Prime Time 4, Coursebook

The Big Apple Reading: History of New York City a) Read the article on the history of New York and fill in the missing sentences. There is one sentence you do not need. (You will need the words in blue for task 2b.) kn8v8i 2 History of New York City In the early 17 th century The Netherlands had established a colony in the area of modern-day New York. In 1624 they founded a trading post where the city is now and called it New Amsterdam . After the British had taken over the Dutch settlement in 1664, they called it New York , in honour of the Duke of York. Beginning in the 18 th century, waves of new immigrants from Europe changed the compo- sition of the city by bringing their culture with them. , the five boroughs Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. The Big Apple has been and still is a city of immigrants and multiculturalism, which can be seen in its many diverse neighbourhoods like Chinatown , Little Italy or Koreatown, as well as areas like Brighton Beach or Greenpoint where the Russian and Polish language and culture are still more dominant. The Statue of Liberty, one of the most well- known landmarks of the city, was given to New York as a present from France. and has become a symbol of New York, but also the United States as a whole. The statue stands on its own island – Liberty Island , which is only one of a few islands that make up the city. (To connect all these islands there are more than 60 bridges and tunnels in the city of New York). Up until 1892 immigrants had landed at Manhattan harbour, but after that boats with immigrants from Europe, Africa and Asia had to go through the immigration station on Ellis Island. , most of them coming to America to escape poverty and oppression in Europe. Today, 40 percent of all American citizens have at least one ancestor who came to the US through Ellis Island . New York City has become the economic and cultural centre of the United States. The city has over 120 universities/higher education institutions, with over 600,000 students living in the city. With more than 8 million people living there, New York City is not only the biggest city of the United States, but also a symbol of big city life. New York City around 1850 Statue of Liberty in 1893 5 10 30 35 40 45 50 15 20 25 16 2 Unit New York sixteen Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv