New York is built on a group of islands on the east coast of the USA at a point where several rivers flow into the ocean. The first Westerner to discover these islands was an Italian explorer in 1524. zLXmjrC  
In 1626 the island of Manhattan was bought from local Indians, Native Americans, for a handful of goods worth about $24. Today Native Americans express anger of this unfair business deal. After the War of Independence ended, New York became the capital of the USA for a short time (1789-1790) before Washington DC. *=0Wh@?0  
By 1820 the population of New York had grown to about 125,000, making it the largest city in the USA. In 1858 an area of poor housing, factories and farm building was torn down and Central Park was created, reaching from 59th Street to 110th Street and across the avenues. k
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There is space for summer picnic, open-air concerts, plays and games. Central Park also has a zoo, an art museum, a boating lake and, in winter, an ice-skating area.

In 1892 the age of mass arrivals began, during which 15 million new people passed through Ellis Island into the USA over a period of 62 years. Today Ellis Island is a museum, showing the roots of America's new citizens, who came from all the corners of the earth. 7CUu:6%  
Officials used to have trouble with the foreign names of people passing through Ellis Island, and because they were so busy, many people's names got changed in the rush. People who wanted to enter the USA had to go through a number of mental and physical tests, and about two million people were turned away. Thus Ellis Island became known as the "Island of Tears". #h ;j2  
New York never sleeps. The subway runs 24 hours a day, and there are all-night cinemas, bars and restaurants. Some people think that the weather is unpleasant, the city ugly and dirty, the competition fierce and the streets unsafe. It is a city in a hurry, but a very exciting place to be.

THE AMERICAN SOUTH a%tm[Re  
Ever since the Civil War, the South has struggled to find ways to deal with its troubled past. The history of the South is one of suffering: the suffering of the Native Americans who were killed or driven off their land by European settlers; the pains of slaves brought from Africa by greedy slave traders; the death and poverty of the Civil War; the hardships of unemployment and civil unrest in the post-war years and the Great Depression; the many sacrifices of the Civil Rights Movement. The wounds are slow to heal and the scars run deep. Even today, the South is far behind the rest of the United States in areas such as education and economic development. \qQ5x  
But the story of the South is also one of hope and success. There are signs that a new, different South is coming out of its dark past. Atlanta, Georgia, is a good example. Like many of its sister cities in the South, Atlanta was burnt down in the Civil War. The city was destroyed and there was no money for reconstruction. In fact, when the new mayor of Atlanta started working in 1864, the city had only $1.64. The post-war years were hard and the people of Atlanta struggled to rebuild the city and create a new South where former slaves and slave-owners could live together. vIU+ZdBw  
Atlanta quickly recovered from the destruction caused by the Civil War. In only five years, most of the city had been rebuilt and Atlanta began to grow again. Despite the hardships of the post-war years and the Great Depression, the people of Atlanta continued to develop the area, both economically and socially. There were signs that the new Atlanta would be different: Atlanta's African-American community grew and black businesses became more successful. ;VK;_d  
It was also in Atlanta that one of the great leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, was born. Dr King grew up in a city where nearly half the population was black, but where segregation took away many of their rights. The injustices in the city and in the South led Dr King to organise non-violent demonstrations aimed at ending segregation. The city saw a series of fierce fights between blacks and whites in the 1960s and Dr King was shot and killed in 1968. His funeral was shown on television and millions of Americans watched as people marched through Atlanta in honour of Dr King. Dr King's efforts were not in vain, however. Segregation eventually disappeared and a new dawn seemed to arrive. Slowly but surely, Atlanta was becoming a successful city proud of its cultural diversity. <Ml,H% F  
In 1996, the city was the host of the Olympic Games, an honour the city shares with great cities such as Sydney and Beijing. During the Olympic Games, the eyes of the world were on Atlanta and the city was proud to display its new image. Modern Atlanta is a booming business centre and the home of some of the largest and most successful companies in America. Like many other Southern cities, Atlanta is representative of the new South, a place where hope and faith have replaced fear and doubt. M=yZ5 ~3  
The South still has many problems to deal with, but the people there are determined to make a new beginning. Today, the South is known for its friendly atmosphere, and Atlanta, Birmingham, Miami, and Little Rock are once again becoming commercial and cultural centres of the nation.

THE BISON ON THE PLAINS OF AMERICA f
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The first settlers on the plains of America were Native Americans. They arrived more than 30,000 years ago by crossing a land bridge from Asia to America. The Native Americans lived by gathering roots, nuts and wild fruit and hunting wild animals. =7e8N&-nv  
They hunted bison, a type of wild animals which used to exist in huge numbers on the plains of America. The bison grows to a shoulder-height of 1.5 metres and can weigh 1,100 kilogrammes. It was an important part of Native Americans' life. Bison were killed for their meat, while their fur provided warm clothing during cold winters. The Native Americans made tents and water containers from the skins and tools from the bones. X[@>1
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The teeth were used to make necklaces. GK&yP%Z3  
From about 1830 onwards in the USA, European settlers began to move westwards. Large groups of Native Americans were forced to move away from their old hunting grounds. When they resisted, they were killed. There were many fierce wars between Native Americans and European settlers. The American government made agreements with Native American chiefs but always broke them afterwards. In this way, Native Americans were forced onto poor land that the settlers did not want. The settlers built railways across the plains and began to hunt even more bison. While early settlers had killed bison for food, now the killing became more widespread. They killed the bison, cut off the skins and left the bodies behind to rot. The bison skins were sent by rail to cities to be sold. Between 1850 and 1910 the bison population is thought to have fallen from 60 million to just a few hundred. gKYn*  
The killing of the bison changed the whole wildlife of the plains. With fewer bison, grass shoots were not eaten, so grass did not grow as strongly. Bison waste no longer fell on the ground to improve the soil, which as a result became less good for growing plants. The ground supported fewer plants, and the insects which lived on these plants died out. There was less food for birds and also for the prairie dog, a kind of animal which lives in holes in the ground. This in turn had an effect on the food supply for wolves. Thus one simple fact, a change in the number of bison, had an effect on the whole wildlife chain of the plains.

W: What's it like living in the States? KDXo9FzF  
M: Well, I'm surprised at the number of different ethnic groups there. RU{}qPs?  
W: What exactly you do mean? -"cN9RF  
M: I thought that Americans were, well, American and spoke English. But when I got there I found people from all over the world. t%TZu>(1O  
W: Can you give me some examples? v4v+;[a%  
M: Yes. There are a lot of people from Central America who speak Spanish. They came to the States because they could earn more money there. Then there are a lot of black people. The first blacks were brought as slaves from Africa, as you know, and worked mainly in the South. But now they live all over the country. - a=yid  
W: Any others? %/^d]#  
M: Yes. There are a lot of Jews. Many of them traveled to the States in the 1930s when it was no longer safe for Jews to live in Europe. `j(+Y  
w: What other ethnic groups did you notice? :J~j*_hZ  
m: There are a lot of people from Eastern and Central Europe and also from Ireland. A lot of Irish traveled to the States in the 1840s when the potato harvests in Ireland failed. W+eN%w5  
W: Any others? x'KsQlI/  
M: Yes. There are lots of Greeks and lots of Chinese. You can eat food from all over the world in the States. I also met some Indians, or Native Americans. They were the first people to live in America before the European settlers arrived. Some of them live in special parts of the country where they continue their own way of life. vr vzV  
W: Wow, it sounds like you can meet people from almost any country in the USA! G!~BA*
 
M: Yes, you can. And you can eat food from all over the world.

THE TRAIL OF TEARS 9PJDT]  
For thousands of years, Native Americans lived as hunters in North America. There were millions of people, with many different cultures, religions and languages. In 1492, Columbus arrived in America and soon after the first European settlers followed. Native Americans were either killed or driven off their land and many died of diseases that the newcomers brought to the continent. Over the next three hundred years, ninety percent of America's original population was killed by wars, diseases or starvation. W'
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The white settlers wanted their land, and the Native Americans could not protect their homes and farms. From around 1790 to 1830, Native American tribes tried to solve the problem with the US government. Several agreements were reached, but the government broke its promises almost every time. Finally, by the 1830s, the government decided to remove the Native Americans from their own land to make room for European settlers. One by one, the Native American tribes were moved west. Indians who resisted were killed. [*G2wP[$  
One of the best-known examples of the hardships suffered by the Native Americans is the sad story of the Cherokee tribe. The Cherokees lived in the southeast of the United States. They lived by farming, hunting and fishing and had been able to adapt to modern society. The Cherokees had built homes and farms, developed a written language and made their own laws. Despite their hard work, the Cherokees were not treated fairly. When the government began driving the Native Americans away, the Cherokees were among the last to go. In 1838, the government began putting Cherokee men, women and children in camps and made them walk a thousand miles. The winter was cold and there was not much food. About 4,000 Cherokees died during the march, which became known as the "Trail of Tears" or "the trail where they cried". G|lI=Q3f  
In the years that followed, Native Americans lived through one of the darkest times in their history. By the end of the nineteenth century, only some 250,000 Native Americans had survived. Their culture and way of life had been destroyed, their land had been taken away from them, and they were not given the rights most other Americans enjoyed. Most of the Native Americans were forced to live in special places, called "reservations", often in poor areas with few resources, given to them by the government. Few Native Americans were able to get an education and many lived in poverty. X2[cR;;'  
In the twentieth century, Native Americans began to gather strength again. The Civil Rights Movement was succeeding and some of the basic rights were given to Native Americans for the first time in history. Their culture and history were included in school history books and some of the languages began to be taught again. Much had been lost and destroyed over the past 300 years, but the spirit of the Native Americans had not been broken. Today, Native Americans are beginning to receive the respect they deserve and their culture is recognized as an important part of American history. In 2004, a National Museum was opened to honor the first Americans and to remind us all not only of the pain and suffering caused by the Trail of Tears and other sad times, but also of the joy, beauty and strength of Native American culture and history. cnthtv+(~  
The Trail of Tears has not been forgotten. In fact, the terrible march has created a beautiful story, that of the Cherokee Rose. According to the story, the tears of the Cherokee mothers turned into flowers as they fell to the ground. The flower, a rose, is white as the tears and has a gold center, representing the gold that was taken from the Cherokee lands. The rose has seven leaves, one for each group of Cherokees that marched on the Trail of Tears. The flower still grows along the trail and it is now the state flower of Georgia.

Getting out of bed in the morning is difficult for everyone, I think. Nobody wants to get up and leave a comfortable bed, really. For me, getting out of bed is even more difficult. In fact, if I didn't have someone to help me, I might not be able to get out of bed at all. My mum or dad has to help me. They help me get dressed and lift me into my wheelchair. Oh, I do know how to put on my clothes, but it takes much longer if I do it myself. Once I am in my wheelchair, I can get around and do whatever I want. M7R&J'SAY  
Of course, some places are difficult to get to when your are in a wheelchair. Our house used to be pretty bad. The doors were too narrow and all the desks, tables and shelves were too high. Now, my parents have rebuilt the house so it is easier for me to take care of myself. We moved the shelves so I could get stuff from the cupboards, and my dad and I built a box I can roll onto when I want to cook in the kitchen. We also put some boards over the stairs in front of our house so that I can come and go as I please.

Outside my house, it is more difficult to get around. People just don't think about wheelchairs when they build houses and cities. For example, most streets have a high sidewalk, so it is almost impossible for me to cross the street. My school is OK, but there is no elevator, so I can't get to the second floor. When I go shopping, there are always lots of problems. How do you ride an escalator in a wheelchair? There are some stores I can't even get into, because you have to climb up a few stairs to get in. F.pHL)37  
And don't even mention fast food restaurants. Most of them have small plastic seats that you can't move, so there is no place for me to put my wheelchair. At least the park in my neighborhood is easy to get into. My friends talked to the people at the park and I can now go there to play basketball and hang out with my friends. Oh, are you surprised to hear that I play basketball? I play soccer too! The next time you are in my town we can play some basketball. We will see who is the best player.

