曼徹斯特——八面威風的城市

Manchester， or Madchester， is a place where the people are livelier than any boxer before a fight. The place is infused with an undeniable feeling of attitude and pride.

Manchester city can be found in the North West of England. The city has around half a million people living in it， however， including its suburbs and surrounding towns the total number is more like 2.2 million （tiny numbers in comparison to Chinese cities！）

But what is so great about Manchester？ If we are talking about Britain， why not talk about London or Edinburgh. Just what is the big deal？ When I was 22， I lived there for 12 months， but I have been making shopping trips with friends and family twice a week ever since I could walk.

Lets begin with a little bit of dirt and grime. At around the beginning of the 19th century and during the Industrial Revolution， Manchester boomed and as a result became the first industrialised city in the world… basically the first place where factories were manufacturing lots of things. Thats a pretty interesting fact！

From dirt and grime， music must be next. Here are just a few of Mancunians sons you may know： Oasis； The Bee Gees； The Smiths； Joy Division； The Stone Roses； The Happy Mondays… the list just goes on and on and on. It is also home to two of the worlds greatest football teams： Manchester United and Manchester City （Manchester United of course being better！）. It wouldnt be a bad idea to check out a game at Old Trafford （Manchester Uniteds football ground） whilst youre there… it is where superstar David Beckham got started.

The problem is that there is just so much to do in the Rainy City that this short article couldnt possibly fit everything in that one can do！

So Ive decided to tell you about my favourite places； those that I first visited when I realised how great a city Manchester is.

Ready for some action？… Imperial War Museum North

Those who like guns and things that explode usually like war museums， but Daniel Libeskinds amazing Imperial War Museum North is like nothing you will have ever seen before in your life！

The museum covers the main battles of the 20th century through a broad selection of displays， but the really awesome bit comes every half-hour when the entire museum goes dark and one of three 15-minute films（Children and War， The War at Home or Weapons of War） is shown on the walls. Visitors are encouraged to walk around the darkened rooms so as to get the most out of the crazy atmosphere that is created.

Although the displays are very informative， the extraordinary metal building itself is a huge part of the attraction， and the exhibition spaces are absolutely amazing. Libeskind designed three main different areas that represent the three main theatres of war： air， land and sea.

Is there a bookworm inside you？… John Rylands Library

An easy candidate for the best building in town， this marvellous （and scary looking） Victorian Gothic library was a beautiful way for Mr. John Rylands wife to remember her husband after hed died.

Less a library and more a cathedral to books， it is probably the most beautiful library in Britain—although theres not much argument when youre standing in the stunning Gothic “Reading Room，” complete with high ceilings and pretty stained-glass windows.

Its such a breathtaking building that you could easily miss the magnificent collection of old books and rare manuscripts. A real treat for all you bookworms out there！

Speak of the devil.（Another name for the Manchester United team is the Red Devils.）

Home of the worlds most famous club， the Old Trafford stadium is both a theatre and a temple for its millions of fans from all over the world， many of whom come to the ground to pay tribute to the god-like footballers that play there.

Oddly enough， Manchester United are not as popular in Manchester as their cross-town rivals Manchester City， whose fans believe that Manchester Uniteds success only comes from having lots of money behind them！

A visit to the stadium is definitely one of the more memorable things to do in Manchester. I recommend that you take the tour， which includes a seat in the stands， a stop in the changing rooms， a peek at the players lounge （from which the manager is banned unless invited by players） and a walk down the tunnel to the pitch side dugout， which is as close to heaven as many of the clubs fans will ever get. Its pretty cool stuff！

The museum， which is part of the tour but can be visited independently， has a detailed history of the club， and a state-of-the-art call-up system that means you can view your favourite goals—as well as have a “chat”with Sir Alex Ferguson.

Its a shame that I can only talk so briefly about a place I love so much！ Manchester is such an exciting place to visit.

Unlike London， it is always best enjoyed by foot. In fact， I am at my happiest in life when I am walking along one of the many canals that run through the centre. I love looking up at the buildings and the pavements whilst one of my favourite Mancunian bands is blaring in my ears… usually Oasis！

Like what Stone Rosess Ian Brown once said，“Manchester has everything except a beach.”

曼徹斯特（或者叫“Madchester”）人比任何一個比賽前的拳擊手都要有沖勁。這個地方洋溢著一種無可爭辯的態度感和自豪感。

曼徹斯特城位于英格蘭西北部，約有50萬人在這個城市生活。不過，如果算上郊區和周邊城鎮，其人口總數可達220多萬（和中國的城市比起來還是小巫見大巫了！）。

曼徹斯特到底好在哪里？如果我們要談英國，難道不是應該從倫敦或者愛丁堡說起嗎？曼徹斯特到底有什么過人之處呢？我22歲的時候在這里住了12個月；但自從會走路開始，我會每周兩次與朋友和家人到城里購物。

我們先從它沾滿灰塵和油垢的發家史說起吧。曼徹斯特大約從19世紀初和工業革命期間開始蓬勃發展，并由此成為世界上第一個工業化城市……可以說是世界上第一個通過工廠生產各種東西的地方。這是一個非常有趣的事實！

說完了灰塵和油垢，接下來要說的肯定就是音樂了。你可能知道一些來自曼徹斯特的音樂巨星，這里只列舉一小部分：綠洲樂隊、比吉斯樂隊、史密斯樂隊、快樂分隊、石玫瑰樂隊、快樂星期一樂隊……還可以繼續列舉出無數的名字。

曼徹斯特還擁有世界上其中兩支最偉大的足球隊—曼聯隊和曼城隊（曼聯當然更好一些！）。如果你在曼徹斯特，到老特拉福德球場（曼聯的足球場）看一場球賽會是不錯的主意。足球巨星大衛·貝克漢姆就是從這里走出去的。

問題是，在這座“雨城”可以做的事情如此多，這篇短短的文章不可能統統囊括！

所以，我決定給大家介紹一些我最喜歡的地方；