THIS IS AMERICA - New York City and the Republican National

THIS IS AMERICA - New York City and the Republican¹ National Convention
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, August 30, 2004

The Dutch established the first major European settlement in the area. They called it New Amsterdam. Later, they gave New Amsterdam to Britain as part of a peace treaty. The British renamed the colony "New York." In the middle and late seventeen hundreds, New York played an important part in the struggle for American independence.

VOICE ONE:

In the eighteen hundreds, millions of European immigrants arrived in New York through Ellis Island, in New York Harbor. Today New Yorkers represent almost every race and ethnic² group on the planet. They speak more than one hundred languages.

The last population count, in two thousand, found that forty-five percent of New Yorkers were white. Blacks and Hispanics each represented twenty-seven percent of the population. Ten percent of New Yorkers were Asian. This adds up to more than one hundred percent, because Hispanics can be of any race. Many of the Spanish speakers in New York come from Puerto Rico.

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VOICE TWO:

Manhattan is known for its tall buildings. But there are also places to enjoy nature, like Central Park. Central Park covers three hundred forty hectares. There are walking paths, play areas for children, a lake and a zoo.

The southern part of Manhattan, called Lower Manhattan, is the financial center of the city. The Financial District includes Wall Street, home to the New York Stock Exchange.

Manhattan also represents the cultural heart of the city. The famous theaters of Broadway and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts are there. New York City has about eighty museums; most are in Manhattan. The Metropolitan³ Museum of Art has the largest collection in America.

From Manhattan, many visitors take a boat to see the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. The statue reopened to the public recently. It was closed for security improvements after the September eleventh attacks.

Visitors to New York also like to go up to the observation area at the top of the Empire State Building. The Empire State Building was completed in nineteen thirty-one. It has more than one hundred floors. Until the early nineteen seventies, it was the tallest building in the world.

VOICE ONE:

There are lots of places to shop in New York. Some of the finest are along Fifth Avenue. Rockefeller Center is also on Fifth Avenue; it is home to the Radio City Music Hall.

Other areas of Manhattan include Greenwich Village and Harlem. Greenwich Village is popular with artists. Harlem is the traditional center of African American life in New York.

And along the East River in Manhattan is a glass-covered building with a lot of flags outside. This is the headquarters of the United Nations.

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VOICE TWO:

Like Manhattan, Brooklyn is densely⁴ populated. Brooklyn has the largest population of the five boroughs⁶. Its two and one-half million people live mainly in apartment buildings and houses lined close together.

During the summer, many people visit Coney Island in Brooklyn. There are swimming beaches along the Atlantic Ocean as well as rides and other activities for families. Brooklyn also has a major museum, the Brooklyn Art Museum.

In different parts of New York, there are areas of wealth, but also poverty. Some of the poorest areas are in the South Bronx, known for its public housing projects. Yet the Bronx also has Fieldston, an area with large homes. The Bronx is also home to cultural and educational centers.

VOICE ONE:

Queens has major industry along the East River. It also has the two major airports in New York City: John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia.

The borough⁵ with the fewest people is Staten Island. In nineteen sixty-four, the Verrazano Narrows bridge linked the island with Brooklyn. But there is no bridge between Staten Island and Manhattan. So people sail across on the Staten Island Ferry.

New York is also known for its underground trains. The first part of the subway system opened one hundred years ago this October.

VOICE TWO:

New York has many of the same problems as other big cities. These include problems with the public schools and the health care system for the poor. Many new immigrants arrive in the city needing help.

Some people have the idea that New Yorkers are not very friendly or helpful to others. Yet, after the September eleventh attacks, people saw just the opposite. America's Big Apple won many new friends. And now New York even hopes to win the Summer Olympics in two thousand twelve.

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver⁷. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Gwen Outen. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 republican   

n.拥护共和政体的人； adj.共和政体的，（Republican）共和党人，（Republican）共和党的

参考例句：

• Some families have been republican for generations.有些家庭世代都支持共和党。
• A third candidate has entered the contest for the Republican nomination.第三个候选人已经加入角逐共和党提名的行列。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

4 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

5 borough   

n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇

参考例句：

• He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
• That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。

6 boroughs   

（尤指大伦敦的）行政区( borough的名词复数 )； 议会中有代表的市镇

参考例句：

• London is made up of 32 boroughs. 伦敦由三十二个行政区组成。
• Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City. 布鲁克林区是纽约市的五个行政区之一。

7 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。