DISABLED NOT ME! x)VIA]  
"I know people are trying to help, but I wish they wouldn't treat me as if I were a child." Zhong Xiaowen is sixteen and a middle school student in Northern China. She is one of the best students in her class and she won an award for young scientists last year. Sitting in the classroom, Xiaowen looks just like all her classmates. But when class is over and her classmates get up to move around, it becomes obvious that Xiaowen's life is different. Xiaowen was born without the ability to use her legs and she has no feeling below the waist. She uses a wheelchair to get around and it often takes her a little longer to do everyday things, such as getting out of bed, getting dressed and going to class. 4ZJT[zi  
Xiaowen's favourite subject is computer science. She has already created many programmes and one of them received an award at her province's science fair. People like Xiaowen and many other disabled people in our country have taught us the importance of giving everybody a chance to receive education. We know that we cannot let physical disabilities limit a person's life. Today there are more opportunities for disabled people to develop their potential, live a rich life and make a contribution to society. vN,}
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The best way to help is often simply a matter of opening doors and offering guidance. The Beijing Union University has launched a special education college where gifted disabled students receive the help they need to succeed. One-third of the students are blind and the rest are deaf or have no disability. For the students without disabilities, studying together with their disabled classmates is both challenging and rewarding. They not only learn how to assist disabled people, but also learn the importance of cooperating to reach their goals in life. One of the teachers at the special education college says that their aim is to help disabled students understand that they can play a valuable role within society. "They need recognition, more than sympathy and help. " RUk<=!
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Like all of us, disabled people also need inspiration and encouragement. The magazine Literature of Chinese Blind Children was started by Xu Bailun in 1985, when he decided that there should be a magazine for blind people in China. Blind children all over China read the magazine and it has inspired many of them to believe that they call realise their dreams. The articles in the magazine are often about disabled people who have overcome difficulties and learnt to live a meaningful and productive life. |c oEBFG  
About one-third of the articles in Literature of Chinese Blind Children are written by disabled authors and blind children. One of the magazine's best-known readers is Ye Zijie, who is now a teacher in Huhhot. In the year 2000, he was invited to study in London and became the first visually impaired Chinese to study abroad. Zijie says he was inspired and motivated by the magazine: "It is very important for us to know that someone far away is also struggling as we are." 9U7Mu;4  
Living with disability is frustrating and challenging. Everyday activities are more difficult than they are for others. It is also often disappointing to find that other people do not feel comfortable together with someone who is disabled. Perhaps we should all listen to Xiaowen's advice. "Sometimes I wonder why they call me disabled," she says. "I have learnt to live with my body as it is and adjusted my way of life. Maybe it is time for the rest of society to accept me as I am and get used to the fact that while I may not be able to walk, there are many other great things I can do."

THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS ?GUz?'d  
Every four years, mentally disabled athletes come together to take part in the Special Olympics. Just like the regular Olympic Games, the events are surrounded by grand ceremony and the competition is fierce, but there is also a strong sense of unity and friendship. Each athlete has had to train for many years and overcome fear and hardships to reach the games. For many of the Special Olympic athletes, simply taking part in the games is a victory. It often seems as if the Olympic spirit is stronger at the Special Olympics than at the regular one: winning is not about being the first one across the finish line or scoring the most goals, but it is about being the best you can be. m~Y'$3w  
Athletes at the Special Olympics are fighters in more than one way. Living with a mental disability is perhaps the most difficult challenge a human being can face in life. The disability makes everyday life difficult and society often fails to treat the mentally disabled with dignity and respect. For a long time, mental disability was considered shameful and the mentally disabled received little treatment or encouragement. Fortunately, we have now realised that there is much that can be done to help. The Special Olympics is one example of how society can improve the quality of life for all its citizens. Sv~YFS :oy  
By preparing for and participating in the Special Olympics, mentally disabled children and adults can develop their ability to move, improve their health and gain greater self-confidence. The Special Olympics is also a good way to make friends. The first Special Olympics was held in Chicago in 1968. One thousand participants from Canada and the United States competed in three events. Since then, the Special Olympics has grown. At the 2003 Special Olympics in Ireland, more man 6,500 athletes from over 150 countries took part and there were 21 different sports. Interest in the Special Olympics has spread across the world and cities are now competing for the honour to host the event. In 2007, the Special Olympics will be held in Shanghai. Chinese athletes, their friends, parents and the audience will be proud to welcome Special Olympians to China.