欢迎来到纽约：一座超级大胃王城市

想象一下，如果你有一个朋友，这个朋友特别特别能吃。他能吃下一整个汉堡，能吃下一整盘意大利面，还能吃下一个大披萨，而且吃完之后还会说：“嗯，我好像还有一点饿。”这个朋友是不是很厉害？今天我要给大家介绍的这个“朋友”，比任何大胃王都厉害，因为它能“吃下”的东西，比你想象的还要多得多。这个超级大胃王朋友，就是——美国纽约市！Welcome to New York City, the Super Big Eater!

从飞机舷窗往外看，当你快要到达纽约的时候，你会看到一片超级壮观的景象：高楼大厦像树林一样密密麻麻，一栋挨着一栋，一直延伸到天边。那些高楼看起来就像是用乐高积木一块一块叠起来的，但又比乐高积木高好多好多倍。飞机继续下降，你能看到哈德逊河在阳光下闪闪发光，像一条银色的丝带，把曼哈顿岛紧紧地环绕着。你能看到中央公园那一大片绿色，在灰色的城市海洋中，就像一块巨大的翡翠镶嵌在其中。这就是纽约，从天上往下看，它就像一个巨大的、正在呼吸的生命体，每一栋楼都是它身体的一部分，每一条街道都是它的血管。

Now, imagine you're on an airplane, looking out the window as you get closer to New York City. What you see is absolutely breathtaking! Tall buildings stand so close together that they look like a forest of concrete and glass. They reach so high into the sky, it seems like you could touch the clouds if you just stretched out your hand. As the plane comes down lower, you can see the Hudson River sparkling in the sunlight like a silver ribbon wrapping around Manhattan Island. And there's Central Park, that huge green space right in the middle of the city, looking like a giant emerald gem set in an ocean of gray buildings. This is New York City, and from up above, it looks like one giant, living, breathing creature, with every building as a part of its body and every street as one of its veins.

纽约这座城市到底有多大呢？让我来告诉你一些有趣的数字。纽约市有五个行政区，五百多万人住在那里。如果把纽约市当成一个国家，它的人口比很多国家的人口还要多呢！想象一下，全世界有将近两百个国家，而纽约市一个城市就有五百多万人，这相当于很多小国家的人口总和了。New York City has five boroughs and more than five million people living there. If we think of New York City as a country, its population would be bigger than many actual countries in the world! Can you imagine? There are almost two hundred countries in the whole world, and New York City alone has more than five million people—that's more than the total population of many small countries combined!

现在，让我们来认识一下纽约的五个行政区吧，就像认识一个超级大胃王的五个不同胃一样。每个胃负责消化不同的食物，而纽约的每个区也都有自己的特色和“口味”。First, let's get to know New York City's five boroughs, just like getting to know the super big eater's five different stomachs. Each stomach digests different kinds of food, and each borough in New York has its own special character and "flavor."

曼哈顿 Manhattan

曼哈顿是纽约市的心脏，也是最有名气的区域。曼哈顿是一个狭长的岛屿，看起来像一条长长的舌头，从北到南延伸大概二十多公里。如果你从空中看，曼哈顿岛的形状确实有点像一条鱼的骨头——中间细细的，两头稍微宽一点。整个曼哈顿岛大概有三百六十度，从南到北，从东到西，到处都是高耸入云的大楼。曼哈顿这个名字来自于荷兰语，意思是"有许多小山丘的地方"。虽然现在曼哈顿几乎看不到小山丘了，但是这个名字却一直保留了下来，就像一个古老的纪念品，提醒人们很久以前的曼哈顿是什么样子。Manhattan is the heart of New York City and the most famous area. Manhattan is a narrow island that looks like a long tongue, stretching from north to south for about twenty kilometers. If you look at it from above, Manhattan Island really does look a bit like a fish bone—thin in the middle and slightly wider at both ends. The name Manhattan comes from the Dutch language and means "a place with many hills." Although you can hardly see any hills on Manhattan today, the name has been kept, like an old souvenir reminding people what Manhattan looked like long, long ago.

曼哈顿是纽约的经济、文化和旅游中心。这里有著名的华尔街，那里是全世界的金融中心；有高耸入云的帝国大厦，站在上面可以俯瞰整个纽约市；有闪耀夺目的时代广场，巨大的电子屏幕日夜不停地播放着各种画面；还有中央公园，这个占地三百多公顷的公园是世界上最大的人工公园之一，被称为“纽约的绿洲”。Manhattan is New York's center for economy, culture, and tourism. Here you can find famous Wall Street, the world's financial center; the Empire State Building, so tall it seems to touch the clouds, where you can look out over the entire city; Times Square with its dazzling electronic screens showing advertisements day and night; and Central Park, this park covers more than 340 hectares and is one of the largest man-made parks in the world, often called "New York's oasis."

在曼哈顿，你还能找到全世界最著名的自由女神像。虽然自由女神像实际上是坐落在自由岛上的，不完全属于曼哈顿，但是从曼哈顿的炮台公园城乘坐渡轮，只需要十五分钟左右就能到达。自由女神像是法国送给美国的礼物，她手里举着火炬，象征着自由和民主。每天都有成千上万的游客乘坐渡轮去看望这位“纽约的客人”，和她合影留念。Although the Statue of Liberty actually sits on Liberty Island and doesn't technically belong to Manhattan, you can take a ferry from Battery Park City in Manhattan and reach it in just about fifteen minutes. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States. She holds a torch in her hand, symbolizing freedom and democracy. Every day, thousands of tourists take the ferry to visit this "guest of New York" and take pictures with her.

