Los Angeles

Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States. The Los Angeles area, which includes the city itself and its suburbs, has a population of 13,6 million.

Los Angeles’s nicknames are LA and the City of Angels. Some people also call it «La-La-Land» because they think the city is full of strange and crazy people.

The inhabitants of Los Angeles are called Angelenos.

Los Angeles is often called «the entertainment capital of the world». The largest and the most famous entertainment industries in LA are television and film production, so the city is full of celebrities and wannabe actors who come here hoping to attract attention of some Hollywood big shot.

The city was born as a Spanish pueblo in 1781 and it’s still very Spanish in character. You hear people speaking the language wherever you go. Many signs are in English and Spanish and there are many Spanish street names.

Los Angeles is a multicultural city. About 100 languages can be heard on its streets. There are some areas in LA where it seems that you are not in an English-speaking country at all.

Venice Beach is the best place to see many Angelenos at once. You won’t see any stars here – it’s too crowded – but you’ll see lots of bronzed bodybuilders, rollerskaters, street performers, belly dancers, and people just walking up and down in their swim suits waiting for you to notice their beautiful bodies. Angelenos like to be looked at.

It seems that nobody walks in Los Angeles; there are a lot of beautiful cars driven by beautiful people. But with so many cars, LA has the dirtiest air in the US. And too often the sunshine is hidden by the smog.

Hollywood is still the centre of American film industry, though many studios have moved out of it. The famous Hollywood sign is known all over the world. Each letter in the sign is 15,2 meters tall. In 1932, during the Great Depression, one young actress, Peg Entwistle, even jumped to her death from the sign’s giant letter «H».

Universal Studios in Hollywood is one of the most amazing places on earth. Not only does it have a theme park, but it’s also a working studio. A tram tour takes you past film sets where movies are being filmed and you can also see a lot of Hollywood history. You can even bump into Steven Spielberg or Johnny Depp on their way to work … or to lunch (the stars are human, they have to eat).

Many famous movie stars live in or near Hollywood, especially in Beverly Hills and Malibu.

LA is an exciting city, but it’s also a dangerous place to live in. There are over 1 300 street gangs in LA with over 160 000 members. Gangs are responsible for such crimes as theft, vandalism, drug smuggling and even murder. The biggest gang in LA and the whole US is the 18^th Street Gang.

TEXT 9. Read and translate the text. Make reports on other American cities (Detroit, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Boston) and states.

Welcome to Chicago

• Chicago is the third largest American city. It is in the state of Illinois on Lake Michigan. It was founded in the 1830s and quickly became the transportation, financial and industrial centre of the American Middle West.

• The world’s first skyscrapers appeared in Chicago. They were built after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The fire lasted 27 hours and destroyed 17 450 buildings.

• During Prohibition Chicago was known for its gangsters. The most notorious of them was Al Capone. He had seven rival criminals murdered in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, but the police couldn’t find enough evidence on which to arrest him. He was finally sent to prison in 1931 for not paying enough income tax.

• Chicago is sometimes called the «Windy City» or the «City of Broad Shoulders».

• Chicago’s tallest building is the Sears Tower. It is 443 meters high, with 110 floors. It’s the tallest building in the USA.

• The Art Institute of Chicago has the largest collection of Impressionist paintings outside the Louvre in Paris.

• Chicago’s Western Avenue is probably the longest street in the world. It’s 38.09 km long!

• There are 29 public beaches in Chicago.

• When St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in the city the Chicago River is dyed green.

• The world’s largest ice-cream cone factory is situated in Chicago.

• The first car race ever seen in the US was held in Chicago in 1895.

• Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo is one of the world’s last free zoos.

• The Chicago Bears (American football) and the Chicago Bulls (basketball) are two of the toughest teams in the US.

• Chicago is home to the world’s largest food festival – The Taste of Chicago. The festival is held for 10 days and attracts millions of Americans and tourists from around the world. Here, you can enjoy lots of tasty dishes prepared by Chicago’s most popular restaurants and listen to live music.

• Chicago is often called the most typical American city.

TEXT 10. Read and translate the text. Name 10 reasons to visit Alaska.