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Vocabulary Quiz
cool • viewpoint • height
boom • borough • competitive
  1. It's just a fun card game. Why do you have to be so ?
  2. I want your job. It sounds so.
  3. We grew up in the same , but that's all we have in common.
  4. He reached the of his popularity within the first six months of his career.
  5. You will have a very different when you are 30 than you did when you were 20.
  6. Communication in the world was completely changed by the cellular phone .
Comprehension Quiz
Answer the following questions about the interview.
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417 Living in the Big Apple
Mike talks a little about living in New York City.

  • Transcript
  • Audio Notes


Living in New York is really, really cool, because there's a lot of cool things to do and see there.

Something 'cool' is fun, interesting or popular. Notice the following:

  1. He's at an age where he thinks smoking cigarettes with his friends is cool.
  2. Your new shoes are really cool.


When you live there, you start to feel like a New Yorker does, and it changes your viewpoint of the city.

Your 'viewpoint' is your perspective or opinion about something. It's what you think about something. Notice the following:

  1. He is very loud an opinionated about his viewpoint.
  2. We quickly became close friends because we share the same viewpoint on a lot of important issues.

during the height of or internet boom

I was in New York during the height of the internet boom.

The 'internet boom' is when internet companies and doing many things online became very popular. The 'height of the internet boom' was when new internet activities were at their most popular. It refers to the highest point of popularity. Notice the following:

  1. During the height of her fame she made 5 movies in a single year.
  2. He made a lot of money during the internet boom.


Manhattan is a main borough in New York that is divided into several sections.

A 'borough' is kind of like a neighborhood, but in a legal, instead of community way. New York City is divided into 5 boroughs which each have administrative or governmental responsibilities. Notice the following:

  1. Each borough in Mexico City has its own government building.
  2. People from New York City are very specific about which borough they are from.


New York is an expensive city to live in and I think it's a very competitive city.

In a 'competitive' situation many people are trying to achieve the same thing. In this case, people are competing for jobs, money, houses, etc. Notice the following:

  1. This is one of the most competitive universities in the world.
  2. The men on our softball team are very competitive, but the women just want to have fun.