Montreal (Canada)

　　Montréal is a modern city in nearly every regard. Its downtown bristles with skyscrapers， but these are playful， almost perky （活泼的；有生气的）， with unexpected shapes. The city aboveground is mirrored by another below， where an entire winter can be avoided in coatless comfort. To the west and north of downtown are Anglo commercial and residential neighborhoods， centered around Westmount. To the east and north are Francophone quartiers， centered on Outremount and Plateau Mont-Royal.

　　Over the past decade， there has been the undeniable impression of decline in Montréal. A bleak （无希望的）mood has prevailed in many quarters， driven by lingering recession and uncertainty over the future. There is some truth in the perception. After all， it remains possible that Québec will yet choose to fling itself into an unknown independence from the rest of Canada.

　　Lately， ripples of optimism are spreading through the province and its largest city. Unemployment， though still high， shows signs of shrinking. A new $900 million high-tech theme park is to be installed near the Port of Montréal， a project wrested away from the city's bitter rival， Toronto. Favorable currency exchange and the presence of skilled workers have made the city a favored site for Hollywood film and TV production， last year attracting movies starring Bruce Willis， John Travolta， and Eddie Murphy， among others， that brought in over $700 million in revenue. That success inspired the construction of two major film studios， one completed and another expected to be Canada's largest.

　　To many American city dwellers， Montréal already might seem an urban near-paradise. The subway system， called the Métro， is modern and swift. Streets are clean and safe. There are rarely more than 60 homicides（杀人案件） a year in Montréal， compared to the hundreds of murders annually in every American city of comparable or greater size. Montréal's best restaurants are the equal of their south-of-the-border compatriots in almost every way， yet they are as much as 30% to 40% cheaper. And the government gives visitors back most of the taxes they collect.