3. Modern Babylon (New -York)

New York. Some call it a poem in stone and steel, others a soulless monster. It is unlike any other city in the world.

At the beginning of the 17-th century only the wigwams of the Iroquois stood where the sky- scrapers of New -York now reach to the clouds. In 1626 the Dutch bought the island from the natives for the ridiculously low price of 24 dollars worth of beads and trinkets.

Later the Indians named the island ”Manhatta” which in Iroquois means: “ They cheated us. “ Present-day Manhattan is the main borough of New York.

New York has two natural advantages: it is located at the mouth of the Hudson River, and it is well located for travel and trade between the United States and Europe.

At the turn of the present century millions of people driven by poverty emigrated to the United States from various countries of Europe. They entered the New World through New York, the “Gateway of America”. Hundreds of thousands of them settled down in that city. That is what makes people call it the “Modern Babylon”.

Near the southern end of Manhattan Island is a smaller island called Liberty Island. On it stands one of the most beloved statues in the country, the Statue of Liberty. To many people who have come to the USA from foreign lands this statue has given the first welcoming greeting from free people of America.

New York attracts people from all over. If you get on a subway in New York and look at the newspapers that people are reading you can see them in Spanish, in Chinese, in Arabic, in Russian, in Italian, in Yiddish and in French.

While New York is composed of five boroughs, joined in 1898, the place most people come to visit is Manhattan. Here at the lower end is a financial district with its stockbrokers, investment banks, and headquarters of many large corporations.

A few miles uptown are Greenwich Village and the East Village, both have always been at the center of New-York’s excitement. Both have an active night -life with plenty of bars, restaurants, and clubs.

In midtown, one finds the most familiar sites - Rockfeller Centre, Radio Music City Hall, The Museum of Modern Art, and Carnegie Hall. On the East side stands the United Nations complex. Times Square is the heart of the theatre district- the area where Broadway plays are performed.

New York, in many ways, America’s premier city . It’s the nation’s financial, communications, and cultural center. Above all, an international city, it houses the General Assembly and the Security Council.

The streets themselves are symbolic: Madison Avenue for advertising, Wall Street for finance, Broadway for theatre, Seventh Avenue for fashion, and Fifth Avenue for elegant shopping. Unlike Tokyo or London, Paris or Beijing ( Peking), New York is a 24 hours city, a place where buses and subways operate round the clock.

New York is a city of extremes. Its hotels, apartment houses, restaurants, and shops rank with the most exclusive and expensive anywhere. In contrast, the city also has more the homeless, the addicted, and the ill.

TASK:

I. Learn the vocabulary:

A soulless monster бездушное чудовище

Ridiculously смехотворная

Worth of beads and trinkets стоимость бус и безделушек

To cheat обмануть

A borough район

An advantage преимущество

Driven by poverty гонимые нищетой

A premier city главный город

To be composed of состоять из

Stockbrokers биржевой маклер

An investment bank инвестиционный банк

A headquarter штаб-квартира

Excitement возбуждение, волнение

A familiar site известное место

A city of extremes город контрастов

An apartment house многоквартирный дом

Expensive дорогой

The addicted наркоманы

II. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. What does the history say about the early days of New York?

2. What are the advantages that have made New York a very important city for the USA?

3. Why do people name New York “Modern Babylon”?

4. Why is New York so attractive to people from all over the world?

5. New York City is made up of five parts: Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Which of these are islands?

6. Can you name the most familiar sites in New York?

7. Why do we call New York an international city?

8. They say New York is a city of extremes. Why?

III. TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING INTO ENGLISH:

1. Нью - Йорк не похож ни на один город в мире.

2. На рубеже столетия миллионы людей, гонимые нищетой, приехали в

Нью-Йорк из различных стран Европы.

3. Во многих отношениях Нью- Йорк- главный город Америки. Это Fинансовый, коммуникационный и культурный центр.

4. Генеральная Ассамблея ООН и Совет Безопасности расположены в этом городе.

5. В отличие от других городов мира в Нью-Йорке круглосуточно работает метрополитен и ходят автобусы.

6. Нью- Йорк- город контрастов. Его отели, дома и рестораны сравнимы с самыми роскошными и дорогими в мире. И с другой стороны, здесь больше всего бездомных, больных и наркоманов.

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