专四晨读美文：Mall of America

Mall of America
The largest and most popular shopping mall
in the United States is the Mall of America.
It is in Bloomington, Minnesota,
in the north-central part of the country
near the twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
It opened in 1992 and cost 650 million dollars to build.
Each year about 40 million people visit the Mall of America.
Mall officials say 4 out of 10 people who visit
have traveled long distances.
Visitors come from more than 32 countries.
Many people stay several days when they visit the mall.
There are more than 40 hotels within 8 kilometers.
The Mall of America has more than 520 stores.
It also has more than 50 places to eat.
If you lined up all the stores side by side,
they would cover a distance of almost 7 kilometers.
If you stayed only 10 minutes in each store,
it would take over 86 hours to complete your visit.
About 11,000 people work at the Mall of America.
During the winter holidays, about 13,000 people work there.
When the owners designed the mall,
they wanted it to be more than just a place to shop and eat.
So they made entertainment a big part of their plan.
The Nickelodeon Universe is an indoor theme park.
It has more than 25 rides including several roller coasters.
Another popular part of the mall
is the Underwater Adventures Aquarium.
It holds about 5,000 sea animals.
Visitors walk through a 91 meter glass tube.
Sharks and other ocean animals swim above and beside you
as you walk through the tube.
Some people who visit the Mall of America
have other things on their mind
besides sharks, shopping, eating and roller coasters.
They go to the Chapel of Love to be married.
More than 5,000 couples
have had their weddings at the Mall of America.
More than 650 million people have visited the Mall of America
since it opened 18 years ago.
Now the owners have plans for a large addition.
The "Phase Two" plan will nearly double the size of the mall.
When it is complete,
there will be enough room for up to 900 stores.