1. The ecological problem

2. The city of foreigners

3. Deceptive luxury

4. The place where you can touch the history of the cinema

5. The dark side of the city

6. The main business of the city

7. from the history of the city

8. The diversity of names

A. Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States. The Los Angeles area, which includes the city itself and its suburbs, has a population of 13.6 million. Los Angeles's nicknames are LA and the City of Angels. Some people also call it 'La-La Land' because they think the city is full of strange and crazy people. The inhabitants of Los Angeles are called Angelenos. Los Angeles is often called 'the entertainment capital of the world.'

B. The largest and most famous entertainment industries in LA are television and film production, so the city is full of celebrities and wannabe actors who come here hoping to attract attention of some Hollywood big shot. Hollywood is still the centre of American film industry, though many studios have moved out of it. The famous Hollywood sign is known all over the world. Each letter in the sign is 15.2 m tall.

C. Los Angeles is a multicultural city. About 100 languages can be heard on its streets! It has the largest number of Mexicans outside Mexico, Koreans outside Seoul and Iranians outside Teheran. There are some areas in LA where it seems that you are not in an English-speaking country at all. Little Tokyo, for example, has Japanese Buddhist temples, Japanese shops, karaoke clubs, sushi bars and rock gardens. In Little India you can find saris and sitars. There is even Little Russia in Los Angeles where everyone speaks Russian!

D. One striking thing about LA is that it doesn't seem to have a city at all. It keeps growing and spreading in all directions, even out into the desert! It seems that nobody walks in Los Angeles; there are a lot of beautiful cars driven by beautiful people. But with so many cars LA has the dirtiest air in the US. The sunshine is hidden by the smog.

E. LA's most important street, Sunset Boulevard, is about 40 km long. Its most famous stretch, the Sunset Strip, passes through Hollywood. The Strip is known for its bright billboards and chic restaurants where the waiters are really wannabe actors or singers or scriptwriters. There are also modem apartment buildings with pools and palm trees but inside there are often six or more young hopefuls living together in two rooms to save money on rent.

F. Universal Studios in Hollywood is one of the most amazing places on earth. Not only does it have a theme park but it's also a working studio. A tram tour takes you past film sets where movies are being filmed and you can also see a lot of Hollywood history, including Alfred Hitchcock's old studio offices and the set where they filmed part of Jaws and the Jurassic Park. You can even bump into Steven Spielberg or Johnny Depp on their way to work... or to lunch (contrary to what their agents say, the stars are human, they have to eat).

G. LA is an exciting city but it's also a dangerous place to live in. There are over 1,300 street gangs in LA with over 160,000 members. Most gangs exist in poor, rundown areas and most gang members are young people. Teenagers join gangs because they want to have money and because there's nothing else to do where they live. Joining a gang gives them a sense of belonging and being a part of something important. Gangs are responsible for such crimes as theft, vandalism, drug smuggling and even murder.