Let's Visit New York!

New York, New York.
The city so nice
They named it twice.

　　These words were used to describe New York when it was by far the largest, richest, and most developed city in the United States. New York still remains the largest and most famous city in the U.S. today, but some of its "nice" reputation has fallen over the past thirty years with stories of rampant crime making headlines around the world. How true are these stories? Is New York still a "nice" place to visit? If so, what can a tourist do in New York? Let's take a closer look at America's premier city.
　　First, as personal and social security are always uppermost in the minds of travelers, just how "dangerous" a city is New York? Despite the glaring headlines, New York, located in the northeastern U.S., is one of the safest cities in the U.S. In fact, New York state (which includes New York city —— thus, "New York, New York, the city so nice they named it twice") ranks below other big-population states like California in both violent crime (of much concern to the tourist) and property crime. Other major cities have higher crime rates, too. Thus, the foreign traveler to New York city can feel more secure here than in most other large metropolitan areas of the U.S.
　　Besides safety, why do more foreigners visit New York than any other American city? The answer lies in the character of New York itself. No other city in the world is more cosmopolitan. A walk through its hundreds of residential neighborhoods is like walking around the world itself. Place names like Chinatown and Little Italy can be found on any map of New York, but smaller ethnic neighborhoods also abound. Also, all these groups sponsor annual or seasonal festivals, so that nearly every week one or more of these peoples will share their cultural experiences (and food!) with other New Yorkers.
　　Because of this unsurpassed ethnic diversity, the restaurant goer will feel that he has died and gone to heaven while in New York. There is hardly a cuisine on the planet that is not represented here. Even better, many of these exotic restaurants are reasonably priced. One is never far from a restaurant in New York. There are thousands of Chinese restaurants alone.
　　Besides the internationally famous sight-seeing attractions —— mostly in the borough (district) of Manhattan —— such as the Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center with its two 110-story towers, Wall Street, the United Nations, and Broadway, many other interesting places await the curious traveler. The Bronx Zoo in the northern borough of the Bronx is one of the world's best. The borough of Queens offers a great variety of ethnic residential neighborhoods. Brooklyn contains the Botanical Gardens, Coney Island (a beach with an amusement park), and J.F.K. International Airport. Finally, Staten Island, the smallest borough, still affords a look at what New York used to be like, including a farm!
　　For culture lovers, New York has more museums than any other city, but some of these are not internationally known. A visit to any of these historical, technical, ethnic, or academic museums is well worth the time. New York's art, music, dance, and fashion scenes are a mecca for the young and professional alike. The Internet website for specific information on New York city and state tourism is www.iloveny.state.ny.us. A toll-free number for tourists already in the U.S. or Canada is also available at 1-800-CALL-NYS.
　　No matter what your interest is, if it can be found in an urban environment, it can be found in New York. Its eight million citizens hail from every corner of the globe, but they are united in the love of their challenging but rewarding city. As the locals there say, "Sure, you have to be a little crazy to live in New York, but you'd be nuts to live anywhere else!"

　　过去人们总是用这些字眼来描述纽约，当时她是美国最大、最富有和最繁华的城市。今天纽约仍然是美国最大和最有名的城市，但是过去30年来，由于犯罪猖獗的报道在世界各地成为头条新闻，使得它的一些“好”名声直线下降。这些报道究竟真相如何？纽约仍是观光的“好”地方吗？如果是的话，观光客在纽约能做什么呢？咱们这就仔细来探访一下这个美国首屈一指的城市吧。
　　首先，个人和社会安全向来是游客心中最关切的事，那么纽约到底有多“危险”呢？尽管有那么多触目惊心的头条新闻，位于美国东北部的纽约仍是美国最安全的城市之一。事实上，纽约州（包括纽约市——于是有“纽约州的纽约市，这城市好得人们称呼它两次”）在暴力犯罪（这是观光客很关心的）和财物犯罪上的排名比其它人口众多的州——如加州，还来得低。其它主要城市的犯罪率也比它高。因此，比起大部分其它的美国都会区，来纽约市的外国游客在此地能够觉得比较安全。
　　除了安全外，到纽约的外国人为何比到美国任何其它城市多呢？答案在于纽约本身的特色。世界上没有任何一个城市比它更国际化。走一趟它数以百计的住宅区就像走过全世界一样。诸如“中国城”和“小意大利”等地名在纽约市的任何地图上都找得到，但较小的种族小区也有很多。此外，所有这些族群团体每年或每季都会赞助举行庆典活动，因此几乎每个礼拜都会有一个或多个民族和其它纽约人共同分享他们的文化经验（和食物！）。
　　由于这种无与伦比的种族多样性，经常上餐厅的人到了纽约会觉得仿佛死后上了天堂一般。地球上几乎没有一道菜在这里找不到。更棒的是，许多这些异国风味的餐厅消费价格都很公道。在纽约到处都是餐厅，而光是中国餐厅就有几千家之多。
　　除了国际闻名的观光胜地——大部分在曼哈顿区——例如自由女神像、由两座110层大楼组成的世贸中心、华尔街、联合国总部和百老汇等，还有其它许多有趣的地方等着好奇的游客去参观。位于东北部布朗克斯区的布朗克斯动物园是世界上最棒的动物园之一。皇后区则有各个不同种族的住宅区。布鲁克林区则包含植物园、科尼岛（一座有游乐场的海滩）和约翰．肯尼廸国际机场。最后还有史坦登岛，这最小的行政区仍保有纽约市往昔的风貌，包括一座农场在内！
　　对爱好文化的人来说，纽约的博物馆比其它任何城市都来得多，但有些并非国际知名的。不管是参观历史、科技、种族或是学术博物馆所花的时间都很值得。纽约的艺术、音乐、舞蹈和流行服饰圈对年轻人和专业人士同样都是心所向往之处。有关纽约市的详细信息和纽约州的观光旅游可在下列网址找到：www.iloveny.state.ny.us。而人已经在美国或加拿大的游客则可打免付费电话，号码是1-880-CALL-NYS。
　　不论你的兴趣为何，只要是在都市环境中可以找到的，在纽约就一定找得到。它的800万市民来自全球各个角落，因为爱上这个要拼才会赢的城市而相聚在一起。正如那儿的当地人所说：“当然，居住在纽约你必须有点疯狂，但除非发疯了，否则你不会搬到其它任何地方去住！”