1.自由女神像介绍：
Out of all of America's symbols, none has proved more enduring or evocative than the Statue of Liberty. This giant figure, torch in hand and clutching a stone tablet, has for a century acted as a figurehead for the American Dream; indeed there is probably no more immediately recognizable profile in existence. It's worth remembering that the statue is - for Americans at least - a potent reminder that the USA is a land of immigrants: it was New York Harbor where the first big waves of European immigrants arrived, their ships entering through the Verrazano Narrows to round the bend of the bay and catch a first glimp of "Liberty Enlightening the World" - an end of their journey into the unknown, and the symbolic beginning of a new life.
The days, although only the very wealthy can afford to arrive here by a, and a would-be immigrant's first (and possibly last) view of the States is more likely to be the customs check at JFK Airport, Liberty remains a stirring sight, with Emma Lazarus's poem, The New Colossus, written originally to rai funds for the statue's ba, no less quotable than when it was written……
Here at our a-washed, sunt gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, who flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcom
e; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips."Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled mass yearning to breathe free, The wretched refu to your teeming shore. Send the, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
The statue, which depicts Liberty throwing off her shackles and holding a beacon to light the world, was the creation of the French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who crafted it a hundred years after the American Revolution in recognition of solidarity between the French and American people (though it's fair to add that Bartholdi originally intended the statue for Alexandria in Egypt). Bartholdi built Liberty in Paris between 1874 and 1884, starting with a terracotta model and enlarging it through four successive versions to its prent size, a construction of thin copper sheets bolted together and supported by an iron framework designed by Gustave Eiffel. The arm carrying the torch was exhibited in Madison Square Park for ven years, but the whole statue wasn't officially accepted on behalf of the American people until 1884, after which it was taken apart, crated up and shipped to New York.
It was to be another two years before it could be properly unveiled: money had to be collected to fund the construction of the ba, and for some reason Americans were unwilling - or unable - to dip
into their pockets. Only through
the campaigning efforts of newspaper magnate Joph Pulitzer, a keen supporter of the statue, did it all come together in the end. Richard Morris Hunt built a pedestal around the existing star-shaped Fort Wood, and Liberty was formally dedicated by President Cleveland on October 28, 1886, in a flag-waving shindig that has never really stopped. The statue was clod for a few years in the mid-1980s for extensive renovation and, in 1986, fifteen million people descended on Manhattan for the statue's centennial celebrations. Today you can climb steps up to the crown, but the cramped stairway though the torch sadly remains clod to the public. Don't be surprid if there's an hour-long wait to ascend. Even if there is, Liberty Park's views of the lower Manhattan skyline, the twin towers of the World Trade Center lording it over the jutting teeth of New York's financial quarter, are spectacular enough.
2.纽约唐人街介绍：
On the surface, Chinatown is prosperous - a "model slum," some have called it - with the lowest crime rate, highest employment and least juvenile delinquency of any city district. Walk through its crowded streets at any time of day, and every shop is doing a brisk and businesslike trade: restauran
t after restaurant is booming; there are storefront displays of shiny squids, clawing crabs and clambering lobster; and street markets offer overflowing piles of exotic green vegetables, garlic and ginger root. Chinatown has the feel of a land of plenty, and the reason why lies with the Chine themlves: even here, in the very core of downtown Manhattan, they have been careful to prerve their own way of dealing with things, preferring to keep affairs clo to the bond of the family and allowing few intrusions into a still-insular culture. There have been veral concessions to Westerners - storefront signs now offer English translations, and Haagen Dazs and Baskin Robbins ice-cream stores have opened on lower Mott Street - but they can't help but em incongruous. The one time of the year when Chinatown bursts open is during the Chine New Year festival, held each year on the first full moon after January 19, when a giant dragon runs down Mott Street to the accompaniment of firecrackers, and the gutters run with ceremonial dyes. Beneath the neighborhood's blithely prosperous facade, however, there is a darker underbelly. Sharp practices continue to flourish, with traditional extortion and protection rackets still in business. Non-union sweatshops - their asmbly lines grinding from early morning to late into the evening - are still visited by the US Department of Labor, who come to investigate workers' testimonies of being paid below minimum wage for venty-plus-hour work weeks. Living conditions are abysmal for the poorer Chine - mostly recent immigrants and the elderly - who reside in small rooms in overcrowded tenements ill-kept by landlords. Yet, becau the community has been
cloistered for so long and has only just begun to ek help from city officials for its internal problems, you won't detect any hint of difficulties unless you reside in Chinatown for a considerable length of time.
3.迪斯尼乐园介绍：
Walt and Roy Disney began their partnership on October 16, 1923 when they signed a contract to produce the Alice Comedies, a ries of six- to eight-minute animated films, or "shorts," combining live-action and animation. What began as the Disney Brothers Studio evolved into The Walt Disney Company.
Throughout the decades, the company has expanded worldwide from shorts to feature-length animated and live-action films and television production; character merchandi licensing; consumer products retailing; book, magazine and music publishing; Internet activities; television and radio broadcasting; cable television programming; and the operation of theme parks and resorts.
From the creation of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in 1927 and the debut of Mickey Mou in 1928 to the premiere of Tarzan in 1999, animation has remained the defining signature of the company. Along the way, Disney has added successful TV shows like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, opened theme
parks in California, Florida, France and Japan, launched more than 700 Disney Stores and added brands such as Touchstone, Miramax, ABC and ESPN to the fold.
To make the most of Disneyland - the ultimate escapist fantasy and the blueprint for imitations worldwide - throw yourlf right into it. Don't think twice about anything and go on every ride you can. The high admission price ($36) includes them all, although during peak periods each one can entail hours of queueing. Remember, too, that the emphasis is on family fun; the authorities take a dim view of anything remotely anti-social and eject tho they consider guilty.
