Read the passage and choose each phrase to fill in the blanks.

London has a population of about 7,000,000. It lies on the River Thames, (1) nearly 2,000 years ago. From about 1800 until World War Two, London was the biggest city in the world, but now there are many cities (2) .

London is famous for many things. Tourists come from all over the world to visit its historic buildings, such as Buckingham Palace, (3) , and the House of Parliament, (4) and hear the famous clock, Big Ben. They also come to visit its theatres, its museums, and its many shops, suchas Harrods, (5) . And of course they want to ride on the big wheel next to the river.

Like many big cities, London has problems with traffic and pollution. Over 1,000,000 people a day use the London Underground, but there are still too many cars on the streets. The air isn’t clean, but it is cleaner than it was 100 years ago.

For me, the best thing about London is the parks. There are five in the city centre. But my children’s favorite place is Hamleys, (6) toy shop in the world.