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.

    As we all know, questioning can lead to {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(search) for an answer. If we are in the habit of raising doubts as to{#blank#}2{#/blank#}what we are told is true, we can find the correct answer and learn more.

    Two years ago, our teacher{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (offer) us an answer to a difficult math problem in class. Although the answer seemed a little strange, nobody {#blank#}4{#/blank#}me doubted it. Thinking that his answer might be wrong, I{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(careful) analyzed the problem and tried to work{#blank#}6{#/blank#} out in a different way. Half an hour{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (late), I managed to find the correct answer. When I showed my answer to him, the teacher praised me for my {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(depend) thinking.

    From this experience, I have learned that questioning can serve as {#blank#}9{#/blank#} bridge that helps us to seek the {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(true).

    The seventh day of the seventh lunar month, called the Chinese Valentine's Day, is the only Chinese festival {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (connect) with love in the lunar calendar. Valentine's Day in China usually{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(fall) in August.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}the evening of the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, Niulang and Zhinü meet on a bridge of magpies across the Milky Way. If it rains that night, the rain will be the tears of Niulang and Zhinü.

    Compared with love stories in western legends (传说){#blank#}4{#/blank#}story of Niulang and Zhinü seem not so romantic. They just wait patiently on the riverbank,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (believe) that their love can be worth their not staying together. Unlike St. Valentine's Day in other{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(country), there is not so much importance on giving chocolates,

    {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(beauty) flowers and kisses. Instead, Chinese girls prepare fruits, melons and so on as offerings to Zhinü. They ask Zhinü to give them wisdom and high skills in making hand-made arts with needles in the hope of finding their satisfactory husbands. On that day, people in love like to go to the local temple and hope{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(get) their love and possible marriage.

    At night, people sit outdoors to observe the stars {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(happy). Some old people  say  that  if  you  stand  under  a  grapevine  ( 葡 萄 藤 ),  you  can  probably  overhear{#blank#}10{#/blank#} Niulang and Zhinü are talking about.

    Today we talk about a word that is a feeling as well as a place. This word is “home.” Long ago in the 1700s, “home” was used as a verb,{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (mean) “to be guided to a destination.” So, when you home in on something, you get {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(close) to your target. For example, you could say, “Police are homing in on the suspects.” That is also where we get homing pigeons－pigeons that can find {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (they) way home after being released.

    But today, “home” is more often used as a noun. And it has a very emotional {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(connect) for American English speakers. You can remember the meaning of the word by the expression “home is {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the heart is.” That expression means home is anywhere you feel love and comfort. It is a place where you belong, and often a place you consider your origin. In other {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (word), “home” is not {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(simple) a building where you live—that's a house. There is a big difference {#blank#}8{#/blank#}a home and a house.

    The writer, Thomas Wolfe, had {#blank#}9{#/blank#} different idea about home. In 1940, his book “You Can't Go Home Again”{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (publish). Today we use this title to mean that the ideas and feelings that you had as a child often change when you are an adult. So, even if you return to the place where you grew up, time and distance have changed your perspective (观点).

    Paper-cutting was recognized as a national cultural heritage(遗产)in 2006. According to experts, paper-cutting conveys the culture shared between China {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the West to wish for family reunions and maintain links with loved ones, alive or dead.

    In the movie Coco, for instance, the 12-year-old Miguel and his family dance and sing to celebrate the Day of the Dead, a {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (tradition)festival in Mexico, when colorful paper-cuts are hung on the street. Chinese people also cut images of small figures {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (call) back the spirits of the dead. The difference is that most Chinese paper-cuts are red, while those in other countries {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (be) often made in many other colors.

    Fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen liked to cut {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (character), such as princesses and angels, out of paper while {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (tell) stories to children. In China, female friends and family members used to chat and make paper-cuts together.

    “{#blank#}7{#/blank#}the patterns and colors may be different, paper-cuts share the same function of maintaining emotional ties among people, "says Yang Huizi, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} art teacher at Beijing Union.

    Yang {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (study) and performed the art for over a decade. Besides routine university courses, she also organizes nonprofit paper-cutting activities {#blank#}10{#/blank#}are open to the public in Beijing to promote basic knowledge of paper-cutting.

    Swedish businessman Nile Bergqvist is delighted with his new hotel, the world's first igloo (冰屋) hotel.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (build) in a small town, it has been attracting lots of visitors, but soon the fun will be over. In two weeks' time Bergqvist's ice creation {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (be) nothing more than a pool of water. "We don't see it as a big problem," he says. "We just look forward to replacing {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Bergqvist built his first igloo in 1991 for an art exhibition. It was {#blank#}4{#/blank#} successful that he designed the present one, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} measures roughly 200 square meters. Six workmen spent more than eight weeks {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (pile) 1, 000 tons of snow onto a wooden base. When the snow froze, the base {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (remove).

    After their stay, all visitors receive a survival certificate recording their success. Without{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (window) and places to hang clothes, it may seem more like a survival test than a relaxing hotel break with temperatures below 0℃. "It's great fun," Bergqvist explains. "As well as a good start in survival training."

    The {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (popular) of the igloo is beyond doubt. It is now attracting tourists {#blank#}10{#/blank#} all over the world. At least 800 people have stayed at the igloo this season even though there are only ten rooms.