Over four hundred "Imaginers" worked to create the Indiana Jones Adventure, Disneyland's biggest opening in years. Two hours of queueing are built into the ride, with an interactive archeological dig and 1930s-style newsreel show leading up to the main feature - a giddy journey along 2500ft of skull-encrusted corridors in which you face fireballs, falling rubble, venomous snakes and, inevitably, a rolling boulder finale. Disney claims that, thanks to computer engineering, no two Indiana Jones rides are ever alike. Judge for yourlf.
Among the best of the older rides are two in Adventureland: the Pirates of the Caribbean, a boat trip through underground caverns, singing along with
drunken pirates; and the Haunted Mansion, a riotous "doom buggy" tour in the company of the hou spooks.
Tomorrowland is Disney's vision of the future, where the Space Mountain roller coaster zips through the pitch-blackness of outer space, and the Star Tours ride simulates a journey into the world of George Lucas. The Skyway cable-car line that connects Tomorrowland with the clever but cloyingly ntimental Fantasyland is the only spot in the park from which you can e the outside world.
As for accommodation, try to visit Disneyland just for the day and spend the night somewhere el. Most of the hotels and motels nearby cost well in excess of $70 per night.
You're not permitted to bring your own food to the park; you can only consume the fast food sold on the premis.
Disneyland is at 1313 Harbor Blvd, Anaheim, 45 minutes by car from downtown using the Santa Ana Freeway. In summer, the park is open daily between 8am and 1am; otherwi opening hours are weekdays 10am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to midnight, and Sunday 9am to 10pm. Arrive early; traffic quickly becomes nightmarish, especially in the summer. For further information, including public transportation details, call 714/999-4565. Spotlight on St.Petersburg
4.圣彼得堡介绍：
St.Petersburg.The very name brings to mind some of Russia's greatest poets,writers and compors:Pushkin,Dostoevsky,Tchaikovsky.The 19th century was a golden age for St.Petersburg's wealthy class.It was a world of ballets and balls,of art and literature,of tea and caviar.
圣彼得堡，只要提到这个名字就让人想起那些俄国最伟大的诗人、作家以及作曲家：普希金、杜斯妥也夫斯基、柴可夫斯基。十九世纪对圣彼得堡的富有阶级来说是段黄金岁月。那是一个充满了芭蕾舞和舞会、艺术和文学、茶和鱼子酱的世界。
The golden age ended with the advent of World War 1.Working people were growing more and more discontented.In 1917,Communism
came,promising peace and prosperity.
这段黄金岁月因为第一次世界大战的来临而结束。工人阶级的不满愈来愈高涨。1917年时，共产党来了并向人民保证和平与繁荣。
St.Petersburg had become Petrograd in 1914.People wanted a Russian name for their city.Ten years later,the city's name changed again,this time to Leningrad.Then in 1991,Leningraders voted to restor
e the city's original name.Some people oppod the name change altogether.Others thought it was just too soon.Old,run-down Soviet Leningrad,they said,was not the
St.Petersburg of 19th-century literature.
圣彼得堡在1914年变成彼得格勒。人们想为这个城市取个俄国名字。十年之后，这个城市的名字又改了，这一次叫做列宁格勒。然后在1991年，列宁格勒的居民投票恢复了此城最初的名字。有些人彻底反对改名字，有些人认为名字改得太快了。他们说老旧的苏维埃列宁格勒已不再是十九世纪的圣彼得堡了。
What,then,is St.Petersburg?In the confusing post-Communist world,no one really knows.The quiet,if Soviet-style,dignity is gone.The Communist sayings are down,and gaudy advertising up.Candy bars and cigarettes are sold from boxy,tasteless kiosks.And clothing?Well,anything goes.Everyone wants to be a little different.But many people do not know the true meaning of
freedom.Personal crime has gone up,up,up in the past few years.
那么，到底圣彼得堡是什么呢？在共产党结束执政后的令人困惑的情形下，没有人真正知道这个答案。那种安静却又无聊的苏维埃式的尊严已经成为过去了。共产党的标语被换了下来，代之以俗气的
广告。那些四方形、没有品味的摊子出售糖果和香芋。至于穿着呢？嗯，任何样式都有。每个人都想要有点与众不同。但是许多人仍然不知道自由的真意为何。在过去数年里，个人犯罪率一直不断地上升。
Yet in spite of this,you can still find some of the city's grand past.Stand at the western tip of Vasilievsky Island.To the right is the elegant Winter Palace,former home of the czars.Its light blue sides and white classical columns make it perhaps St.Petersburg's most graceful building.It hous one of the worlds most famous art muums:the Hermitage.Inside,20km of galleries hou thousands of works of art.Look over your right shoulder.The massive golden dome of St.Isaac's Cathedral ris above the skyline.You'll e,too,why St.Petersburg is called a "floating city."Standing there,nearly surrounded by water,you can e four of the city's 42islands.
但是，尽管如此，你还是可以找到一些这个城市辉煌的过去。站在维丝利瓦斯基岛的西端，右边是优雅的冬宫，是沙皇从前的住处。它那浅蓝色的外墙和白色古典的园柱，使它成为大概是圣彼得堡中最优雅的建筑物。它里面有世界上最有名的艺术博物馆：赫米提巨博物馆。在里面，长达20公里的艺廊收藏
了数千件的艺术作品。朝你右肩后方看去，圣以撒大教堂巨大的金制圆顶伸入了天空。你也会了解，
为什么圣彼得堡又被称为「漂浮的城市」。站在那里，几乎完全被水环绕，你可以看见这城市四十二个岛屿中的四个。
