When Marco Polo was 17 years old, he travelled {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Europe and Asia with his father, who wanted to do trade with the Chinese. And {#blank#}2{#/blank#} they arrived in Beijing.

    Marco was amazed by how beautiful and powerful China was. He was impressed by Beijing and the Emperor's palace. He was surprised to see Chinese people using paper money in the markets because he could not understand how people could pay for food and valuable things with paper! He was also {#blank#}3{#/blank#} by the black stones people used to burn for fuel. The black stones were coal, but Marco had never seen it before.

    Not long after his return to Italy, a local war {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. During the war, he was caught by the enemy and put into prison. Another prisoner, who was an author, took {#blank#}5{#/blank#} while Marco told all his stories about China and wrote the stories in a book called The Description of the World.

    UNIQLO's founder tries to find a way to beat Zara and H&M

    When asked what guides his vision of UNIQLO, Tadashi Yanai, its founder and chief executive, pulls off the shelf the 1987 autumn/winter collection catalogue of Next, a mass-market British retailer. All of the clothes are so {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, he says, that they could be worn today. While Zara of Spain and H&M of Sweden follow fashion trends without having any original thought, UNIQLO of Japan {#blank#}2{#/blank#} to timeless basics.

    Mr. Yanai has a/an {#blank#}3{#/blank#} base at home from which to develop into his Western competitors' main markets of Europe and America. But instead his {#blank#}4{#/blank#} remains Asia. "Asia is the engine of growth today," he says, pointing to the millions of consumers across the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} who are reaching the middle class. UNIQLO will open its first shop in India this year and is considering {#blank#}6{#/blank#} into Vietnam and other countries (it has already opened networks of shops in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand).

The success or not of UNIPLO's overseas operations {#blank#}7{#/blank#} greatly to investors at home. Fast Retailing's shares — Mr. Yanai owns just over 20% of the firm — have been rising since 2015, nalysts estimate, largely owing to its international expansion and improved logistics (物流). At home the firm is closing stores because the population is {#blank#}8{#/blank#}. Last year UNIQLO's international profits overtook its {#blank#}9{#/blank#} sales for the first time and its foreign operation profits almost equaled its Japanese equivalent.

    Though they are very different markets, Europe and America offer a cautionary tale. UNIQLO in America struggled outside the big cities of the east and west coasts. Growth in America remains {#blank#}10{#/blank#} for UNIQLO both there and in Europe. However, Mr. Yanai, an enthusiastic fan of globalization, is confident that he can guide UNIQLO through the changes needed.

    Thank you for choosing me as the best{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. In our school, I'm really happy to share with you how passionate I am about sports and what I do to{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. I'm a big{#blank#}3{#/blank#}of many sports, including basketball, football and gymnastics. I love to watch these events on TV at the weekend. I also{#blank#}4{#/blank#}regularly, too. In the morning. I often {#blank#}5{#/blank#}on the running{#blank#}6{#/blank#}for about half an hour. I don't run too fast or for too long so that I have enough{#blank#}7{#/blank#}for the day. In the afternoon, I usually play football or basketball. I'm on the school football team. The training is always {#blank#}8{#/blank#}, but we all do our best, since we all want to{#blank#}9{#/blank#}on the team when playing against other schools. Believe it or not, we also occasionally do yoga in the{#blank#}10{#/blank#}! It helps relax our muscles and focus our minds. If you want to become fit and healthy, my advice is to try different sports and activities to see which one you enjoy the most.

The {#blank#}1{#/blank#}after the accident is terrible.

The best part of the trip is the {#blank#}2{#/blank#}; it is fantastic.