Dubai, the Gulf desert city state, which is well-known for its huge projects before it was hit by the global financial crisis, on Saturday announced a new development to open the world’s biggest mall and a park larger than London’s Hyde Park.
The ruler of the Gulf desert city state, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, announced the plan for a “new city within Dubai”, according to an official statement, naming it after himself. No cost was stated for “Mohammed bin Rashid City,” to be carried out by his private companies, which developed many of Dubai’s well-known projects, including Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower. The “Mall of the World” will attract 80 million visitors a year to become the “largest in the world,” said the statement, while its park will be “30 percent bigger than Hyde Park of London.”
The mall will be connected to a family entertainment center to be developed in cooperation with Universal Studios International that will be the largest in the area, aiming to attract six million visitors a year.
Dubai already has countless malls and hotels, including the Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destination, with 62 million visitors this year. “The malls and hotels available at present in Dubai need to be enlarged in line with the future ambitions for the city,” Sheikh Mohammed said in the statement.
Dubai’s tourism is growing by 13 percent a year, according to the statement, with hotel occupancy(入住率) hitting 82 percent in 2011 while hotel profits grew 22 percent last year, more than$4.4 billion.
The city state rocked global financial markets in autumn 2009 over its debt crisis, but its economy has returned to growth.
56. The “new city within Dubai” will __________.
A. attract 62 million visitors a year B. become the world’s tallest tower
C. be the world’s largest family entertainment center D. be named after the ruler of the state
57. All the followings are mentioned in the official statement EXCEPT __________?
A. the cost of building the new city B. the developer of the new city
C. the name of the new city D the number of the visitors the new city expects to attract
58. Which would be the best title of the news?
A. Tourism and Hotel Profits Growing in Dubai B. Global Financial Crisis Hit Dubai
C. Biggest Mall to be Developed In Dubai D. Plan to Rebuild Dubai Announced