116. New York, New York


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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 and friendly faces bright lights 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 spirits, 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.

Vocabulary   Comprehension   Cloze   Dictation





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