READING 3 Times Square

TIMES SQUARE

Read the following essay. Pay special attention to the words in bold. 2.6

I live in New York City. New York has so many things to see and do. I especially love Times Square. Times Square is a top tourist attraction in the United States. Times Square is always a busy place. More than 300,000 pedestrians1 pass through Times Square every day. It has hotels, restaurants, theaters, and shopping. Every night visitors come to see an amazing display of electronic billboards2 .

New Year’s Eve is especially wonderful at Times Square. Every year New Yorkers and tourists come together at Times Square to count down to the new year. About a million people wait for the Waterford Crystal ball to drop, marking the beginning of the new year. The ball always drops at exactly midnight.

I usually go to Times Square with my friends to see the ball drop. I never drive there because parking is so expensive. We always take the subway. Sometimes it’s very cold on New Year’s Eve. If the temperature is below 10 degrees, we usually stay home and watch the ball drop on TV.

Times Square is also near the theater district in New York. I hardly ever go to the theater because it’s so expensive. Some theater tickets cost more than $200! It’s often hard to get a ticket for the popular shows. The tickets are almost always sold out3 .

I love New York City. Tourists from all over the world love it, too.

1 pedestrian: a person on foot 2 billboard: a large outdoor sign 3 sold out: all gone