NEWYORK.
NewYork attract peopl from all over. Get on a subway in New York andlook at the newspapers that peopl around you are reading . One personis reading a newspaper in Spanish , anouther in Chinese, yet othersin Arabic , Russian , Italian , Yiddish, and French . New York wasalways a city of immigrants. It still is .
The are 5 boroughs in New York - Manhaptan , Brooklyn , Queens , thebronx , and Staten Island. Brooklyn alone has so many people that ifit were a separate city , it would be the fourth largest in theUnited States.
ManhattanGeography.
Manhattanis an island just 13 miles long and 2 miles wide . It is the centreof American finance, advertising , art theatre, publishing , fashion- and much more. The borough of Manhatten is what most people thinkof New York, one of the most exciting cities in the world.
Manhattanis divided into the East Side and the West Side. The dividing line isFifth Avenue. So, for example , East 47th Street begins at FifthAvenue, as does West 47th Street.
Manhattanis also divided , wuth less exactnes, into Lower (Downtown), Midtownand Upper (Up-town) Manhattan. As you go North, or uptown, the streetnumbers get higher. Lower Manhatta refers to street numbers below14th Street and Central Park, and Upper Manhattan to the renaming,northern, part of the island.
TheFinancial District .
TheDutch were the first Europeans to settle Manhattan. To protectthemselves from attacs, they built a sturdy wooden wall. Althoughit`s now long gone, this wall gave it`s name to a street in LowerManhattan and the street, in turn, became synonymous with Americancapitalism. The street, of course, is Wall Street. The New York StockExchange and the American Stokc Exchange are both in the Wall Streetarea. So are many stokc brokers, investment blanks and others bank,and headquarters of many large corporations.
Toescape the commotion of Wall Street you can visit the nearby SouthStreet Seaport, an open area of low buildings on the East River. Inaddition to many shops and restaraunts, the seaport has a museum.
Twogood ways to get the larger picture of New York are to circle it in about and to hover over it in helicopter. In the financial district,thogh, there`s anouther way to see New York. The twin towers of theWorld Trade Centre rise 1,350 feet above the city. There`s anobservation deck on the 107th floor of one of the towers.
Appropriately,the very first business deal in Manhattan was made in what becamethe financial district. As every American schoolchild knows, theDutch bought Manhattan from the Indians, for the rediculously lowprice of 24 dollars worth of beads and trinkets. There is, however,another, less known side of this: evidently, the Indians who had soldManhattan did not themselves live there or in any sense own it. TheDutch and the Indians alike walked away pleased.
TheLower East Side.
Thelower East Side was originali an ellegant neighborhood. When New Yorkwas the capital of the United States, Presedent George Washingtonlived on the Lower East Side.
Bythe mid-1880s the Lower East Side had changed greatly. It waschracterized by crime and the poverty and hopes of it`s residents. Bythe mid-1800s the Lower East Side had become an area in whichimmigrants settled. First there were many Irish, then came many Jewsfrom Easten Europe.
Near the Lower East Side there aretwo other neighborhoods that also attracted immigrants and that arefamous for their food.The Italian restaraurants of LittleItaly remainpopular to tourists and Italians alike. Today Chinatownis the only immigrant community that`s still growing. Chinatown hasseven newspaper of it`s own. It also nearly 200 restaurants.
GreenwichVillage and the East Village.
Greenwich Village and the East Village have always beenat the centre of New york`s excitement. Both have been places forpeople with different and creative ideas. Both have an activenightlife with plenty of bars, restaraurants and clubs.
Inthe early 1900s the charm Greenwich Village attracted bohemians -writers and artists. By the 1920s, the streets of the Village werefilled with other peole, curious to see how these odd Villagerslived. The artists and writers began moving out, some to the EastVillage. Today, the Village has many elemets : students attending NewYork University ; an active jazz scene; and in Washington Square -it`s centre - street performers, police. Drug dealers, joggers,roller skates, and just about everyone else.
Whenbohemiams moved to the East Village 1920s, they found an area similarto the Lower East Side. There were many immigrants, much dirt andgrime. The East Village has changed very little. Over the years ithas been a centre for many movements - for the beat poets of the1950s, the hippies of the 1960s, and, more recently, for New York`spunk scene.
