The Statue of Liberty
When we talk about New York, I believe what comes to over 50% of you may be the Statue of Liberty. So, what I will introduce to you is the giant figure, a famous symbol of American culture.
The statue is also called Liberty Enlightening the World. Now, it has been located in the New York Harbor for over a century. It is a gift presented to America by France to commemorate the birth of the United States and cement the friendship between the French and American people in 1876.
There is some basic information. Liberty weighs 225 tons; its height is 46 meters and the height of its base is 45 meters. The woman figure holds a torch that can give orange light at night in her right hand, and in her left arm, she carries a book which means the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
Its father is Frederic Auguste Bartholdi(弗裏德里克·奧古斯特·巴托爾迪), a French sculptor. It is said that the woman figure has his mother’s face and his wife’s body. It took him 10 years to complete the creation. However, the whole statue wasn't officially accepted on behalf of the American people until 1884, after which it was taken apart, crated up and shipped to New York. It was formally dedicated by President Cleveland(克里弗蘭) on October 28, 1886. In fact, Liberty is more a huge building than a statue. Its base is a big hall in which you can watch movies about early life of immigrants. Besides, there are stairs of 171 steps inside the Liberty’s body. You can climb up it to the crown. It is said that 40 people can stand inside her head, and you can have a good view of the beautiful scenery of New York Harbor there.
The Liberty’s base was engraved with Emma Lazarus's （埃瑪·娜莎羅其）poem of 14 lines, The New Colossus, which was written originally to raise funds for the statue's base. The poem is very popular, especially the last five lines, "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" The Statue of Liberty is a member of the World Cultural Heritage. It’s also a reminder of American Dream. It symbolizes American high ideals of fighting for liberty, and also stand for American people’s pursuing the happy life.
