Auckland is New Zealand's largest urban area with a population of just over a million people. It is not, however, the capital, although it was at one time, until the capital moved to Wellington. Auckland is the center of commerce and industry, and is perhaps the most energetic, prosperous and multicultural city in New Zealand.

    The city's landscape is decided by volcanic hills, the twin harbors, bays, beaches and islands. Its nickname “the city of sails” is very suitable. Auckland has more boats for each person than anywhere else in the world.

    Auckland has many volcanic hills, many of which currently afford great views of the city. And Auckland's geography is such that shiny waters seem to attract people from every point. It is a water lovers' best place, with some of the best beaches, swimming, diving, fishing, sailing, windsurfing and water sports in the country.

    Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is also the cultural, administrative and political center of the country. Two aspects of the city that will immediately strike any visitor are the harbor and hilly landscape. Everywhere you go, the sounds and the smell of the ocean hang in the air, and green hills and valleys wrap you in a bear-hug embrace. At night, Wellington offers a spectacular, shimmering(闪闪发光的) cityscape that is unlike almost anywhere else in the world. Even after seeing it for a hundred times, it takes your breath away.

    Wellington is a scenic, windy and diverse place. It has some of the best museums, art galleries, restaurants, and coffee houses in the country. It is the storehouse for the nation's historic, cultural and artistic treasures. Being the first place where European settlers arrived, it also boasts lots of historic streets and buildings.

    Wellington is host to an excellent Festival of the Arts every two years.

    More than 10 years ago, it was difficult to buy a tasty pineapple.The fruits that made it to the UK were green on the outside and, more often than not,hard with an unpleasant taste within.Then in 1966,the Del Monte Gold pineapple produced in Hawaii first hit our shelves.

    The new type of pineapple looked more yellowy-gold than green.It was slightly softer on the outside and had a lot of juice inside.But the most important thing about this new type of pineapple was that it was twice as sweet as the hit-and-miss pineapples we had known. In no time, the Del Monte Gold took the market by storm, rapidly becoming the world's best-selling pineapple variety, and delivering natural levels of sweetness in the mouth,up until then only found in tinned pineapple.

    In nutrition it was all good news too.This nice tasting pineapple contained four times more vitamin C than the old green variety.Nutritionists said that it was not only full of vitamins, but also good against some diseases.People were understandably eager to be able to buy this wonderful fruit.The new type of pineapple was selling fast9 and the Del Monte Gold pineapple rapidly became a fixture in the shopping basket of the healthy eater.

    Seeing the growing market for its winning pineapple, Del Monte tried to keep market to itself.But other fruit companies developed similar pineapples.Del Monte turned to law for help, but failed. Those companies argued successfully that Del Monte's attempts to keep the golden pineapple for itself were just a way to knock them out the market.

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    As the world's population grows, farmers will need to produce more and more food. And large farms are increasingly using precision farming to increase yields (产量), reduce waste, and reduce the economic and security risks that inevitably accompany agricultural uncertainty.

    Traditional farming relies on managing entire fields—making decisions related to planting, harvesting, irrigating, and applying pesticides and fertilizer (农药和化肥)—based on regional conditions and historical data. Precision farming, by contrast, combines sensors, robots, GPS, mapping tools and data-analytics software to customize（量身定制）the care that plants receive without increasing labor. Robot-mounted sensors and camera-equipped drones (无人机) wirelessly send images and data on individual plants to a computer, which looks for signs of health and stress. Farmers receive the feedback in real time and then deliver water, pesticide or fertilizer in adjusted doses（剂量）to only the areas that need it. The technology can also help farmers decide when to plant and harvest crops.

    As a result, precision farming can improve time management, reduce water and chemical use, and produce healthier crops and higher yields—all of which benefit farmers' bottom lines and conserve resources while reducing chemical runoff.

    Many small businesses are developing new software, sensors, and other tools for precision farming, as are large companies such as Monsanto, John Deere, Bayer, Dow and DuPont. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration all support precision farming, and many colleges now offer course work on the topic.

    In a related development, seed producers are applying technology to improve plant characteristics. By following individual plants over time and analyzing which ones flourish in different conditions, companies can relate the plants' response to their environments with their genomics (基因组学). That information, in turn, allows the companies to produce seed varieties that will grow well in specific soil and weather conditions. This advanced technology may also help to improve crop nutrition.

