Tokyo东京英文简介
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Tokyo
It’s one of the world’s biggest and most crowded cities. So many
people ride on its subway trains that the city employs “people
pushers.” These white-gloved workers push passengers into crowded
subway cars so the doors can close! This is Tokyo, the capital of
Japan.
Tokyo is located on the east coast of Honshu, the largest of Japan’s
four main islands. The city spreads out on the Kanto Plain, the biggest
area of flat land in all Japan. Nearly one of every four people in Japan
lives in the Tokyo area. That’s more than 35 million people!
City Country 2003 population*
1 Tokyo Japan 35,000,000
2 Mexico City Mexico 18,700,000
3 São Paulo Brazil 17,900,000
4 New York United States 18,300,000
5 Mumbai (Bombay) India 17,400,000
6 Los Angeles United States 12,000,000
7 Kolkata (Calcutta) India 13,100,000
8 Shanghai China 12,800,000
9 Dhaka Bangladesh 11,600,000
10 Delhi India 14,100,000
*Population figures are for metropolitan areas.
THE HUB OF JAPAN
Tokyo is Japan’s leading city. The city is filled with factories, large
office buildings, banks, restaurants, religious shrines, and shops of all
sizes. It is a center for Japanese art and is home to more than 100
colleges and universities. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the city is
also a major seaport.
Many people move from other parts of Japan to attend college and
then work in Tokyo. Most Japanese companies have their
headquarters in Tokyo.
At the heart of Tokyo is the Imperial Palace. High walls, a water-filled
moat, and a large park surround the palace. This is where the
emperor of Japan lives with his family. Japan’s emperors once ruled
the country, but today they have little real power. Located near the palace are the most important government
buildings, including the National Diet Building. That’s where Japan’s
parliament meets.
GETTING AROUND IN A CROWDED CITY
The streets of Tokyo are packed with cars, streetcars, buses, taxis,
motorcycles, and bicycles. All this traffic overwhelms the roads in and
around Tokyo. Many of the city’s streets are narrow and crooked. It’s
so crowded that Tokyo residents must prove that they have an
off-street parking spot in order to own a car!
Most people in Tokyo use mass transportation. Every day, millions of
people ride Tokyo’s rail and subway lines. Fast trains, called bullet
trains, connect Tokyo with Osaka and other major Japanese cities.
EARTHQUAKES AND FIRE
Tokyo has suffered many devastating earthquakes and fires. The
most serious disaster in Tokyo’s modern history was an earthquake
and fire in 1923. The disaster killed more than 100,000 people and
destroyed much of the city. Today, there are few tall skyscrapers in
Tokyo because earthquakes are so common.
TOKYO AFTER WORLD WAR II
During World War II, the downtown area of Tokyo was almost totally
destroyed by Allied bombing. American soldiers occupied Tokyo for
seven years after the war ended in 1945.
The United States helped Tokyo rebuild, but the greatest
improvements happened after American forces left in 1952. In 1964,
Tokyo hosted the Summer Olympics. The city built new roads, a
monorail, hotels, and athletic facilities in preparation for the event.
TOKYO TODAY
Today, Tokyo is one of the world’s most modern cities. But crowding,
a lack of affordable housing, and pollution all are serious problems.
The Japanese government has encouraged people to live in Tokyo’s
many suburbs—outlying areas of the city.
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