单选题
In the 18th century, New York was smaller than
Philadelphia and Boston. Today it is the largest city in America. How to explain
the change in its size and importance? To answer this question
we must consider certain facts about geography, history and economics. Together
these three will explain the huge growth of America's most famous
cities. The map of the Northeast shows that four of the most
heavily-populated areas in this region are around seaports. At these points
materials from across tile sea enter America, and the products of the land are
sent there for export across the sea. Economists know that
places where transportation lines meet are good places for making raw materials
into completed goods, That is why seaports often have cities nearby. But cities
like New York needed more than their geographical location in order to become
great industrial centers. Their development did not happen simply by
chance. About 1815, when many Americans from the east coast had
already moved to the west. trade routes from the ports to the central regions of
the country began to be a serious problem, The slow wagons of that time. drawn
by horses or oxen, were too expensive for moving heavy freight very far.
Americans had long admired Europe's canals. In New York State a canal seemed the
best solution to the transportation problem From the eastern end of Lake Erie
all the way across the state to the Hudson River there is a long trip of low
land Here the Erie Canal was constructed. After working for several years it was
completed in 1825. The canal produced an immediate effect.
Freight costs were cut to about one-tenth of what they had been. New York City,
which had been smaller than Philadelphia and Boston, quickly became the leading
city of the coast. In later years, transportation routes on the Great Lakes were
joined to routes on the Mississippi River. Then New York City became the end
point of a great inland shipping system that emended from the Atlantic Ocean far
up to the western branches of the Mississippi. The new
railroads made canal shipping not as important as before, but it tied New York
even more closely to the central regions of the country. It was easier for
people in the central states to ship their goods to New York for export
overseas. Exports from New York were greater than imports.
Consequently, shipping companies were eager to fill their ships with passengers
on the return trip from Europe. Passengers could come from Europe very cheaply
as a result. Thus New York became the greatest port for
receiving people from European countries. Many of them remained in the city.
Others stayed in New York for a few weeks, months or years, and then moved to
other parts of the United States. For these great numbers of new Americans. New
York had to provide homes, goods and services. Their labor helped the city
become great
单选题
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?