MANHATTAN ISLAND

          Manhattan is a heart of New York. It is an island just 13 miles long and 2 miles wide. It is the centre of American finance, advertisement, trade and even more. The borough of Manhat­tan is what most people think New York. New York is one of the most exciting cities in the world.

          Manhattan is divided into two parts: the East Side and the West Side. The dividing line is Fifth Avenue. So, for example, East 47th Street begins at Fifth Avenue, as West 47th Street does.

          There is another division of Manhattan Island. It could be divided into Lower (Downtown), Midtown and Upper (Up­town) Manhattan. As you go North, or uptown, the street num­bers get higher. Lower Manhattan refers to street numbers below 14th Street and Central Park, and Upper Manhattan is the northern part of the island.

          Talking about the history of. the island, one can notice that the Dutch were the first Europeans to settle Manhattan. To protect themselves from attack, they 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. There are many stockbrokers, investment banks and other banks, head­quarters of many large corporations in this street. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre used to rise 1,350 feet above the city. But after the tragedy of September, 11, 2001, they became the part of history of the USA.

           As every American schoolchild knows, the Dutch bought Manhattan from the Indians, for the ridiculously low price of 24 dollars worth of beads and other trinkets. There is, howe­ver, another, less known side of this: evidently, the Indians who had sold Manhattan did not live there or own it. The Dutch and the Indians alike walked away pleased.

QUESTIONS:

1. Why is the borough of Manhattan so important for New York and the whole country?
2. How can Manhattan Island be divided?
3. What is Manhattan?
4. Who were the first Europeans to settle Manhattan?
5. How did Wall Street obtain its name?
6. What is located in Wall Street?
7. Who sold Manhattan Island to the Dutch?
8. How much did the Dutch pay?
9. Why did Indians sell Manhattan Island to the Dutch?
10. It is the centre of American finance, advertising, art theatre, publishing, fashion, is not it?
11. What is the territorial division of Manhattan Island?

VOCABULARY:

advertisement — реклама

trade — торговля

borough — район

to refer — относиться, иметь отношение (к чему-либо, кому-либо)

up town — окраины