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New York, New York

Introduction: Today you are going to read a story about Amy. She left her hometown
to try to be an actress in the “Big Apple”. By the way, "The Big Apple" is a
nickname for New York City. It was first popularized in the 1920s by John J. Fitz
Gerald, a sports writer for the New York Morning Telegraph. Its popularity since the
1970s is due in part to a promotional campaign by the New York tourist authorities.
Key words: envisioned (idealizado), unfortunately (infelizmente), far from (something)
– (longe de (alguma coisa)), spent (gasto), although (embora), hired (contratado), roles
(papéis), rather than (ao invés de), diner (lanchonete), leaked (vazado), smelly alleys
(becos fedorentos), crowds (multidões), booth (cabine), going to make it (iria
conseguir) – ex: conseguir alcançar um objetivo;

Two years ago, Amy left her small hometown in England and moved to one of the
biggest cities in the United States -- New York.

Amy knew the transition would be difficult at first, but was confident that she
would love her new life and succeed in becoming a Broadway star.

She had envisioned herself getting off the airplane and immediately making new
friends with whom she would spend her nights exploring The City That Never Sleeps.

Unfortunately, the reality of Amy's situation was far from the perfect life she had
imagined. Her days were spent jumping from theatre to theatre looking for auditions.

Although she was very pretty, and great at acting, her accent made it difficult for
her to get hired for any roles. Directors kept telling her to work on her American
accent, but the more she practiced it, the more she sounded like a cowboy rather
than a New Yorker.

Amy's nights were spent working at a diner in order to pay for her ridiculously
expensive one-room apartment where the sinks always leaked and the hot water
never worked.
To top it all off, the city that she had imagined as being filled with bright lights
and friendly faces like in the movies was made up mostly of smelly alleys, big rats,
and angry crowds that were always in a hurry to get somewhere.

Still, Amy didn't let anything crush her spirit, and was determined to keep working
hard until her dreams would come true.

Finally one day, Amy was clearing some tables in the diner while singing her
favorite song as usual.

"Excuse me," said a man in a nearby booth. "I couldn't help but notice that you
have a beautiful voice." Amy blushed and thanked the man. "I'm actually casting for
a star in my new Broadway musical of Mary Poppins," he continued. "How would
you feel about acting?" Amy's heart raced with excitement just as Frank Sinatra's
"New York, New York" began playing on the diner's jukebox. She was finally going
to make it.

1 - A link from Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York here and lyrics here.

Listen to the song and read the lyrics with it. Can you recognize any terms also
used in the text we’ve just read?

2 - A trip to New York in 1911 here.

This video is a montage of photographs made in 1911 by a swedish company called


Svenska Biografteatern. The images were made better by a boost in the fps (frames
per second), colorized and has ambiance sound. It’s a cool experience.

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