Reading: Nieuw Amsterdam

1Read the article about a city in North America which was once called Nieuw Amsterdam. Match the questions to the paragraphs. There are two questions that you do not need. 

MOVE
• How large and successful is the city today?
• When did people from Europe first arrive and start living on the island that became Nieuw Amsterdam?
• What were the names and jobs of the people who lived in the city of Nieuw Amsterdam?
• How did the first Europeans in Nieuw Amsterdam build their city?
• Who lived on the island before the Europeans arrived?
• When and why did Nieuw Amsterdam become an English city?

1  

In 1625, settlers from Holland arrived on the southern coast of a long, narrow island off the east coast of North America. It was a beautiful island with thick forests full of wild animals, and deep rivers full of fish. There was a waterfall in the centre of the island, and in the north the settlers found a mountain with steep cliffs. There were long beaches with sand dunes along the coasts, and a deep harbour in the south where it was safe for their ships. It was the perfect place to build a new town.

2  

The men from Holland weren't the first people on the island. Native Americans lived in a forest near the mountain in the north, and they called their island Manna-hata, which meant ‘island of many hills'. They were happy to see the unusual new visitors and didn't attack them. They wanted to meet them and buy things from them. The leader of the Dutch expedition met the Native Americans, and they agreed to sell the deserted south of the island to him. It wasn't expensive. It cost sixty Dutch guilders, which is only about twenty euros now!

3  

The settlers built a fort to protect the harbour. Then they started to build homes and shops. They constructed tall, narrow, wooden houses in the Dutch style. Next, they built churches, a theatre and government buildings. There were only about 300 people in the new town, but they all worked together and the town grew very quickly. In 1638, they built their first school, and a teacher came all the way from Holland to teach the children. The settlers designed very straight streets. The street that went through the centre of their city was very wide, so they called it Breede Weg, which means 'broad way' in Dutch. And, in the northern part of their town, they built a wall that was three metres high, and they called the street next to it Wall Street. The town was very small, but it was clean, tidy and well-built. And the people who lived there loved it. They called the new city Nieuw Amsterdam.

4  

Then everything changed. There was a war between Holland and England, and Holland lost. In 1664, four English ships sailed into the harbour of Nieuw Amsterdam, and the town became an English city. Life in the small wooden town didn't change completely. The government changed and the English settlers began to build houses in the English style, but Dutch residents continued to live there. However, there was one thing that the English didn't like about the city – its name. They decided to change it. They decided to call the city New York.

2Read the article. Choose the correct answers. Remember to identify the paraphrase in the text. 

1 ............................................................................

In 1625, settlers from Holland arrived on the southern coast of a long, narrow island off the east coast of North America. It was a beautiful island with thick forests full of wild animals, and deep rivers full of fish. There was a waterfall in the centre of the island, and in the north the settlers found a mountain with steep cliffs. There were long beaches with sand dunes along the coasts, and a deep harbour in the south where it was safe for their ships. It was the perfect place to build a new town.

2 ............................................................................

The men from Holland weren't the first people on the island. Native Americans lived in a forest near the mountain in the north, and they called their island Manna-hata, which meant ‘island of many hills'. They were happy to see the unusual new visitors and didn't attack them. They wanted to meet them and buy things from them. The leader of the Dutch expedition met the Native Americans, and they agreed to sell the deserted south of the island to him. It wasn't expensive. It cost sixty Dutch guilders, which is only about twenty euros now!

3 ............................................................................

The settlers built a fort to protect the harbour. Then they started to build homes and shops. They constructed tall, narrow, wooden houses in the Dutch style. Next, they built churches, a theatre and government buildings. There were only about 300 people in the new town, but they all worked together and the town grew very quickly. In 1638, they built their first school, and a teacher came all the way from Holland to teach the children. The settlers designed very straight streets. The street that went through the centre of their city was very wide, so they called it Breede Weg, which means 'broad way' in Dutch. And, in the northern part of their town, they built a wall that was three metres high, and they called the street next to it Wall Street. The town was very small, but it was clean, tidy and well-built. And the people who lived there loved it. They called the new city Nieuw Amsterdam.

4 ............................................................................

Then everything changed. There was a war between Holland and England, and Holland lost. In 1664, four English ships sailed into the harbour of Nieuw Amsterdam, and the town became an English city. Life in the small wooden town didn't change completely. The government changed and the English settlers began to build houses in the English style, but Dutch residents continued to live there. However, there was one thing that the English didn't like about the city – its name. They decided to change it. They decided to call the city New York.

• 1In 1625, Dutch ships arrived for the first time

  on the west coast of North America.on a beach in the north of a beautiful island.at a harbour on a long, green island.at a mountain near a river in the south.

• 2The Dutch discovered an island that

  had a lot of trees and wildlife.had a lot of high mountains.was short and wide with lots of cliffs.was very cold, dry and unfriendly.

• 3When the Dutch arrived,

  people were already living in the south of the island.native people attacked the unusual visitors.the island was completely deserted.people on the island met them and were friendly.

• 4The first buildings in Nieuw Amsterdam were

  a fort and some new homes.homes, shops and a new school.churches and government buildings.houses along a wide, central street.

• 5In 1664, Nieuw Amsterdam became an English city when

  Holland's ships went to protect other Dutch towns.ships from England arrived in the city's harbour.the people moved to other Dutch towns in America.the Dutch government decided to build new colonies.

• 6When Nieuw Amsterdam became English,

  most Dutch people went back to Holland.English people constructed different styles of buildings.the people there decided to keep the same government.most English people didn't want to give the city a new name.

3Study the words from the article. Add them to categories below. 

MOVE
• settlers
• thick
• deep
• steep
• constructed
• wooden
• designed
• well-built
• residents

nouns that refer to people:

adjectives that describe buildings:

verbs used to talk about building houses:

adjectives that describe geographical features:

4Complete the sentences with the words in the box. 

MOVE
• settlers
• thick
• deep
• steep
• constructed
• wooden
• designed
• well-built
• residents

• 1a We got lost in the   forest – the trees were very close together.

  b The lake was so   that you couldn't swim down to the bottom. It was a very long way.

  c The hill was very  . It was impossible to cycle up.

  2a The architect   a tall building with large windows. His plans were very good.

  b The builders   a garage next to our house. It took six months to finish the work.

  3a In the forest, there was a   house – they built it from trees.

  b The house didn't fall down in the storm because it was very  .

  4a Polynesian   arrived on the coast of New Zealand in the fourteenth century. They wanted to start a new life there.

  b Today, New York is a very popular city. Many US   would like to live in or near it.

5  Imagine that you are a seventeenth century explorer who discovered an island and started a  new city. Prepare answers to the questions below, and write or tell the story of your discovery. When and where did you discover the island? Where were you sailing to at the time? What was the island like? Who was living there when you arrived? What buildings did you construct in your new city? What was life like there?

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