I. Warming-up
1. These are some of the most popular attractions for international visitors in the USA. What do you know about them? What makes them unique and attractive for tourists?
| The Smithsonian Institution Disney World Yellowstone National Park Mall of America | Mt. Rushmore Boston Fenway Park Maine Lobster Florida Everglades |
2. When you think of New York what associations come to your mind?
II. Reading
The most beguiling city in the world, New York City is an adrenaline charged, history-laden place that holds immense romantic appeal for visitors. The borough of Manhattan is what most people think of when they think of New York certainly, this is where youre likely to stay and spend most of your time. Manhattan is an island just 13 miles long and 2 miles wide. But there are also four outer boroughs Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island which are essentially residential in character (Brooklyn alone has so many people that if it were a separate city, it would be the fourth largest in the United States!), but inevitably pale in comparison. However, all four hold treasures that are worth seeking out. Brooklyn Heights is one of the citys most beautiful neighborhoods; Long Island City and Astoria, both in Queens, hold many innovative museums; and a visit to the Bronx Zoo is sure to be rewarding. Last but not least, a free trip on the Staten Island Ferry is not to be missed; a sea-sprayed, refreshing good time, it provides excellent views of the city.
The first Europeans to settle Manhattan were the Dutch. They bought this land from the Indians for the ridiculously low price of 24 dollars worth of beads and trinkets. There is, however, another, less known side to this story: evidently, the Indians who had sold Manhattan did not themselves live there or in any sense own it. The Dutch and the Indians alike walked away pleased. To protect themselves from the attacks of pro-British settlers to the north, the Dutch built a sturdy wooden wall. Although it's now long gone, this wall gave its name to a street in Lower Manhattan and the street, in turn, became synonymous with American capitalism. The street, of course, is Wall Street. The New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange are both in the Wall Street area. So are many stockbrokers, investment banks and other banks and headquarters of many large corporations. Today, behind the Neoclassical mask of the New York Stock Exchange the purse strings of the world are pulled. On any weekday you can visit the New York Stock Exchange, which began with several merchants meeting under a tree on Wall Street, and which now has over 1,350 members. Due to security concerns, however, the public can no longer observe the frenzied trading on the floor of the exchange. But from the visitors' gallery you can watch as trading goes on at a frantic pace below you.
Two good ways to get the larger picture of New York are to circle it in a boat and to hover over it in a helicopter. Though you could spend weeks here and still barely scratch the surface, there are some key attractions and pleasures that you wont want to miss. These include the different ethnic neighborhoods, like Chinatown, and the more artsy concentrations of SoHo, which stands for the grid of streets that runs So uth of Ho uston Street, TriBeCa, and the East and West villages, not to mention the Statue of Liberty, Central Park and Brooklyn Bridge.
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The Statue of Liberty
Standing tall and proud in the middle of New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty has for more than a century served as a symbol of the American Dream. Depicting Liberty throwing off her shackles and holding a beacon to light the world, the monument was the creation of the French sculptor crafted a hundred years after the American Revolution, in recognition of fraternity between the French and American people.
Central Park
This huge park in the middle of the city was designed in the 1850s by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Olmsted wanted the park to be a rural paradise within an urban area, a place for all"rich and poor, young and old." Central Park is still much as he intended. You can take a horse and buggy ride through Central Park. You can explore the park even better by renting a bicycle. Attractions in the park include gardens, a zoo, a skating rink, an old-fashioned carousel, a lake where you can row, and an outdoor theater, where events are held each summer. The street on the western side of the park, Central Park West, has large and unusual apartment buildings. When the first one was being built, people laughed. They said nobody with money would live in an apartment house, especially when it was so far from the center of town that it might as well be in the Dakotas (in the western part of the United States). The builder had the last laugh; he named his building the Dakota, and when it opened, every apartment was occupied. The Dakota has had many famous residents, but, above all, the building makes people think of John Lennon, who lived there and was killed right outside on December 8, 1980.
Brooklyn Bridge
The beauty of the bridge itself and the spectacular views of Manhattan it offers make a walk across its wooden planks an essential part of any New York trip. Watch out, however, for rollerbladers and cyclists going at a clip. At the time of its opening in 1883, it was the first bridge to use steel cables, and for its first twenty years in use it was the worlds largest suspension bridge.
III. Vocabulary exercises:
1. Find Ukrainian equivalents:
adrenalin charged; residential; history-laden place; neighborhoods; rewarding; sea-sprayed; sturdy; become synonymous with; to pull purse strings of the world; frenzied trading; to circle; grid; not to mention; fraternity; rollerbladers; artsy; in recognition of; buggy ride; to throw off; watch out!; to hover
2. Find English equivalents:
, ; , ; , ; , ; ; , ; , , ; , ; ; ; ; , ; -, ; , ; () ; ; , ; (); ; ; ; ; ; ; ; , , ; ; -.
