A、Buffalo’s economic prosperity. B、The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825. C、The water route linking Cleveland and Detroit. D、Fre

Part of the so-called American Rust Belt, Buffalo is the second-largest city in New York State, and now says historian Mark Goldman, “one of the poorest big cities in America.” “Something like 75 to 80 percent of the children in our schools are qualified for free lunch, maybe one of the highest in the country. New York City is pretty high too, by the way, but this is a national phenomenon.”
    Goldman, a New York City native, has lived in the city for over 50 years and has written several books on Buffalo’s economic ups and downs and there have been many more ups, he says. When the Erie Canal opened in 1825, it became a water route from New York City to the Great Lakes, a major factor driving the development and economy of the United States.
    “By 1900, Buffalo had become a major center of industrial production in the country. Steel, coal, railroads, and manufacturing automobiles.” But it all started to fall apart in the 1960s and 70s. Industry began declining rapidly in formerly booming cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Detroit. Today more than 31 percent of Buffalo residents live below the poverty line which in the U.S. is less than $24,000 for a family of four.
    George K Arthur runs Buffalo’s Nash House Museum, a landmark for the city’s African-American community. Arthur says he witnessed how the closing of industrial plants affected the city’s minority population. “It is the industries that begin to move out and go overseas, a lot of that high unemployment, and those in the minority community were the ones who were really hit the hardest. ”Today Buffalo’s unemployment rate is 6.4 percent, higher than other U.S. cities. But it still has a bright future, believes architectural photographer, James Cavanaugh.
    “We look at certain things that we have photographed like the two large steel mills that were in Buffalo for many years and employed tens of thousands of people. They’re gone. Now some people would say ‘that’s bad. We lost that manufacturing capacity.’ But at the same time, those sites are now being repurposed for light manufacturing, distribution, more modern technology.” So it seems that despite hard times, Buffalo is recovering, providing hope and new jobs for many of its residents.
    Question 19. What does historian Mark Goldman say about Buffalo?
    Question 20. What is said to have been a major factor promoting America’s economy and development?
    Question 21. What is Buffalo’s unemployment rate now according to the speaker?