Have you ever been to the beautiful country of Holland and its capital Amsterdam?

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ANYONE who has travelled to Amsterdam would probably agree on one thing: Amsterdam's story is a tale of two cities -- one during the day and a completely different one at night.
When the sun is up, the largest city in the Netherlands sits quietly on the Amstel River. You can rent a bicycle, visit the Van Gogh or Anne Frank museum, or take a water taxi.
But when the sun goes down, the partying begins. In the big clubs and in coffee shops, tourists gather to hang out, talk politics and smoke.

Two worlds
Several areas of the city clearly show the two worlds that rule Amsterdam. And they're all within a short cab ride of each other.

For example, Dam Square attracts daytime sightseers to its festivals, open markets, concerts and other events. Several beautiful and very popular hotels can be found there. And there's the Royal Palace and the Magna Plaza shopping mall.

But as evening descends on Dam Square so do the party-seekers. Hip hop or funk music begins blaring from Club Paradiso and Club Melkweg. These are two of the most popular clubs in Europe. So if you come, be ready to dance. The clubs don't shut down until 4 am.

And while you're there, check out the various inexpensive ways to tour the city. Don't worry about getting lost. Although Dutch is the official language, most people in Amsterdam speak English and are happy to help you with directions.

And you'll notice that half the people in the streets are on bicycles. They rent for US$17 to $20 for a whole day.

Canal tour
Amsterdam also has an elaborate canal system. *From anywhere between US$2 and $9.50, you can use the canal bus or a water taxi to cruise the "Venice of the North".*

You can take in the picturesque canal house architecture: The rows of neat, narrow four-story dwellings of brownstone with large windows are well-worth seeing. Many of them are several centuries old.

You might also want to jump out of the canal bus at the Museum Quarter and start walking. Masterpieces by Dutch artists such as Rembrandt, Bruegel, Van Gogh and others are on display at the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, Rembrandt House and the Rijksmuseum.

The city has an appreciation of its historic past. One poignant place to visit is the Anne Frank House on Nine Streets. It was there that the young Jewish girl wrote her famous diary during World War II. *Visitors can view Anne's original diary and climb behind the bookcase to the room where she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years.*

Vocabulary
descend v. （夜晚、黑暗、情緒等）降臨；來(lái)臨
In the tropic area, night descends quickly.

funk n. 鄉(xiāng)村爵士樂(lè)；恐懼，憂慮

blare v. 發(fā)出刺耳而響亮的聲音
The radio is blaring out rock music.
收音機(jī)在高聲放著嘈雜的搖滾樂(lè)。

elaborate adj. 精心制作的
She had prepared a very elaborate meal for her husband and kids.
她為丈夫和孩子做了一頓精美的飯菜。

dwell v. 居??；棲身
For ten years, he has been dwelling in a ruined cottage near the town.
他長(zhǎng)期居住在城外破敗不堪的小屋。

poignant adj. 令人沉痛的；悲慘的
For billions of Chinese, Nanjing is a poignant place where thousands of Chinese civilians were slaughtered by the Japanese invaders in 1937.
對(duì)于十幾億中華兒女來(lái)說(shuō)，南京是一個(gè)傷心之地。1937年，幾十萬(wàn)中國(guó)平民在南京慘遭日本鬼子屠殺。

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Making sense
From anywhere between US$2 and $9.50, you can use the canal bus or a water taxi to cruise the "Venice of the North".
譯文：無(wú)論在(阿姆斯特丹的)任何地方，花上2美元到9.5美元，你就可以乘坐運(yùn)河公交或者水上的士，盡情享受"北方威尼斯"的盛景了。

Visitors can view Anne's original diary and climb behind the bookcase to the room where she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years.
譯文：游客們不僅可以看到安妮日記的手稿，而且還能參觀書柜后面的暗室。為了躲避納粹的迫害，安妮和她的家人在這里躲避了兩年之久。

Background
安妮日記的故事

　　 《安妮日記》使安妮成為二戰(zhàn)中最值得記憶的人之一！它真實(shí)記錄了一名成長(zhǎng)中的少女在遇難前兩年藏身密室時(shí)的生活和情感。自出版以來(lái)，已譯成55種文字，全球銷量達(dá)三千萬(wàn)冊(cè)，在歐洲被評(píng)為二戰(zhàn)以來(lái)影響世界的一百本書之一！安妮·弗蘭克，荷蘭猶太人，1929年6月12日生，1945年死于德國(guó)貝爾森集中營(yíng)。日記是安妮遇難前兩年藏身密室時(shí)的生活和情感的記載。作為一名成長(zhǎng)中的少女，她在日記中吐露了與母親不斷發(fā)生沖突的困惑以及對(duì)性的好奇。同時(shí)，對(duì)于藏匿且充滿恐怖的25個(gè)月的密室生活的記錄，也使這本《安妮日記》成為德軍占領(lǐng)下的人民苦難生活的目擊報(bào)道。安妮日記的最后一則，所標(biāo)的日期是1944年8月1日。1944年8月4日，藏在"密室"的八個(gè)人被德軍逮捕。蜜普·吉斯與貝普·弗斯庫(kù)吉爾，也就是在同一幢建筑工作的兩位秘書，發(fā)現(xiàn)安妮的日記散落一地。蜜普·吉斯將這些紙頁(yè)收好，藏在一層抽屜中。戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)結(jié)束，她將這批日記交給安妮的父親奧托·弗蘭克。奧托·弗蘭克斟酌許久，決定完成女兒的宿愿，將日記出版問(wèn)世。

Exercises
Fill in the blanks with the proper forms of words given. descend elaborate dwell poignant

This Valentine's day, he received the most ____ present he had ever got.
After the rebellion took place, the country was ____ into chaos.
When he was a kid, he used to ____ in the countryside.
Columbine is a ____ place for many parents whose kids were shot dead on that horrible day.
True or false
As the capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam attracts tourists from everywhere in the world for its romantic nightlife.
Tourists should know some Dutch language before coming to Amsterdam, for few people in this country understand English.
Discussion
With some other supplementary information you may get on the Internet, answer the questions below. Why do so many people go to the Netherlands and what's the impact of tourism on the country's economy?

Keys:

I elaborate, descended, dwell, poignant
II T, F