2. Speak about Washington and its history using this plan.

1. Statistics:

• Position in the country;

• Population;

• Territory.

2. History:

• Foundation;

• 19th century;

• 20th century.

3. Places to see:

• Short excursion;

• Squares and monuments;

• Museums;

• Theatres;

• Sports facilities.

TOPIC 5. THE CITIES OF THE USA

Warm-up

1. Can you name some big cities of the US?

2. What do you know about them? What are they famous for?

3. What city would you like to visit? Why?

1. Read text 5a and translate it. Text 5a. New York

New York is the largest city and port in the United States. It is the industrial, financial, business and cultural centre of the country. It is also the centre of the political life, the centre of the mass media and the world's biggest bank centre. New York is the economic capital of the USA with a population of over 18 million.

It is known that the land was bought from the local Indians by the Dutch for 24 dollars.

The centre of New York is located on the granite island of Manhattan which lies between the Hudson River and the East River. American travel agencies call New York ‘the wonder city of the world’.

I n 1607 the English navigator Captain Henry Hudson left Europe to search for the famous Northwest Passage. He didn't find it − for the excellent reason that it didn't exist, but he reached a river to which he gave his name. Interested by the stories told them by the captain on his return, the Dutch sent other boats to take possession of the land discovered by Hudson, Manhattan Island, and gave it the name ‘New Amsterdam’.

In 1664 this territory was taken over by the English, and they changed the name of New Amsterdam into New York.

At the beginning of the 19th century Manhattan was mostly swamp − so unhealthy that there was an epidemic of yellow fever. While the fine residential streets of London and the grand boulevards of Paris were being built, chickens were scratching around the muddy streets of New York. Rickety shacks housed people − and pigs. It wasn't until 1867 that a municipal decree was passed, forbidding people to let their pigs run freely through the streets. Although rich ship-owners and financiers were building luxurious hotels and mansions, the newly arrived immigrants lived in disgusting slums. Buildings were divided and subdivided to accommodate as many people as possible. People lived in tenements, which were nothing more than rows or dark cages: no lighting, running water or windows. Fires and disease were a part of normal life.

In 1875 the population of New York was one million. Twenty-five years later it was over three and a half million. At breakneck speed new inventions were developed to deal with the population expansion. New York covered itself with trains, suspension bridges, elevated railways, steam boats, and then skyscrapers. The first skyscraper was put up in 1888. It had only 13 storeys, but the next had twenty-two, the Empire State Building − 102, and the World Trade Centre reached 110 (1,350 ft high).

New York is carefully planned and it is easy for a stranger to find his way there. The city has been built rectangularly. All the streets, except Broadway, run either north or south, or east or west. Twelve long avenues run north and south, and five hundred short streets east and west. The Fifth Avenue divides the city into the eastern and the western part. Only Broadway runs diagonally across the city.

The Americans have not given the New York streets names of their famous men, but have called them by ordinal numbers or letters of the alphabet, e.g. Second Street, First Avenue, Avenue A, Avenue B, etc.

T he Statue of Liberty is a splendid statue, which stands on a small Liberty Island (Bedloe's Island) at the entrance to New York harbour. Its top reaches 305 feet (nearly 100 metres) above the water level. The Statue of Liberty is the work of the well-known 19th-century French sculptor Frederic Bartholdi. The statue is made from copper sheets and it is hollow inside. 225 tons of metal were used for its construction. Inside there is a circular stairway from the base to the crown. There is also a lift in it.

The figure shows a young woman freeing herself from shackles. She holds a torch in her right hand above her head and in her left hand is a tablet with the date ‘July 4th, 1776’ on it, which symbolizes the Declaration of Independence. The torch lights up at night, the statue stands on the east side of Manhattan Island.

The Statue of Liberty was built on funds collected in France and symbolizes the friendship of the United States and France of those days. The statue, presented to the United States of America in 1884, became national monument in 1924.

T here are some more places of interest in New York such as City Hall, the New York Public Library, Columbia University, Brooklyn Bridge, and many others.

The Empire State Building stands in the centre of New York, on Manhattan, and presents inspiring views around the horizon, night or day, in wet weather or dry, to visitors from all over the world. It has 102 floors and is 448 metres high. It houses 25,000 tenants. There are two observation platforms: one − on the 86th and the other on the 102nd floor. From its dizzy height one looks over the business area of Broadway and Wall Street. In the north one can see Central Park, the greatest park of New York.

The Empire State Building remained the world's tallest until the twin towers of the World Trade Centre were opened in 1972. The Trade Centre's triumph was short. A new skyscraper was built two years later. In 1974, the 110-storeyed Search Tower was completed in Chicago. It reached a height of 1,454 feet.

Broadway is the centre of the theatres and nightlife. It is a city that never goes to sleep. Buses and the subway run all night.

There are many drugstores and restaurants, which never close. There are cinemas with films that start at midnight. Broadway is known as ‘The Great White Way’ because of the electric signs which turn night into day. Wall Street in New York City is the site of the New York Stock Exchange and the centre of the world financial life.

The United Nations is a world organization of nations who have voluntarily joined together to work for world peace. It was formed just after the Second World War.

The main headquarters of the United Nations are in New York City. The United Nations Organization secretariat occupies the higher building. The General Assembly is held in the lower building. United Nations Information Centres and Branch offices are located in many of the world's capital cities.