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Famous Big and
Small Cities of the USA
New York City
The biggest city
of the USA is New York City, which is situated in New York
State. The city is also called The Big Apple. In the 19th
century it used to be very dirty with muddy streets and avenues.
Fires and diseases were widely spread in New York those times.
When immigrants started to arrive, New York began growing fast.
New inventions were developed to manage the population
expansion. Trains, bridges, railways, steam boats and
skyscrapers were introduced. The first skyscraper was built in
1888 and had only 13 floors, but the next skyscraper had 22
floors. The Empire State Building is the tallest building in New
York with 102 floors.
New York is an industrial, financial, political, cultural and
business centre of the USA. It attracts a lot of people from all
over the world. The city lies in the mouth of the Hudson River
and is divided into 5 boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens,
Bronx and Staten Island. Brooklyn is the most populous borough
also called the bedroom of New York as many people live there.
Richmond is the poorest borough with piers and warehouses. The
Bronx is more residential, rather than industrial part of the
city when Queens is both residential and industrial borough of
the city.
Manhattan is the heart of New York and the centre of American
finance, art, theatre and fashion. It is divided into the West
Side and the East Side and also into Downtown, Midtown and
Uptown Manhattan. Wall Street is one of the most famous streets
in New York where the New York Stock Exchange and the American
Stock Exchange are situated. There are many stockbrokers, banks,
and headquarters of large corporations in the Wall Street area.
On a weekday you can visit the New York Stock Exchange.
Chinatown is another tourist attraction of New York where the
Chinese immigrants live. The place is full of Chinese
restaurants and shops. The Chrysler Building and the Empire
State Building, one of the tallest buildings in the world, are
situated in Midtown Manhattan, the financial centre of New York.
Times Square is famous for its Theatre District which begins at
the Square and spreads to Broadway Street. Central Park which is
in Uptown Manhattan is a large green spot on the map of New
York. The Park was designed in the 1850's and has a skating
rink, a zoo, a lake where you can row, and an outdoor theatre,
where events are held each summer.
New York is famous for its museums and art galleries too. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art is the biggest of all. It houses more
than two million works of art several hundred thousand of which
are on display at any time.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has one of the world's finest
collections of modern and contemporary art. Masterpieces by some
of the most important artists of the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries, including Brancusi, Chagall, Kandinsky, Picasso and
Van Gogh can be seen there.
The American Museum of Natural History is the largest science
museum in the world.
Broadway is home to many big and small theatres of New York. It
starts in Times Square. In addition to Broadway there are
Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway theatres. Most of these
theatres are in the Greenwich Village. Plays at such theatres
are more experimental than plays on Broadway and they touch some
new topics and problems. Sometimes the audience becomes part of
the play.
The Statue of Liberty is the symbol of freedom. Since 1886, the
Statue of Liberty has stood in New York harbour. It is a gift of
international friendship from the people of France to the people
of the United States. The statue is of a robed female figure
representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a
torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which
is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of
Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet.
The American Museum of Immigration was opened by President Nixon
in 1972, at the base of the statue. It houses a permanent
exhibition of photos, posters, and artifacts showing the history
of American immigration. The complete statue was officially
presented to the United States in Paris, France on July 4, 1884.
It was then carefully taken apart and shipped to America. The
statue arrived in 1885 and the pedestal was completed in April
of 1886. The statue was made from copper sheets and it is hollow
inside. There is a circular stairway from the base to the crown
and a lift inside the Statue.
New York is a very well-planned city, so it is not hard to find
a way around it. The streets are named by ordinal numbers or
letters of the alphabet: 5th Avenue, W 21st Street, E 38th
Street, etc.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles (or
L.A.), a city in California, is considered to be the capital of
the film industry. Hollywood, a district of L.A., is famous for
its film production all over the world. It used to be a farmland
until film-makers started to move there. Hollywood turned to be
a perfect place for shooting films all year round as it has
mountains, an ocean and a desert.
The Beverly Hills district is the wealthiest area of Los
Angeles. It's famous for its beautiful houses and expensive
shops and restaurants. The city is very busy with a lot of
traffic going along highways. It's one of the problems that L.A.
faces nowadays. Its air is so polluted that sometimes people
can't see the sun even when there are no clouds in the sky.
Another problem is crime. This is one of the most dangerous
cities in the States.
Los Angeles is not only a tourist centre, but also a large
centre of manufacturing, finance and trade.
