美国城市-芝加哥

Chicago's world-famous skyline

Many people say Chicago is the most livable big city in the United States. A generation ago, people poured out of the city for greener suburban⁴ pastures （牧草地,放牧场）, but today people seem to want to live in the city again. The city has its well-publicized problems--among them, chronically⁵ troubled schools, street-gang violence, and deplorable （糟糕的）public-housing conditions--but on many of these fronts, the city seems recommitted to repairing its afflictions. New town houses are sprouting⁶ in many quarters of the city, and developers scramble⁷ to （争夺，抢夺）carve out condos （各户有独立产权的公寓）in neighborhoods on the fringes of downtown once thought unfashionable. Even fish have returned to the once-polluted Chicago River.

The immensely popular Navy Pier8 features shops, eateries, nightlife, and a 15-story ferris wheel.

Visitors have more reasons than ever to visit Chicago, with its impressive new home for the Museum of Contemporary Art; a lively, rehabilitated⁹ Navy Pier and the resurrected North Loop theater district. Come summer, the lake sparkles and draws legions（大批的人）to its shores, slowing traffic on Lake Shore Drive as envious¹⁰ drivers crane their necks （伸长脖子） to watch the volleyball players cavorting¹¹ （跳跃）on the beaches. Chicago's domination of the convention business was further solidified¹² recently with the completion of a mammoth¹³ new wing at the city's major convention hall, McCormick Place, and that booming trade has sparked another round of hotel construction.

Today, the typical visitor will discover that Chicago is more Paris than prairie（大草原;牧场）. Within a few minutes you can go from the cosmopolitan¹⁴ buzz（忙乱） of the downtown Loop to a working-class Latino neighborhood. Unlike the oppressive density¹⁵ of Manhattan or the smog-choked skies over LA, there's room to breathe here. This is a living, vibrant¹⁶, wonderfully diverse city, and one that offers something for everyone, whatever your tastes, inclinations¹⁷（爱好）, or budget may be. You won't cover it all （看不完）, nor should you try. Chicago demands repeat visits.