The United States of America
TheUnites States of America are situated in the central part of theNorth American continent. Its westerncoast is washed by the Pacific Ocean and its eastern coast - by theAtlantic Ocean. Thetotal area of the USA is over nine million square kilometres. The population of the USA is more than236 million people; most of the population lives in towns and cities. The USA is a very large country, so ithas several different climatic
regions.The Goldest regions are in the north and north-east. The south has a subtropical climate. The United States is a land of rivers andlakes..The northern state
ofMinnesota is the land of 10 000 lakes. The longest
riversin the USA arethe Mississippi, the Missouri and the Rio Grande. The highest mountains are the Rocky Mountains, theCordillera and the Sierra Nevada.
TheUnited States are riebiia natural and mineral resources. It produces copper, oil, iron ore and coal.It is a highly-developed industrial Bad agricultural coubtry. There are many big cities in the USA,such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and others. Thenational capital is Washington, D.C. Its population is about3,4 million. Washington was
builtin the late eighteenth century especially as the centre of governmeat. It was named after GeorgeWashington. TheUSA became the world teading country at the beginning of the twen*eth century.
US Congress
TheUnited States of America is a federal republic consisting of50 states. Each of which has its own goverment ("stategoverment"). In some ways the United States is like 50 smallcountries. Each state has its owngovernor, its own police andits own laws. The present constitution wasproclaimed in 1787 inPhiladelphia, the President is the head ofthe whole country and thegoverment and "commandering chief" of the armed forces. He makesthe most important decisions and chooses the ministers, themembers of his cabinet. But the Presidentcannot do just what he wants.The Congress must agree first. Americans choose a newpresident every four years. The residenceof the President is the WhiteHouse in Washington, the Capital city. The goverment of the
wholecountry (the Federal goverment) works from Washington, thisis where the Congress is based. TheCapitol is the seat of the USCongress. Congress is the Americanparliament which consists of 2chambers. The Senate and the House ofRepresentatives. The firstCongress met in 1789 in New York city. The membership thenconsisted of 22 senators and 59representatives. Today the Houseof Representatives has 435 members.Elections to the house takeplace every 2 years. There are 100senators (2 from each state),they are elected to serve for a period ofsix years, but every twoyears elections to the senate took place when one/third ofits members must be changed or re-elected.Election day is always inthe month of November, on the first Tuesday, after the first
Monday.Americans who aren't yet 25 years old have no right to beelected to the House of Representatives.Whose, who are under 30 can'tbe elected in the Senate. The main political parties in theUnited States of America are the Democratic Party and theRepubllican Party.
Washington
Thecity of Washington, the capital of the United States ofAmerica is located in the District of Columbia (DC for short)Many people consider Washington DC to beone of the most beatifulcities in the world. It is filled withmany parks, wide streets andimpressive buildings. In the centre of the city, in CapitolPark, visitors' eyes focus on the Capitol, where Congressconvence to inect laws. Many visitors cometo Washington DC to seethe White House. It is the greatest attraction for many ofthem. The White House, the officialresidence of the President,is situated at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,N.W. The largest room in thisbuilding of over the hundreds room is the East Room, scene
ofmany state receptions, balls and musicals. Other famous roomsare: the Green Room, the Blue Room, theRed Room, which are used forafternoon teas and for receptions held before state dinners.The Blue Room, the most formal of these "colors" room is anoval-shaped room connecting the Green andthe Red Rooms. On the secondfloor, the floor with the family quarters and questsrooms, is the Lincoln Room, which oneserved as an office forpresident Lincoln but today serves as an honor guest room. In thisroom Lincoln signed the emansipation proclamation of 1863.Other landmarks in Washington DC include memorials to threePresidents: The Washington Memorial, TheLincoln Memorial and TheJefferson Memorial; The Library ofCongress, The National Gallaryof Art, The John F. Kennedy center for the Perfoming Arts. The Capitolis in the very center of Washington. It is located on the
CapitolHill, the highest point in the city. The Capitol is thehighest building in Washington. There is alaw in Washington not tobuild buildings higher than the Capitol. The conrer stone ofthe Capitol was laid by George Washingtonon Sep 18th, 1793. TheCapitol is the seat of the goverment of the United States ofAmerica.