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New York City
GENERAL INFORMATION
New York is situated on the eastern coast of the USA. It was the capital for four years during
the War of Independence. It is the biggest city in the USA, an important seaport, and a
financial, business and cultural centre. There are four airports and it has the largest subway
system in the world.
Because of the hustle and bustle of the city it is often called “the city that never sleeps”. It is
also called “the Big Apple” as there used to be apple orchards in place of today’s New York.
HISTORY
The Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano was the first European on the territory in 1524.
Today a bridge is named after him. In 1609 the English sailor Henry Hudson explored the
area. He went up the river, today called the Hudson River. The Dutch were the first to
colonize New York in 1614. They built a fort (today the Wall Street). In 1626 the Dutch
trader Peter Minuit bought Manhattan from the Indians in exchange for trade goods worth 60
guilders (about $1,000 today). In 1664 the English seized the Dutch colony and renamed it
from New Amsterdam to New York after the Duke of York, the King’s brother.
BOROUGHS
New York consists of 5 boroughs: Manhattan, The Bronx, The Queens, Brooklyn and Staten
Island.
Manhattan is the most important of them. It has a modern layout; there are avenues running
from south to north and streets running from east to west. It is situated on a rocky island
between the East River and the Hudson River and the name is from an Indian name man-ahat-ta meaning heavenly land.
There are luxurious shops, hotels and offices on Fifth Avenue. The Empire State Building is
located there.
Broadway runs across the streets and avenues. It is more than 19km long, there are 33
theatres, also the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, cinemas, restaurants, clubs and bars.
Times Square is a centre of entertainment. There are department stores, shops, restaurants,
nightclubs and hotels. It is named after the former buildings of the New York Times
newspaper.
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Inovace výuky gymnázia Českolipská
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Wall Street is the financial centre of the world. There are banks and the stock exchange.
Harlem is a black quarter where the majority of population is African American. In the 1920s
and 1930s the area experienced the “Harlem Renaissance”, an artistic and political African
American movement, which gave birth to some of the greatest jazz music.
The Bronx is in the north on the mainland. It has a reputation of a poor area. From the 1850s
to the 1950s The Bronx was inhabited by Irish, German, Jewish and Italian immigrants, who
after 1945 were followed by African-Americans and immigrants from Puerto Rico, the
Dominican Republic and Jamaica.
One fourth of the borough includes the famous Pelham Park (the largest NYC park), the New
York Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo. The Bronx is home to rap and hip hop and to the
New York Yankees, a popular professional baseball team with more championships victories
than any other.
Queens is the city’s most diverse borough, as many different ethnic groups have moved in.
As a result, 138 different languages are spoken here and nearly 50% of Queen’s residents are
foreign. Two of New York’s airports, John, F. Kennedy and LaGuardia, are situated here. It is
also home to the US Open tennis tournament (played at Flushing Meadows Park).
Brooklyn is the largest of the five; it is situated on Long Island. Originally it was a swamp
and the Dutch filled it with their garbage and created Brooklyn. Its bridge, which was
completed in 1883, is one of the world’s oldest suspension bridges (visutý most). The
neighbourhood near the bridge, called the Brooklyn Heights, has always been the home to
rich families.
Staten Island is the least populated of the five boroughs. Staten Island Ferry is one of the
most popular tourist attractions in NYC as it provides spectacular views of the Statue of
Liberty, Ellis Island and lower Manhattan.
The Statue of Liberty is a copper statue given to the USA by France in 1886. She has a tablet
with 4th July 1776 in her left hand and a torch in her right hand. The statue stands on Liberty
Island near the port, in Manhattan. It is the symbol of New York and the first sight for many
immigrants; so it has become a symbol of hope and freedom.
Projekt spolufinancuje Evropský sociální fond
Praha & EU: Investujeme do vaší budoucnosti“
Inovace výuky gymnázia Českolipská
CZ.2.17/3.1.00/36269
Zdroje:
ROHLS, Lenka. NEW YORK CITY: Taking a big bite out of the "Big Apple". Praha:
Nakladatelsví Bridge, 2009.
SMITH-DLUHÁ, Gabrielle. Angličtina: otázky a odpovědi nejen k maturitě. 1. vyd.
Dubicko: INFOA, 2007, 231 s. Zrcadlový text. ISBN 978-80-7240-489-6.
Projekt spolufinancuje Evropský sociální fond
Praha & EU: Investujeme do vaší budoucnosti“