Unit 15: Cities - Reading

Exercise 1: Choose the one option - a, b, c or d - that best completes the passage. One of the most famous statues in the world (1).............on an island in New York Harbor. This statue is, of course, the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is a woman (2)...........the torch of liberty, and its (3)............. name is the 'Statue of Liberty 'Enlightening the World'. The statue was a (4)............. to American people from the French (5).......... the friendship between the two nations. It was designed by Frederic Auguste Bartoldie and(6)...........in 1884 in France, then was (7).........to America and put up in 1886. In the years after the statue was put up, many (8)......................came to the United States through New York. (9)........... they entered New York Harbor, they saw the Statue of Liberty holding up her torch. She (10)..............a welcome to a land of freedom.

Exercise 2: Read the text carefully, then choose the correct answer. Las Vegas, Nevada, is the most famous city for gambling in the United States. Some people say that Las Vegas is a mispronunciation of 'lost wages'. The casinos and hotels have so many neon lights that people call this city in the desert 'The City of Lights'. Each of the big hotels in Las Vegas is special. Going into one is like enter­ing another world. One hotel is like ancient Egypt. Another is like a tropical island. Still another is like New York City. These hotels have shows with fa­mous entertainers. Everything looks expensive. But the rooms cost half the price of the rooms in other places. And the restaurants have all-you-can-eat meals for very little money. That's because the hotels make their money from the gambling casinos. Las Vegas started in 1905 as a small train stop. There. were only a few buildings in the middle of the desert. In 1946. a famous gangster named Bugsy Seigel built the first casino. Re was. murdered in 19-17. "Iris made him and Las Vegas more famous! In the early 1950s, tourist went to Las Vegas not only to gamble. They went to watch atomic bomb tests in the desert outside the city. In those days, people didn't know it was dangerous. They thought it was exciting. Las Vegas is also famous for its many wedding chapels. Like all of Las Vegas, they are open twenty-four hours a day. Getting married is easy. A couple just pays a few dollars for a license, and they can get married immediately. They don't have to wait. Many famous movie stars were married in Las Vegas. It is interesting that Las Vegas has more churches for its population anywhere else in the United States. That's not counting welding chapels. Another interesting fact is that tourists have a greater chance of having a heart attack in Las Vegas than in any other American city.