There are a lot of places of interest in L.A. The Music Centre
is the cultural point of Southern California, and the home to
orchestral music, vocal performance, opera, theatre and dance.
At the Children's Museum there are exhibits designed espe¬cially
for children who can touch and explore them and learn through
play.
Little Tokyo makes you feel in Japan. There are luxury goods and
numerous exotic restaurants there. Chinatown is located in the
spacious lanes. Numerous shops offer oriental goods.
The Natural History Museum displays fossils, gems and minerals.
A good place to have fun is Disneyland where children and
grown-ups can spend some great time.
San Francisco
San Francisco is
one the most beautiful cities in America. It used to be very
small until the Gold Rush began. Seekers of gold came to San
Francisco and stayed there. In a few years the population of the
city grew to more than 50 thousand people. Later, in 1906, San
Francisco was destroyed by a huge earthquake and a big part of
the city burned down.
San Francisco is surrounded by water on three sides, it stands
on 40 hills and trams, or street-cars, climb up and down the
hills. The city also bears the reputation of being crazy. Beat
poets and hippies led a very active life there.
The Golden Gate Bridge, which is over the Golden Gate Strait
connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean* is the symbol
of San Francisco.
Boston
Boston, the
capital of Massachusetts, is the oldest major city in the USA.
It is a city of numerous historic places and places of interest.
The Freedom Trail is the simplest, cheapest, safest, and most
flexible way to get acquainted with Boston's historic sights.
The Trail is a red line painted on the pavement following which
one can pass by all important places of interest in Boston.
Two big celebrations take place in Boston's Chinatown every
year. The first is the New Year, usually celebrated in February.
The activities include lion dances, traditional Chinese dance
and Kung Fu performances. There are a lot of big and small cheap
Chinese restaurants in the district.
The New England Aquarium has the world's largest collection of
sharks. The Museum of Fine Arts displays outstanding Egyptian
and Asian collections, a good display of Impressionists and
superb Americans.
The Constitution ship is another interesting place to visit. The
entrance to the ship is free to the public. Boston also has a
lot of monuments, such as the Boston Massacre Monument, the
Lafayette Monument, the Declaration of Independence Monument and
the Civil War Monument.
ПЛАН-ОТВЕТ. FAMOUS BIG AND SMALL CITIES OF THE USA
1. Рассказать кратко о Нью-Йорке и его достопримечательностях
(biggest city, The Big Apple, immigrants, growing fast,
skyscrapers, the Empire State Building, industrial, financial,
political, cultural and business centre, mouth of the Hudson
River, divided into 5 boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens,
Bronx and Staten Island, heart of New York, Wall Street, the New
York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, Chinatown,
Times Square, Broadway, Central Park, The Metropolitan Museum of
Art, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Statue of Liberty,
The American Museum of Immigration, a very well-planned city).
2. Рассказать кратко о Лос-Анджелесе (California, film industry,
Hollywood, The Beverly Hills district, a lot of traffic, crime,
a tourist centre, the Music Center, the Children's Museum,
Little Tokyo, The Natural History Museum, Disneyland).
3. Рассказать кратко о Сан-Франциско (beautiful, the Gold Rush,
was destroyed by a huge earthquake, surrounded by water on three
sides, 40 hills, street-cars, crazy, beat poets and hippies, the
Golden Gate Bridge). 4. Рассказать кратко о Бостоне
(Massachusetts, oldest major city, the Freedom Trail, Chinatown,
the New England Aquarium, the Constitution ship, numerous
historic monuments).
QUESTIONS
1. Where is New York City situated? What's the second name of it
and why?
2. What was New York life like in the 19th century?
3. When did New York start growing?
4. What's the tallest building in New York?
5. What boroughs is New York divided into?
6. What borough is the heart of New York? What parts is it
divided into?
7. What can you tell about Chinatown?
8. What is Times Square famous for?
9. What is Central Park and where is it situated?
10. What museums and art galleries are there in New York?
11. What is theatrical life like in New York?
12. What is the most famous monument in the city?
13. What do you know about the Statue of Liberty?
14. Is New York planned well? Why (not)?
15. Where is Los Angeles situated?
16. What industry is Los Angeles famous for?
17. What is the Beverly Hills district?
18. What problems does Los Angeles face today?
19. What interesting places can be seen in Los Angeles?
20. What city is the capital of Massachusetts?
21. What historic places of interest can be seen/visited in the
city?
22. What can you tell about Chinatown? What big celebrations
take place there?
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