1
Improve the texts below by correcting all the non-parallel elements in the
following paragraphs.
Advanced
In future, some Chinese cities will grow to a scale far surpassing the world’s
largest cities today. (1)Both London and Tokyo each has a population of between
10 million and 20 million now. In future, there is a high probability that China
will have a few cities, each with a population exceeding 100 million. This is more
than (2) Singapore and Malaysia combined.
Such a scenario is not far-fetched. (3) Either is it impossible. The growth of
China’s mega cities is part of a global trend for more of the world’s population to
live in urban areas. Just as in New Zealand where the bigger cities have grown in
size, (4) in the Netherlands, Amsterdam and its neighbouring cities like Haarlem
and Leiden have merged to form a combined metropolis. Amsterdam sits near the
North Sea and the mouth of the Rhine, Europe’s most important river
economically and (5) it is a cultural hub too. Such a strategic location has made
the Netherlands a major trading hub.
The cities on China’s Yangtze River have a common feature with Dutch cities, in
that the canals, rivers and lakes (6) linking the various cities. These waterways
facilitate trade and transport among the cities, which will spur (7) its merger. On
the Yangtze basin, a mega city will emerge from the merger of Shanghai with
other cities like Nanjing, Hangzhou and Suzhou.
Of the two other areas in China where mega cities will emerge, on the Yellow
River, Beijing will merge with the neighbouring port city of Tianjin to form a
mega city in the north while on the Pearl River in the south, Hong Kong (8)
merged with Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Economic ties between Hong Kong and
mainland cities on the Pearl River are getting closer, with Hong Kong companies
(9) outsource operations to the Pearl River Delta. The rise of China’s mega cities
will change the competition equation in Asia. Where five years ago, Hong Kong
is as a rival to Singapore, in time to come, such rivalry will fade as Hong Kong
finds a new role for itself in the Pearl River Delta.
These three areas in China are not only important shipping hubs facing the ocean
but being situated on rivers they also serve as major conduits of trade and
transport. The growth of China’s mega cities will be driven by three factors – the
geographical factor, (10) neighbouring cities merging and rural migration to cities.
It is not easy for Singapore, which has about four million people, to match such
an immense population in 20 years, given its low fertility rate. Also, unlike the
Chinese cities, the island state has no hinterland to expand to. But is a city with a
much larger population necessarily (11) competitive than one with a smaller
population like Singapore?
For the longest time, China’s population (12) dwarfed Singapore, but its quality of
life, historically, was so low that many Chinese migrated to Singapore. Some
economists say the quality of China’s economic growth is poor, pointing out the
hundreds of billions of dollars of bad loans China’s banks need to write off and
(13) its lack of financial transparency.
Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou are catching up with Singapore in their quality
of life and infrastructure. With China’s entry into the World Trade Organization
(WTO), more multinationals will place their Asian headquarters in Shanghai,
Guangzhou or Beijing. Furthermore, China’s growth is faster than Singapore’s or
its neighbours’. Short of either a financial crisis (14)and political calamity,
Chinese mega cities will pose far stiffer competition to Singapore than her
neighbours (15) are.
To cope with the rise of the Chinese mega cities, Singapore should increase links
with its neighbours, namely Johor and the Indonesian Riau Islands or in a few
decades, Singapore might prosper, but Chinese mega cities (16) must overtake it.
Key:
In future, some Chinese cities will grow to a scale far surpassing the world’s
largest cities today. (1)London and Tokyo each has a population of between 10
million and 20 million now. In future, there is a high probability that China will
have a few cities, each with a population exceeding 100 million. This is more than
(2) that of Singapore and Malaysia combined.
Such a scenario is not far-fetched. (3) Nor is it impossible. The growth of China’s
mega cities is part of a global trend for more of the world’s population to live in
urban areas. Just as in New Zealand where the bigger cities have grown in size, (4)
in the Netherlands too, Amsterdam and its neighbouring cities like Haarlem and
Leiden have merged to form a combined metropolis. Amsterdam sits near the
North Sea and the mouth of the Rhine, Europe’s most important river
economically and (5) culturally too. Such a strategic location has made the
Netherlands a major trading hub.
The cities on China’s Yangtze River have a common feature with Dutch cities, in
that the canals, rivers and lakes (6) link the various cities. These waterways
facilitate trade and transport among the cities, which will spur (7) their merger.
On the Yangtze basin, a mega city will emerge from the merger of Shanghai with
other cities like Nanjing, Hangzhou and Suzhou.
Of the two other areas in China where mega cities will emerge, on the Yellow
River, Beijing will merge with the neighbouring port city of Tianjin to form a
mega city in the north while on the Pearl River in the south, Hong Kong (8) will
merge with Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Economic ties between Hong Kong and
mainland cities on the Pearl River are getting closer, with Hong Kong companies
(9) outsourcing operations to the Pearl River Delta. The rise of China’s mega
cities will change the competition equation in Asia. Where five years ago, Hong
Kong is as a rival to Singapore, in time to come, such rivalry will fade as Hong
Kong finds a new role for itself in the Pearl River Delta.
These three areas in China are not only important shipping hubs facing the ocean
but being situated on rivers they also serve as major conduits of trade and
transport. The growth of China’s mega cities will be driven by three factors – the
geographical factor, (10) the merger of neighbouring cities and rural migration to
cities.
It is not easy for Singapore, which has about four million people, to match such
an immense population in 20 years, given its low fertility rate. Also, unlike the
Chinese cities, the island state has no hinterland to expand to. But is a city with a
much larger population necessarily (11) more competitive than one with a smaller
population like Singapore?
For the longest time, China’s population (12) dwarfed that of Singapore, but its
quality of life, historically, was so low that many Chinese migrated to Singapore.
Some economists say the quality of China’s economic growth is poor, pointing
out the hundreds of billions of dollars of bad loans China’s banks need to write
off and (13) their lack of financial transparency.
Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou are catching up with Singapore in their quality
of life and infrastructure. With China’s entry into the World Trade Organization
(WTO), more multinationals will place their Asian headquarters in Shanghai,
Guangzhou or Beijing. Furthermore, China’s growth is faster than Singapore’s or
its neighbours’. Short of either a financial crisis (14) or political calamity, Chinese
mega cities will pose far stiffer competition to Singapore than her neighbours (15)
will.
To cope with the rise of the Chinese mega cities, Singapore should increase links
with its neighbours, namely Johor and the Indonesian Riau Islands or in a few
decades, Singapore might prosper, but Chinese mega cities (16) might overtake it.