学进去

Do you like to travel to the USA? If so, you would like to visit a modern city-New York. But how much do you know about this famous city? Let’s know something about it. New York has a short history of about three hundred years. In 1626, the Dutch settlers “bought” Manhattan Island from the Indians. They “paid” them several pieces of bright cloth, diamond-like stones and other things worth(价值) about twenty-four dollars. Then in 1664 the English came. The Dutch settlers were defeated without a real fight. Then the place was renamed New York. The city’s development was rather slow under the English. It speeded up to a certain degree in the 19th century. The New York of today came into shape only within the last century.

If there is one thing that has made New York famous, it is its tall buildings. Manhattan is about 12 miles by 1.5 miles at its widest part. This might be the reason why the city has grown upwards, instead of outwards. It is an exciting experience just to walk down a New York street. The buildings rise straight into the blue sky on either side. It makes one feel as though he were walking through a deep valley. The Empire State Building has 103 storeys. For many years it had been the tallest in the city, but now it has been topped by another taller building-the World Trade Centre, which has 82 storeys. New York at night loses its hard character during the day. On the quiet waters is casting(投射) a dark outline of the Statue of Liberty under the pale moonlight. Across the Hudson and East Rivers are the Manhattan bridges with their strings of lights. There are millions of colourful lights rising higher and higher to the top of the buildings, which are like the crown of the queen of American cities. Although New York is neither the capital of the United States, nor even the capital of New York State, it is one of the most famous cities in the world!