Heartbeat of America
1. New York - the Statue of Liberty, the skyscrapers, the beautiful shops on Fifth Avenue and the many theaters on Broadway. 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 say “New York City,” they usually mean Manhattan. Most of the interesting shops, buildings and museums are here. In addition, Manhattan is the scene of New York’s busy night life. In 1605 the first Europeans came to Manhattan from 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 in New York are the two towers of the New York World Trade Center. 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. The New York subway is easy to use and quite cheap. The subway goes to almost every corner of Manhattan. But it is not safe to take the subway late at night because in some places you could get robbed. New York buses are also easy to use. You see more if you go by bus. There are more than 30,000 taxis in New York. They are easy to see, because they are bright yellow and carry large TAXI signs. 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 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.
6. 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.
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 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.
1. Paragraph 3______
2. Paragraph 4______
3. Paragraph 5______
4. Paragraph 6______
A The Financial Center of USA
B The Night Life in New York
C The Traffic Facilities of New York
D Shopping Center for the Rich
E New York - An International City
F Central Park - A Place of Recreation for the New Yorkers
5. The island of Manhattan was bought by the Hollanders from the native Americans______ .
6. Central Park is a good place where the New Yorkers can go and______ .
7. Fifth Avenue is the place______ .
8. For those play-lovers who are interested in what is unusual, the small theaters might be more attractive______ .
A do whatever they like for relaxation
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
F for what seems to be a very small sum today
「正确答案」1-4 ACFD 5-8 FAEC
概括大意题解题思路：
1. 如果段首句和或段尾句是观点句，可借助段首句和或段尾句的句意判断答案;
2. 借助段落中反复出现的核心词/核心结构判断答案;
3. 如果段落中有举例的内容，可参考举例内容判断答案;
4. 注意段落中出现的观点句(观点句中有时出现这样的一些结构： to sum up (adv.总之, 总而言之); in a word (adv.总之), in conclusion (adv.最后, 总之)等或内容上提到“……研究发现……”， “.某某研究者发现……”)，转折句(往往句子中出现“but, however, although, though, nevertheless”等词)，因为这些句子可能就是段落的中心句，可参考这些句子句意判断答案。
答案解析：
1. A 本段讲的是有关华尔街的情况，华尔街是美国的金融中心。
2. C 这一段介绍了纽约的交通设施，如地铁、公共汽车和出租车，以及乘坐时应该注意的地方。
3. F 第五段集中介绍了中央公园。
4. D 这一段不长，简单地介绍了纽约的第五大街，这是富人的购物天堂。
5. F 原句在语法上已经完整，填入的部分是有关价格的，当时荷兰人买下曼哈顿的价钱在今天看来仅是个微不足道的小数。表示价格用介词for, 这里for的后面跟的是what引导的名词性从句。
6. A 这里填入的是和动词go并列的成分，在所给的六个选项中符合条件的只有A和D ，但从意义上看应该填入的是A.
7. E place提示了后面很有可能是一个用where引导的定语从句，在六个选项中有两个用where开始的从句，但B的意义显然不符，故应该选E.
8. C 句中的more attractive提示了后面很可能有用than引导的从句。
