Big Cities of the USA

The United States today is a nation of urban dwellers. About 80% of the population lives in cities. There are many big cities and towns in the USA. New York, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles are the biggest.

The largest and the most famous city is New York (population 7,868,000). It is the gateway to the USA. It is also a window through which the life of the whole nation may be observed. It is also called the Big Apple or the city that never sleeps, because it is never quite and many people either work or go out to enjoy themselves at night. The first view to the city can never be forgotten. It is represented by Liberty Island with the bronze Statue of Liberty (a symbol of American Independence), presented to the USA by France in 1876. The statue is about 50 meters high and stands on a pedestal of almost the same height. Its torch towers about 200 feet (60 meters) above the harbour and can be seen at night for many miles. New York is a national leader in business, finance, manufacturing, communications, service industries, fashion and arts. “Money-making” is the main law of life in New York. New York is a city of contrasts. The richest people in the USA work and live there, earning millions of dollars. And at the same time the poorest people inhabit a part of New York called Harlem.

New York consists of 5 boroughs//районы: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Richmond. Brooklyn is the largest in population (3,000,000). It is even called “bedroom of New York”.

The heart of the city is Manhattan, a rocky island. It is the center of American finance, advertising, art, theater, publishing, fashion – and much more. Perhaps nowhere are New York′s extreme contrasts more obvious than in the Times Square area, around 42^nd Street and Broadway. Many big plays and musicals open there. Beneath the bright neon signs of Times Square, you will find the most elegant theaters some of its sleaziest “adult” shows and shops.

Chicago is the third-largest city in the USA and one of the busiest airport, country′s leading industrial, commercial, financial and transport centers. It has the world’s Chicago-O’Hare International Airport. It is also the most important rail and haulage center and a significant port handling both domestic and international trade. The city is first in the nation in manufacturing of machinery and electronic parts. It is often called the “Great Market of the USA”. Chicago is the railroad and grain center of the nation. It is also called “Cross-Roads of the Continent”. It is served by 19 trunk lines and handles 50,000 freight cars daily. More airlines converge//сходятся on Chicago than any other city of the USA. Lakes freighters and river barges deliver bulk //насыпной или наливной груз commodities such as iron, ore, limestone, coal, chemicals, oil, and grain.

Chicago is a major center of higher education with numerous colleges and universities. It is a leader in nuclear research.

The world’s first skyscraper was constructed in Chicago in 1885. The central part of the city has one of the tallest building – the Sears Tower at 110 storeys high.

Philadelphia (often called “Philly”) is the 4^th largest city in the USA (1,5million people). For 10 years Philadelphia was the 1^st national capital of the USA (1800). That city was the place of the First and Second Continental Congresses, and the Constitution of the USA was also adopted here on June 4, 1776.

Philadelphia is known as an important industrial and financial center, it is also an important international port on the Delaware River. The leading industries are shipbuilding, printing, publishing, textile, machinery. The city is also famous for its ice-cream, pepper-pot soup and a sausage-like product called scrapples //кушанье из свинины с кукурузной крупой.

Washington, D.C. is one of the few capitals in the world that was specially built to house the American national government. The terms Washington and the District of Columbia are practically synonymous. Washington was named after the first US President – George Washington. It is not the largest city in the USA. Its population is about 900 thousand people, but it is the largest “one-industry” city in the world. That industry is government. The city’s main product is law and government decisions. The center of the city is the Capitol Building which dominates all Washington. It is the place where the US Congress meets to discuss the nation’s affairs, place where the inaugurations of the President and Vice-President are held. On the dome of the Capitol there is a bronze Statue of Freedom which symbolizes the main idea of the US Сonstitution that free people may govern themselves. Pennsylvania Avenue joins the Capitol and The White House which is the President′s Residence. It has 107 rooms and 31 bathrooms. All American presidents have lived there except George Washington as the White House was not yet built at that time after damage by fire in 1814.

Washington is a wonderful city. You can hardly find a park, a square or an open area in it without a monument or memorial. The most impressive are the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The Washington Monument looks like a big pencil. Its height is 160 meters and it is hollow inside. A special lift brings visitors to the top in 70 seconds and from it they can enjoy a beautiful view of the whole city. The Lincoln Memorial is built in the style of a Classic Greek Temple. It has 36 columns that show the number of states in the Union in Lincoln′s time. Inside the Memorial there is a large white marble statue of the 16^th President of the USA who was loved by supporters and hated by enemies who killed him in 1865.

Washington is a city of museums, art galleries, theatres. It is an important scientific center. There are 5 universities there, National Academy of Science, the famous Library of Congress, one of the largest in the world. George Washington University, Howard University are the most popular.

There are no skyscrapers in Washington, because they would hide the city′s numerous monuments from view. Besides, no building in the city may be no more than 40 meters tall, i.e., It cannot be higher than the White House.

Los Angeles

The city was founded in 1781 by Spanish colonists who came to the west coast of America from Mexico. The village built by them was called “The Town of Our Lady, The Queen of Angeles”. It is a city of many beaches, with surfers, volleyball players, and people getting tan. It is also the center of the movie industry home to many movie stars. LA has money and glamour; the Beverly Hills neighborhood, for example, is famous for its mansions and high-priced shops. LA is a city of fads//прихоть, фантазия and trends. Clubs, restaurants, shops, and styles have been known to appear and disappear overnight. LA is not only a center for entertainment and tourism, but also for manufacturing, business and finance, aerospace, oil, and trade.

LA faces some serious problems. With so much traffic. LA has the dirtiest air in the USA; too often sunshine is hidden by smog. Crime and violence are also major problems. Police say there are at least 500 gangs in LA. Violence among gang members has grown with the spread of drugs and drug money. Experts emphasize that the problems must be solved if LA is to maintain the Southern California lifestyle for which it’s famous.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a center of gambling in America. For this reason, some say the name Las Vegas comes from a mispronunciation of the phrase “lost wages”. In reality, “Las Vegas” is Spanish for “meadows”. Early settlers were impressed by the fact that Las Vegas was an oasis of green grass in the middle of the desert.

Today Las Vegas is still an oasis – not of grass, but of neon lights. Its hotels and gambling casinos, shows use so much neon that Las Vegas has been nicknamed the City of Lights. In fact, all the entertainments of Las Vegas are open 24 hours a day. Las Vegas is like an “adult Disneyland”, a fantasy oasis in the Nevada desert.

Detroit

Detroit is the world’s car manufacturing center, giving Detroit its nickname the Motor City. It is also one of the nation’s leading industrial centers. Detroit produces steel, metal products, machine tools, chemicals, office machines, and pharmaceuticals. The metropolitan area contains the international headquarters of such major motor-vehicle firms as General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler Corporation. The first motor car factories were founded in Detroit in 1899 and 1903 by Ransom Olds and Henry Ford.

San Francisco

The city is surrounded on three sides by water. It is famous for its bridges, fog, and foghorns. San Francisco has 40 hills. It is famous for its cable cars, which climb these hills, and for its steep and narrow streets. San Francisco is a wonderful city to explore on foot. San Francisco also has a reputation as an intellectual, liberal, and slightly crazy city – a city where new and different ideas can be explored. Don’t leave San Francisco without seeing the symbol of the city – the Golden Gate Bridge – a beautiful orange suspension bridge. The city has the largest Chinese neighborhood – Chinatown, a genuinely ethnic area

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