Heartbeat of America

    1　New York一the Statue of Liberty¹, the skyscrapers, the beautiful shops on Fifth Avenue² and the many theaters on Broadway³. This is America"s cultural capital. It is also her biggest city, with a population of nearly 8 million. In the summer it is hot, hot, hot and in the winter it can be very cold. Still there are hundreds of things to do and see all the year round.

    2　Manhattan is the real center of the city. When people sayNew York City", they usually meanManhattan. Most of the interesting shops, buildings and museums are here. In addition,Manhattanis the scene ofNew York"s busy night life. In 1605, the first Europeans came toManhattanfrom Holland They bought the island from the Native Americans for a few glass necklaces worth about $26 today.

    3　Wall Street in Manhattan is the financial heart of the USA. It. is also the most important banking center in the world. It is a street of "skyscrapers". These are those incredible, high buildings, which Americans invented, and built faster and higher than anyone else. Perhaps the two most spectacular skyscrapers inNew Yorkare the two towers Of the New York World Trade Center⁴. When the sun sets, their 110 floors shine like pure gold.

    4　Like every big city, New York has its own traffic system. Traffic jams can be terrible. It"s usually quickest to go by subway. TheNew Yorksubway is easy to use and quite cheap. The subway goes to almost every corner ofManhattan. But it is not safe to take the subway late at night because in some places you could get robbed.New Yorkbuses are also easy to use. You see more if you go by bus. There are more than 30,000 taxis inNew York. Taxis do not go outside the city. However, they will go to the airports. In addition to the taxi fare, people give the taxi driver a tip of 15 percent of the fare"s value.

    5　Central Park is a beautiful green oasis in the middle of New York"s concrete desert. It is surprisingly big, with lakes and woods, as well as organized recreation areas. New Yorkers loveCentral Park, and they use it all the time. In the winter, they go ice-skating, and in the summer roller-skating. They play ball, ride horses and have picnics. They go bicycling and boating. There is even a children"s zoo, with wild birds and animals.

    6　Along the east side of Central Park runs Fifth Avenue, once called "Millionaire"s Row." In the 19th century, the richest men inAmericabuilt their magnificent homes here. It is still the most fashionable street in the city .with famous department stores.

    7　Broadway is the street where you will find New York"s best-known theaters. But away from the bright lights and elegant clothes of Broadway are many smaller theaters. Their plays are called" off-Broad-way" and are often more unusual than the Broadway shows. As well as many theaters,New Yorkhas a famous opera house. tins is me Metropontan⁵，where international stars sing from September until April. Carnegie Hall⁶ is the city"s more popular concert hall. But night life inNew Yorkoffers more than classical music and theater. There are hundreds of nightclubs where people go to eat and dance."

词汇：

heartbeat /"ha: tbi: t/n．心搏

necklace /"neklis/ n．项链

worth /wə:θ/ adj．有……价值的

incredible /in"kredəbl / adj．难以置信的

fare /feə/ n．车费

oasis /əu"eisis/ n．绿洲

roller-skating /"rəuləskeitiŋ/ n．滑旱冰

注释：

1．the Statue of Liberty：自由女神塑像

2．Fifth Avenue：第五大道，纽约的高档购物街

3．Broadway：百老汇

4．the New York World Trade Center：纽约世界贸易中心

5．Metropolitan：大都会歌剧院

6．Carnegie Hall：卡内基音乐厅

B　where you can play all kinds of ball games

C　than the world famous Broadway

D　enjoy the colorful night life of the city

E　where the wealthy people would go shopping

Fifth Avenue is the place _________.

A:A B:B C:C D:D E:E F:F

Money has become plastic in the age of the credit card, but in an increasing number of countries, cash really is becoming plastic. After more than 300 years in (1) , the traditional paper banknote is gradually being (2) by new polymer technology.
Note Printing Australia (NPA), a wholly (3) subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Australia, is (4) the only company in the world making plastic money, and it is (5) on an aggressive strategy to (6) more countries to its cause.
The (7) of plastic notes are considerable. They cost about twice as much as paper notes but (8) four to five times as long--Australia’s $ 10 paper note had a(n) (9) life of eight months but plastic lasts at least 30 months. In Papua New Guinea the 2 kina (54 cents) paper note lasted only four months but its plastic (10) lasts 24 months. This increased life (11) is particularly important in Asia where environmental conditions (12) humidity drastically reduce the life of a paper note. Plastic notes also cause 38% fewer paper jams in ATMs.
But the real (13) point is that plastic notes are very hard to counterfeit. With increased (14) to computer scanners and printers, even schoolchildren can now (15) . good quality counterfeit paper notes. According to the U. S. Secret Service, which is in (16) of the security of U. S. banknotes, the $ 100 bill is the most counterfeited note in the world. The $ 100 bill (17) for 65% of the $ 500 billion (18) of U. S. banknotes in circulation, and an (19) 487,000 of these notes are fake--about 150 fakes per million notes. In Australia there are (20) about three fakes per million notes.

A:exposure B:avenue C:access D:approach

There is no ______ to the house from the main road.

A:access B:avenue C:exposure D:edge

It was dark, and we could not ______ who was coming along the avenue.

A:make up B:make for C:make out D:make over

You should visit the Fifth Avenue _______ you are in New York.

A:for B:over C:during D:while

It was dark, and we could not ______ who was coming along the avenue.

A:make up B:make for C:make out D:make over

Central Park is a beautiful green oasis(绿洲) in the middle of New York’s concrete desert. It is surprisingly big, with lakes and woods, as well as organized recreation areas. New Yorkers love Central Park, and they use it all the time. In the winter, they go ice - skating, and in the summer roller - skating. They play ball, ride horses and have picnics. They go bicycling and boating. There is even a children’s zoo, with wild birds and animals.
Along the east Side of Central Park runs Fifth Avenue, once called" Millionaire’s Row". In the 19th century, the richest men in America built their magnificent homes here. It is still the most fashionable street in the city, with famous department stores.
Broadway is the street where you will find New York’s best - known theatres. But away from the bright lights and elegant clothes of Broadway are many smaller theaters. Their plays are called "off - Broad - way" and are often more unusual than the Broadway shows. As well as many theaters. New York has a famous opera house. This is the Metropolitan, where international stars sing from September until April. Carnegie Hall is the city’s more popular concert hall. But night life in New York offers more than classical music and theater. There are hundreds of nightclubs where people go to eat and dance.
In the 19’h century, the richest men in America built their homes

A:on the Fifth Avenue. B:on Broadway. C:outside Central Park. D:around the Metropolitan.