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Cities play a very important role in the U.S.economy.As a highly developed industrial country，the United States has many major cities that are well known around the world，such as Washington D.C.，New York，Los Angeles and Chicago.

Washington D.C.is the national capital of the United States.It is named after the first American president，George Washington and has served as the capital since 1800.Washington has many famous buildings and monuments.The most important building is the Capitol，which houses the U.S.Congress and stands on top of Capitol Hill.Another important building is the White House，which is the official residence of the U.S.President and the oldest public building in Washington.The city also has many famous monuments，such as the Washington Monument，the Jefferson Memorial，and the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King gave his famous“I Have a Dream”speech.Washington is also home to the famous national museum known as the Smithsonian Institution.

New York City is the largest city in the United States，with a population of 8.2 million in the city itself and over 23 million in the larger metropolitan area.The city is the leading commercial，financial，media and cultural center of the country.It boasts many of the best⁃known museums and entertainment centers in the world，including the Metropolitan Museum，Broadway and Times Square.It has more than one hundred institutions of higher education，including Columbia University and New York University.In addition，the headquarters of the United Nations is located in New York.The newly⁃built One World Trade Center，which was built in the place where the original Twin Towers stood before the terrorist attacks of September 2001，is the tallest building in the United States and the Western Hemisphere.As the main port of entry to the United States for immigrants from all over the world，New York has always been ethnically diverse.Today，immigrants make up about a third of the city’s total population.

One World Center

Los Angeles（often called“L.A.”）is the second⁃largest city in the United States，with a population in 2010 of 3.8 million in the city and over 18 million in the larger metropolitan area.The city is spread out，occupying an area of 1，215 square kilometers in southern California，and its metropolitan area covers over 87，000 square kilometers.Los Angeles is the leading center of film and television production in the United States.The film industry，often named“Hollywood”after the L.A.neighborhood where many of the major movie studios were originally based，has made the city the capital of the global motion picture business.Los Angeles is the largest manufacturing region in the United States and home to the country’s two busiest commercial seaports，the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach，where most imports from Asia arrive.The city is also a major center for industries such as oil production and refining，communication and fashion.The Universal Studios and Disneyland theme parks draw millions of visitors each year.In terms of demographics，Los Angeles’population is now about half Hispanic and whites have become a minority in recent years.

Chicago is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan in Illinois.With a population of about 2.7 million in 2010（and 9.9 million in the larger metropolitan area），it is the third⁃largest city in the country.The city is one of the nation’s most important transportation hubs and the most important industrial and commercial center in the Midwest;its food⁃processing industry is the largest in the whole country due in large part to its location near the agricultural and cattle ranching regions of the Central Lowland and the Great Plains.With regard to demographics，Chicago’s population is very mixed，with whites，blacks，and Hispanics each accounting for over a quarter of the total.

There are many other important cities in the United States.San Francisco，on the Pacific coast of California，is the country’s gateway to Asia.The Seattle region in Washington State is famous for being the home of Microsoft and Starbucks Coffee.In the east，Boston in Massachusetts is one of the oldest cities in the country，and its suburbs are home to Harvard，the nation’s oldest university.Philadelphia in Pennsylvania witnessed the signing of the U.S.Declaration of Independence，and was home to American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.Detroit in southeastern Michigan is the capital of the world’s leading automobile manufacturing region.In the south，Atlanta in Georgia houses the headquarters of some of the largest companies in the country，including Coca Cola and Delta Airlines.Phoenix in Arizona is one of the nation’s fastest growing cities.