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3. Fill in the blanks using the words from exercises 1, 2 in different context:
1. The office was a scene of activity this morning. 2. The accident was the result of carelessness. 3. They bought some shares on the London . 4. She hangs out with a lot of types. 5. That's a argument, but I'm not convinced by it. 6. Do I look in this hat? 7. We set off a good , but we gradually slowed down. 8. While he was at the library, Steve decided to some information on accommodation in the area. 9. I heard the noise of a helicopter overhead. 10. Where on Earth have you been? We've been with worry. 11. Up to now newspaper articles have only of this tremendously complex issue. 12. He was presented with a gold watch his years as club secretary. 13. She was an imaginative and manager. 14. As part of the centenary celebrations a chain of was lit across the region. 15. She always returns from vacation with a few souvenirs, even if they're only . 16. The press, once heavily censored, has managed to shake off its .
4. Render into English:
1. - are essentially but . However, all four , .
2. , however, the public can no longer on the floor of the exchange. But from the visitors' gallery you can watch .
3. Depicting Liberty, , the monument was of the French sculptor a hundred years after the American Revolution, between the French and American people.
4. The beauty of the and , , across its wooden planks of any New York trip.
5. Two good ways to get the larger picture of New York . you could spend weeks here .
6. The first Europeans, Manhattan were . They bought this land from the Indians of 24 dollars .
7. - to the north, the Dutch built . , , this wall gave its name to a street in Lower Manhattan, , , American capitalism.
8. in the world, New York City , , .
a) Match the words with their definitions; give their Ukrainian equivalents
| 1) unimaginable | a) (of a region, an environment, etc.) lacking a favourable climate, etc |
| 2) far and away | b) of or belonging to the first age or ages, esp of the world |
| 3) destruction | c) a slide of a large mass of dirt and rock down a mountain or cliff |
| 4) bulwark | d) very important |
| 5) inhospitable | e) a precious or semiprecious stone |
| 6) glitzy | f) characterized by the presence of masses of ice |
| 7) terrestrial | g) without pause or interruption |
| 8) jewel | h) difficult or impossible to believe |
| 9) to take in | i) an indication of imminent harm, danger, or pain |
| 10) forefront | j) a person or thing acting as a defence against injury, annoyance, etc |
| 11) torrential | k) strikingly beautiful; extremely pleasing, fine, or good |
| 12) all-consuming | l) towards or into the interior of a country or region |
| 13) to comprise | m) to flow or fall in or like a cascade |
| 14) run | n) by a great margin |
| 15) mudslide | o) demolition |
| 16) inland | p) so interesting as to occupy one's attention completely; absorbing |
| 17) crucial | q) the position of most prominence, responsibility, or action |
| 18) on end | r) of or relating to the earth |
| 19) primeval | s) period of travelling in a vehicle, especially for pleasure |
| 20) threat | t) to include |
| 21) glacial | u) showily attractive; flashy |
| 22) to cascade | v) to include; contain |
| 23) gorgeous | w) pouring or flowing fast, violently, or heavily |
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b) Fill in the gaps using the words from the left column:
Publicized and idealized all over the world, California has a formidablereputation as a paradise of sun, sand, and surf, with high mountain ranges, fast-paced cities, old-growth forests, and vast stretches of deserts. All this, however, lies under the constant of massive earthquakesof along with the floods, fires, and other assorted disasters. California is much too large to be fully explored in a single trip so decide what kind of vacation youre looking for. Los Angelesis the biggest and most stimulating city: a maddening collection of freeways, beaches, suburbs, elite enclaves, and extreme lifestyles. To the south, the more conservative metropolis of San Diegohas broad, welcoming beaches and easy access to Mexico, while further , the deserts, most notably Death Valley, a barren and landscape of volcanic craters and salt pans that in summer becomes the hottest place on Earth.
Most people follow the shoreline north up the central coast: a that vibrant small towns such as Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. Californias second city, San Francisco, is about as different from LA as its possible to get: a European-styled whose wooden Victorian houses and steep hills make it one of the worlds most distinctive and appealing cities. It is also well placed for the national parks to the east, such as Yosemite, where waterfalls into a sheer valley.
The climate is diverse. Southern California enjoys seemingly endless days of sunshine and warm, dry nights, with occasional bouts of flooding in the winter. All along the coast mornings can be hazily overcast, especially in May and June. Much more so than in the south, winter in northern California can bring rain for weeks , causing massive that wipe out roads and hillside homes.
Politically California remains the heart of liberal America, at the of environmental awareness and social experimentation, and a firm of the Democratic Party. Economically, the region is whether in the film and music industries, the financial markets, or the sector of real estate.
