Reading Preview 1. Which city is the capital of the United States, New York or Washington D.C.? 2. What happened in New York on September 11, 2001? 3. The highest building in the world used to be in New York, didn't it?

How New York Became America’s Largest City? In the 18th century New York was smaller than Phila- delphia and Boston. Today it is the largest city in America. How can the change in its size and importance be explained? To answer this question we must consider certain facts about geography, history and economics. Together these three will explain the huge growth of America’s most famous city. We know that places where transportation lines meet are good places for making raw materials into finished goods. That is why seaports of ten have cities nearby.

About 1817, the slow wagons, usually drawn by horses, were too expensive for moving heavy freight very far. In New York State, the Erie Canal was built, after several years of work it was completed in The canal produced an immediate effect. Freight costs were cut to about one tenth of what they had been. New York City, which had been smaller than Philadelphia and Boston, quickly became the leading city of the coast. In the years that followed, transportation routes on the Great Lakes were joined to routes on the Mississippi River. Then New York City became the end point of a great inland shipping

system that started from the Atlantic Ocean far up the western branches of the Mississippi. The coming of the railroads made canal shipping less important, but it tied New York even more closely to the central states to ship their goods to New York for export overseas. Thus New York became the greatest port for receiving people from European countries. Many of these people remained in the city. Others stayed in New York for a few weeks, months, or years, and then moved to other parts of the United States. For these great numbers of new Americans New York had to provide homes, goods and other things. Their labor helped the city become great.

raw ： in a natural state; not yet treated for use

wagons ： a strong 4-wheeled road vehicle, mainly for heavy loads, drawn by horses or oxen

canal ： a watercourse dug in the ground to allow ships or boats to travel along it

inland ： not near a coast

5) The Heavenly Lake, _____ is one of the world famous scenic spots, is on Changbai Mountain. 6)They went to the Capital Cinema, _____ they saw Mummy Returns. 7) Beijing, _____ was China’s capital for more than 800 years, is rich in cultural and historic relics ( 文物 ). 8) Jane married Dr. Robinson, _________ we had expected. 9) More American troops are being sent to the Middle East, _____ I have learnt from the newspaper. 10) Water is very important for plants, without _____ they cannot live. where which which/who which

2. Combine each of the following pair of the sentences into a complex one which includes an attributive clause. 1) The players will begin another match in twenty minutes. The players are having a rest. ____________________________________________ ____________________ 2) My parents bought me a gold necklace for my birthday. I didn’t like it at all. ____________________________________________ ___________________ 3) I like to chat with John. John is a clever fellow. ____________________________________ The players, which are having a rest, will begin another match in twenty minutes. My parents bought me a gold necklace for my birthday, which I didn’t like at all. I like to chat with John, who is a clever fellow.

4) Water has many uses. Water is a clear liquid. _____________________________________ 5) Once more I am in Boston. I have not been there for ten years. _____________________________________________ _____ 6) Then he met Mary. She invited him to a party. ____________________________________ 7) When he was seventeen he went to a technical school in Zurich, Switzerland. There he studied mathematics and physics. _____________________________________________ ______ Water, which is a clear liquid, has many uses. Once more I am in Boston, where I have not been for ten years. Then he met Mary, who invited him to a party. When he was seventeen he went to a technical school in Zurich, Switzerland, where he studied mathematics and physics.

8) We don’t like the room. The room is dirty. ______________________________ 9) All the children between the ages of three and six go to the neighbourhood kindergarten. They are well looked after in the neighbourhood kindergarten. _____________________________________________ __________ 10) I ask you to come. The reason is that I believe you. ____________________________________________ We don’t like the room, which is dirty. All the children between the ages of three and six go to the neighbourhood kindergarten, where they are well looked after. The reason why I ask you to come is that I believe you.

Enjoy a song Big Big World by Emilia Script