drug but its image has improved. It contains Yankee Stadium, the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo. Queens Queens in the east is both residential and industrial part of the city. It is the largest of the five boroughs of New York City. It was named after the wife of Charles II. The area of Queens is known for its large Greek community. The John Kennedy Airport, several racing tracks and the Museum of the Moving Image are all here. Brooklyn and Richmond
Richmond is a borough of piers and warehouses. Its population is 200 000. Many Americans have never been to New York, everyone knows something about the city. Many immigrants to the US stayed in New York, giving the city the variety of cultures it has today. Today there are about 8 million people in New York City. New Yorkers speak in a very direct way which can seem rude to people from other parts of the US. But for many visitors, meeting real, rude New Yorkers is part of the attraction of going to the city. New York is a great shopping centre. Shopping is a serious recreational sport for millions of tourists.
GLOSSARY Read the following words and word combinations according to the reading rules: -to allot – âûäåëÿòü, ïðåäîñòàâëÿòü -inauguration - âñòóïëåíèå â äîëæíîñòü, èíàóãóðàöèÿ; -excerpt – âûäåðæêà, öèòàòà, îòðûâîê -cemetery – êëàäáèùå -borough – ðàéîí êðóïíîãî ãîðîäà -skyscraper – íåáîñêð¸á, âûñîòíîå çäàíèå -pier – ïèðñ, ïðè÷àë -warehouse – òîâàðíûé ñêëàä Practice the following for pronunciation Proper names: Washington, the Potomac River, the Mall, the Smithsonian Institution, the Lincoln Memorial, the Arlington National Cemetery, Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Richmond, Greenwich Village, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Centre, Carnegie Hall, Harlem. VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR EXERCISES I. Choose the word corresponding to the definition from those listed below: · a broad road in a town or city, typically having trees at regular intervals along its sides; · a large burial ground, especially one not in a churchyard; · a structure built in order to remind people of a famous person or event; · a very tall building in a city; · a tall stone pillar that has been built in honour of a person or an important event; · a town or district which is an administrative unit, in particular. (cemetery, borough, skyscraper, memorial, obelisk, avenue) Date: 2014-12-28; view: 2419
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