New York

Exercise 1. Read and translate the text

The New York Bay at the mouth of the Hudson River was first seen by an Italian navigator Giovanni de Verrazano in 1525 and later, in 1609, it was explored by Henry Hudson, who discovered the Hudson River and Manhattan Island. In 1626 two ships of Dutch colonists arrived and under the leadership of Peter Minuit set up their first settlement named New Amsterdam. In 1664 the colony was captured by the British fleet under Duke of York and renamed New York. The first view of the city is the sight of the bronze Statue of Liberty, presented to the USA by France in 1886 in order to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of American independence. The statue is 152 feet high and stands on a pedestal of almost the same height. A new American Museum of Immigration is opened at the base of the Statue. New York, the nation’s largest city and richest port, is a national leader in business, finance, manufacturing, communications, service industries, fashion and the arts.

New York City consists of five boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Richmond (Staten Island).

Manhattan is the heart of the city, a rocky island thirteen miles long and two miles wide. It is divided into three parts: downtown, midtown and uptown. Bowling Green is a small triangular ar ea at the foot of Broadway. It was in the time of the Dutch. Now it is the oldest city park. It was on this spot that the Dutch governor, Peter Minuit bought Manhattan from the Indians for 24 dollars in 1626. Quite a bargain!

Downtown Manhattan is the business centre of the nation. Wall Street here is America’s financial centre. It symbolizes the money – financiers of the USA. Wall Street was called so because of a wall which extended along the street in Dutch times. It was built about 1650 from the Hudson River to the East River to protect the small colony from attacks by Indians. Later the wall was removed, but the name remained.

The present City Hall is the third building housing the City Hall since the city was first established as New Amsterdam. It houses the offices of Mayor, President of the City Council and the meeting rooms of the City Council. Here there are the desks of the first three Presidents.

A campus of New York University is situated in downtown Manhattan at Washington Square. Another place of interest in this area is Greenwich Village, known as the Bohemian quarters of the literary and artistic world. Manhattan is crossed from north to south by avenues and from east to west by streets. They are numbered but such as Park, Madison, Lexington and Columbus bear names. The most fashionable is Fifth Avenue. It has become a symbol of wealth, elegance and glamour all over the United States. Broadway near Time Square is a place where most theatres are located. It is famous for its night-clubs, cafes, restaurants, hotels and shops.

Midtown Manhattan contains Pennsylvania Station, the busiest station in the USA, Empire State Building (102 stories). It was named after the “Empire State” (a nickname of New York). It lost its America’s tallest title when the twin 110-story towers of New York’s World Trade Centre were completed in 1973. United Nations Headquarters – 38-story building occupies a six-block area (from 42^nd to 48^th streets). Rockefeller Centre of Radio City is called so because the Radio Corporation of America – RCA – owns the tallest of the 15 skyscrapers in this group. It is a city within a city with its own restaurants, stores, theatres, post-offices. In winter the outdoor restaurant is transformed to an ice-skating pond.

In uptown Manhattan visitors usually see a Memorial to Christopher Columbus in the centre of Columbus circle; New York Coliseum, the most modern exhibition hall; Central Park with numerous playgrounds; tennis-courts and bridle-paths; American Museum of Natural History. There one can find Columbia University, founded in 1754 by royal decree of George II, king of England. Now it is a private institution where the tuition costs not less than 6000 dollars a year.

Exercise 2. Match the words a word – combinations with its translation and cite the context according to the text

mouth (of the river) у підніжжі

navigator досліджувати

at the base of район (місто)

to explore гирло

borough захищати від

rocky island вигідна покупка, оборудка

quite a bargain мореплавець

campus штаб - квартира ООН

symbol of wealth and elegance бути названим на честь кого-небудь

United Nations headquarters університет містечко

to be named after символ достатку та вишуканості

to protect from найсучасніший виставковий зал

skyscraper кінна (верхова) стежка

the most modern exhibition hall скелястий острів

bridle – path плата за навчання

tuition хмарочос