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On one side of Manhattan Island is the Hudson River and on the other side is the East River. A bridge was built across the East River by stretching ropes made of steel from one side of the river to the other and hanging the floor of the bridge from these steel ropes. This is called a suspension bridge. It is called the Brooklyn Bridge because at the other end of it on Long Island is another big city called Brooklyn. Brooklyn is now a part of New York City. Such bridges had been built over small streams before, but this was the first big, long bridge built in this way. It is suspended in the air so high above the water that even the greatest ships easily pass beneath it.

At first people were afraid to cross the Brooklyn Bridge, for, said they, “A bridge hung on ropes, even if made of steel, will fall.” It swayed and shook as trucks and cars rumbled over it, and it still does—but still hangs. Several other bridges have been built over the East River and the Hudson River to New York City. Also, tunnels have been dug under the Hudson. The tunnels are called “Tubes” because they are like big tubes under the river.

Two of the most famous streets in the World run the length of Manhattan Island and still farther north. One is named Broadway and the other Fifth Avenue. Broadway was at first only a short street, but it seemed very broad, so they called it that. Broadway, however, is now so long that it might better be called “Longway.” One part of it is lighted so brightly at night by thousands of electric lights and flashing electric signs that it is often called “The Great White Way.” Fifth Avenue is a famous street of once fashionable homes, and many of the finest and most expensive shops are there, so that Fifth Avenue has come to mean Fashion Avenue. The streets of New York are so crowded that most of the people travel from their homes to their work by trains that run in tunnels underground. These underground tunnels are called Subways.

参考译文

曼哈顿岛的一面是哈得逊河，另一面是东河。一座桥横跨东河之上，拉紧的钢索从河岸两边吊起大桥的桥面。这种桥叫做悬索桥。这座桥名叫布鲁克林大桥，因为在桥的另一端是长岛，上面有另一个大城市，名叫布鲁克林。布鲁克林现在是纽约市的一部分。以前悬索桥是搭建在小河流上的，布鲁克林大桥是世界上第一座又大又长的悬索桥。它高高地悬在空中，就连最大的船只也能顺利地从桥下通过。

最初人们都不敢从布鲁克林桥上走过，因为他们说：“绳子吊起的桥会塌的，哪怕就是钢绳也不安全。”卡车和汽车轱辘轱辘急驶而过时，桥就摇摆晃动起来，现在仍然如此，不过桥还是稳稳悬在那里。东河和哈得逊河上还建了其他几座通往纽约的桥。哈得逊河下面还挖了隧道。这些隧道叫做“地下管道”，因为它们就像铺在河底的巨大的管子。

世界上两条最著名的街道穿过整个曼哈顿岛，还继续向北延伸。一条叫做百老汇大街，另一条叫第五大道。百老汇最初只是一条很短的街道，因为看起来很宽，所以被取名为百老汇大街，但现在这条街已经变得很长了，也许我们最好给它取名叫百老汇“长街”。到了晚上，这条街上有一段路被几千盏电灯和闪烁的招牌照得灯火通明，经常被人叫做“不夜大街”。第五大道是条非常著名的大街，曾经住着一些上流社会的家庭，现在有很多最精致、最高档的商店，因此第五大道现在就意味着时尚大道。纽约的街道非常拥挤，大多数人上班都乘坐地下隧道里的火车。这种地下隧道叫做地铁。