Dubai was a 6,000-person fishing village half a century ago. Since 1966, when oil was discovered there, the population of Dubai has grown to 2.6 million. Over the years, it {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (become) a well-known tourist destination .

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} attracts tourists to Dubai are tax-free shopping, dry weather, excellent accommodations, delicious food and beaches that go on for miles. In fact, some foreigners come here only {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (experience) the shopping. There are dozens of shopping malls, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (provide) every famous brand you can name. Those outdoor markets sell everything from spices (香料) to gold at fair prices.

    Choosing what places to visit in Dubai is difficult, because even the hotels there are also amazing {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (attract). The Burj A1 Arab is considered one of the world's best hotels, and {#blank#}6{#/blank#} is located on its own island, about 1,000 feet offshore from Dubai. Built in the shape of {#blank#}7{#/blank#} ship, this hotel is still {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (tall) than the Eiffel Tower and nearly as tall as the Empire State Building. Certainly, there are also other great places of interest to visit.

    Indeed, travelling around this country will {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (true) give you an amazing experience because of its interesting things {#blank#}10{#/blank#}  (offer) to all types of tourists.

     Siva, the wise father of Ganesh,once called his two sons and suggested a small contest.

    “I will give this sweet to{#blank#}1{#/blank#}goes around the world faster,” he said, holding out a large,delicious milk sweet. Murugan,Ganesh's brother,glowed with pride knowing the prize would soon be{#blank#}2{#/blank#},for he could fly{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(swift) in his chariot（敞篷双轮马车）,circle the earth,and be back in only hours,while his big,clumsy brother Ganesh would take so much{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(long) to do the same.

Bidding farewell to his parents,Murugan set off happily.Ganesh thought for a moment,then smiled and{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (begin) to move.His large elephant with its heavy trunk did slow him down,{#blank#}6{#/blank#}he did not have far to go.For he simply walked carefully{#blank#}7{#/blank#}both of his parents.In a few minutes he had circled them,{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (stand) respectfully in front of his father once again.

    “Father, please give me the prize,”he said.

    “Why? You did not go around the world.You stayed right here,”replied Siva.

    “But Father,” argued Ganesh, “I have just gone around the world.You see, my parents are indeed the{#blank#}9{#/blank#}world to me.”His parents smiled, well pleased.

    Much later, a tired Murugan returned home.{#blank#}10{#/blank#}, the prize was already eaten up.And now you know who won it and why.

    The Financial Times gave part of my job to a robot named Amy last week. For years I have been making podcast version(播客)of my column, but now I am faced with a tough competition.

    To be fair, Amy {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (do) something going for her. She has a great voice, smooth as velvet. Her{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(two) advantage is that she's practically free. She is part of a new service from Amazon that turns text {#blank#}3{#/blank#}speech, costing-nearly nothing. Even more {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (impress) is her speed. Less than two seconds after receiving my {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (write) text, which means when I just start to read, "Yesterday the Finan…", she has already finished.

    Yet once I got over my distress and listened to her work, I felt {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (good). I know it's early days for her, but at the moment Amy is no match for me. Listening to her is not like listening to {#blank#}7{#/blank#} non-English speaker read aloud, but to someone without brain, or heart, or sense of humor. Her {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (deliver) is so poor that I don't even understand. Amy never reads with understanding, never knows when {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (pause), and never does irony. She continues to get it wrong.

    Finally, I'm not afraid Amy is about to steal my job. Only people possess human touch. It is the heart-to-heart communication {#blank#}10{#/blank#} makes us special, beautiful and irreplaceable.

Trees, plants and flowers are all around us and we enjoy their beauty every day. However, we are so used to them {#blank#}1{#/blank#} we may even take them for granted without {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(realize) how much inspiration they have given us. In fact, nature has inspired many of the most {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(fascinate) designs around us, including those in architecture. Nature {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (present) in various architectural designs.

Today, architects continue to explore ways {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (capture) the beauty of natural forms, to mimic the way nature works or even to make natural organisms part of a building. ArtScience Museum, Singapore was designed to show the {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (connect) between nature and the modern city environment in which it sits. Visitors are often amazed to find themselves in an urban building that so {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(true) captures the beauty of natural forms. Harare's Eastgate Centre is {#blank#}8{#/blank#} superb example of biomimicry (仿生学). To use biomimicry is to create structures {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(base) on natural forms and processes. Creating buildings such as these enables us to live {#blank#}10{#/blank#} closer harmony with our environment.