Dubai is a city of big business, expensive hotels, skyscrapers (摩天楼), and shopping malls. In the early 20th century, Dubai was a successful trading port. People from the world stopped in Dubai to do business. But it was still a small city, and most people lived as fishermen and businessmen. Then in 1966, oil was discovered. This brought a lot of money into the area, and soon Dubai began to change.

      Today Dubai is one of the world’s most important business centers. In fact, each year the city gels its money mainly from business, not oil.

Recently Dubai has attracted more and more visitors from abroad. They come to relax on its beaches, and every year, millions visit just to go shopping!

      Dubai is also one of the world’s fastest growing cities. Many tall buildings are built in months. The city also has many man-made islands. One of these, the Palm Jumeirah, is like a palm tree (棕桐树) and is very beautiful.

      The city is still an amazing mix (混合体) of people from different countries. The people from 150 countries live and work in Dubai, and foreigners now outnumber Dubai natives ( 本地人) by eight to one!

      Many people welcome the city’s growth. But an increasing number of Dubai natives worry about the speed of change. As a Dubai native says, “We must always remember where we came from. Our kids must know we worked very, very hard to get where we are now, and there’s a lot more work to do.”

1.Why did people stop in Dubai in the early 20th century?

A. To relax                         B. To buy oil.

C. To go shopping.                   D. To do business.

2.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Dubai has created many man-made islands.

B. There are many foreigners working in Dubai.

C Many international visitors come to Dubai every year

D. Dubai now gets money mainly from selling oil.

3.What does the underlined word “outnumber” mean?

A. To be smaller in size than another group.

B. To be more in number than another group.

C. To be bigger in area than another group.

D. To be smaller in area than another group.

4.In the last paragraph, what does the underlined part mean?

A. We should always visit Dubai,

B. We should learn from foreigners.

C. We must always remember our past.

D. We must only think about the future.

5.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Dubai is growing very fast.

B. Dubai was a big city before 1966.

C. Many tall buildings are built in months.

D. Many tourists come to relax on Dubai’s beaches.

What is peer pressure（压力）? People who are the same age as you, like your classmates, are called peers. When they try to influence（影响）you to act, or to make you do something, it’s called peer pressure. Everyone has to deal with（处理） it, even the older people.

The influence of peer pressure

Peers can have a good influence on each other. You might  admire （羡慕）a friend who is always good at sports and try to be more like him or her. Maybe you want to make others excited about your new favorite book, and now everyone’s reading it.

Sometimes peers influence（影响） each other in bad ways. For example, a few kids in school might try to get you to cut class with them when you should study at school or a kid in the neighborhood might want you to shoplift （在商店行窃） with him.

Why do people give in（屈服） to peer pressure?

Some kids give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked, or because they worry that other kids may laugh at them if they don’t go along with the group. Others may go along because they want to try something new. The idea that “everyone has to do it ” may influence some kids to leave their common sense （常识） behind.

How to walk away from peer pressure

Choose your friends wisely. If you choose friends who don’t smoke cigarettes, or lie （说谎）, then maybe you won’t do these things either.

Even if you have peer pressure while you’re alone, there are still things you can do. You can be away from peers who pressure you to do something wrong. You can say “no” to them and walk away.

    At last, if you go on to have peer pressure and you’re finding it difficult to deal with, talk to someone you depend on.

1．Does everyone have to deal with peer pressure?

2．What does “cut class” mean in Chinese?

3．Why do kids have to give in to peer pressure?

4．How many ways are talked about to be away from peer pressure?

5．What does this passage mainly talk about?