曼哈顿还有一个地方不得不提，那就是联合国总部。联合国总部大楼坐落在曼哈顿的东河岸边，是全世界唯一一个由国际法律管辖的领土。在这里，各国的代表们聚集在一起，讨论如何让世界变得更加和平、更加美好。联合国总部前面飘扬着将近两百面旗帜，每一面旗帜代表一个成员国，五颜六色的旗帜在风中飘扬，就像一个巨大的彩虹横跨在纽约的天空下。There's one more place in Manhattan we must mention—the United Nations Headquarters. The UN Headquarters sits on the East River shore in Manhattan, and it's the only piece of land in the world governed by international law. Here, representatives from countries all over the world gather together to discuss how to make the world more peaceful and better. In front of the UN Headquarters, there are almost two hundred flags flying, one flag for each member country. The colorful flags wave in the wind, just like a giant rainbow spanning across the New York sky.

布鲁克林 Brooklyn

从曼哈顿往东跨过东河，我们就来到了布鲁克林区。布鲁克林是纽约市人口最多的行政区，有超过两百五十万人住在这里。布鲁克林的名字来自荷兰语，意思是"美好的水域"。这个名字非常贴切，因为布鲁克林紧邻大西洋，海风和海浪是这里居民生活的一部分。Crossing the East River east from Manhattan, we arrive at Brooklyn. Brooklyn is the most populous borough in New York City, with more than two and a half million people living here. The name Brooklyn comes from the Dutch language, meaning "the good water." This name fits perfectly because Brooklyn is right next to the Atlantic Ocean, and sea breezes and waves are part of daily life here.

在二十世纪中期，布鲁克林是很多犹太人和意大利人的聚居地。街道上到处都是正宗的黑麦面包三明治店和意大利披萨店，香气飘满整条街道。现在的布鲁克林变得更加多元化了，来自世界各地的移民都在这里安家落户。著名的布鲁克林大桥连接着曼哈顿和布鲁克林，这座大桥有一百四十多年的历史了，是全世界最老的悬索桥之一。大桥的桥墩高耸入云，钢缆像琴弦一样紧绷，每天都有成千上万的人和车辆从桥上通过。In the mid-twentieth century, Brooklyn was home to many Jewish and Italian families. The streets were full of authentic delis selling rye bread sandwiches and Italian pizza shops, with wonderful smells filling every street. Brooklyn today has become even more diverse, with immigrants from all over the world settling here. The famous Brooklyn Bridge connects Manhattan and Brooklyn. This bridge is more than 140 years old and is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the world. The bridge towers reach high into the clouds, and the steel cables are stretched tight like piano strings. Every day, thousands of people and vehicles cross this bridge.

如果曼哈顿是纽约最有名气的地方，那布鲁克林就是纽约最有“艺术气质”的地方。这里的街头艺术特别有名，布鲁克林的大街小巷到处都可以看到色彩斑斓的涂鸦和壁画。很多世界著名的艺术家都是从布鲁克林起步的。威廉斯堡是布鲁克林最文艺的区域，那里有各种各样的独立咖啡馆、二手书店、艺术画廊和音乐演出场地。走在威廉斯堡的街道上，你会感觉自己走进了一个巨大的艺术展览馆，因为连垃圾桶和下水道井盖上都画满了各种有趣的图案。If Manhattan is the most famous place in New York, then Brooklyn is definitely the most artistic part of New York. Street art is especially famous here, with colorful graffiti and murals covering the streets and alleys of Brooklyn. Many world-famous artists got their start in Brooklyn. Williamsburg is the most artistic neighborhood in Brooklyn, with all kinds of independent coffee shops, second-hand bookshops, art galleries, and music venues. Walking through the streets of Williamsburg, you feel like you're walking through a giant art exhibition, because even the trash cans and sewer covers are painted with all kinds of interesting patterns.

布鲁克林还有全纽约最漂亮的海滩——康尼岛。康尼岛是一个半岛，距离曼哈顿大约一个小时的地铁车程。这里有著名的海滨木板路，有惊险刺激的游乐园，还有美味的热狗和冰淇淋。每到夏天，成千上万的纽约人会来到康尼岛，在沙滩上晒太阳，在海里游泳，享受美好的夏日时光。康尼岛的摩天轮是纽约最著名的景点之一，这个摩天轮比自由女神像还要高，坐一圈大概需要二十五分钟，可以俯瞰整个大西洋的美景。Brooklyn also has the most beautiful beach in New York—Coney Island. Coney Island is a peninsula about an hour's subway ride from Manhattan. Here you can find the famous boardwalk, exciting amusement parks, delicious hot dogs, and ice cream. Every summer, thousands of New Yorkers come to Coney Island to sunbathe on the beach, swim in the ocean, and enjoy the beautiful summer days. The Coney Island Ferris wheel is one of New York's most famous attractions. This Ferris wheel is even taller than the Statue of Liberty. One ride takes about twenty-five minutes, and from the top, you can enjoy the beautiful view of the entire Atlantic Ocean.

皇后区 Queens

继续往东走，我们就到了皇后区。皇后区是纽约市面积最大的行政区，也是最多元化的地区之一。这里住着来自一百多个国家的人，说着将