    Farmers do not universally welcome precision agriculture for various reasons, such as high equipment costs and lack of access to the Internet. The technology may bring great challenges to experienced farmers who are not good at computers. And large systems will also be beyond the reach of many small farming operations in developing nations. But less expensive, simpler systems could potentially be applied. For others, though, cost savings in the long run may reduce the financial concerns. And however reticent some farmers may be to adopt new technology, the next generation of farmers are likely to warm to the approach.

    Six months ago,Jack came to china to study.He has heard that Yanghou is famous for its gardens. And he plans to visit some gardens in July, so he has collected information about them online as follows:

    The Slender West Lake named National AAAAA Tourist Area in 2010, includes the Great Rainbow Bridge, the White Pagoda, Five-pavilion Bridge, the Twenty-four Bridge, the Small Golden Hill and so on. The best time to tour the Slender West Lake is in March. During the visit to the park, the boat travels on the water and visitors travel in the picture.

    Ticket: Mar. - May. ¥ 150; Other months ¥90

    Time: 8:30 - 17:00

    Bus: No. 4, 5, 6, 17, 61 buses

    Tel: 0514-87357803; 0514-87370091

    Website: http://www.shouxihu.com

    Ge Garden, one of the four lop famous Chinese gardens, got its name from bamboo. The bamboo in the garden forms the green scenery. The centre of the garden is well known for man-like hills. Four seasons can be experienced here at a time.

    Ticket: Mar. - May. ¥ 10; Other months ¥30

    Time: Mar. - May. 7:15 - 18:00; Other months 7:15 - 17:30

    Bus: No. 8, 30, 61 buses

    Tel: 0514-87935285

    Website: http://www.gy-garden.net

    He garden, the most famous garden in the late Qing Dynasty, is known for its long double-way corridor(走廊), which is regarded as the earliest footbridge.

    Ticket: Mar. - May. ¥ 40; Other months ¥30

    Time: 7:30 - 17:15

    Bus: No. 19, 61 buses

    Te: 0514-87900345; 0514-87222353

    Website: http://www.he-garden.net

    Jim Denevan is an amazing artist whose work is admired by all, but owned by none — that's because all of Jim's art is created on an unusual canvas(画布)— the soft sand. He sometimes spends days working on a piece, only to see it washed away by the sea or a storm and that is just the way he likes it.

    Denevan discovered his artistic talents about ten years ago, when he was wandering aimlessly on the beach with a stick. He ended up drawing a 12-foot-long fish. Since then, Jim has traveled over 1,800 miles while creating over 600 pieces of sand art.

    Over the years, his drawings have become bigger, but the tools he uses haven't changed — All he needs is a stick, a garden rake (耙子)and most importantly, his lively imagination!

    Just like any good artist, Jim is quite particular about the "quality" of his canvas, sometimes walking for miles, looking for perfect sand. His latest piece of work, which is also the world's largest freelance (自由职业的)drawing, was created in the desert sand of Nevada. It took Jim three trips, eight days and over 100 miles of walking to create this 3-mile work of art. It took the storm just one night to destroy it! However, Jim says he actually enjoys watching the waves or rain, wash his paintings away.

    Jim's art has become very popular over the years and was even the topic of a documentary named "Sandman" in 2015. Jim Denevan is not just about art in the sand — he is also an excellent chef and founder of an organization called "Outstanding in the Field", whose mottois to celebrate food at its source. Accordingly, group dining events are held outdoors on farms, with the diners being treated to a delicious meal. The events, which are held in different farms throughout America, are always sold out the minute the schedule is announced.

Your 2019 Reading List, Provided by Bill Gates

Do you want to be a billionnaire? Most of us can't live like billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, but we can read like him. Gates recommended four books in 2019—though some were published earlier.

Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson (2018)

The bestselling biographer of Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein researched deeply into da Vinci's contributions beyond art, highlighting the breadth of his scientific, technological, and creative output. "Leonardo nearly understood almost all of what was known on the planet at the time. That's mostly because of his curiosity about every area of natural science and the human experience," said Gates.
The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir, by Thi Bui (2018)

Gates calls this graphic novel "really impressive". Bui is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees who came to America after the fall of Saigon, and becoming a parent inspired her to look into her own parents' miserable history. "I was struck by how the experiences Bui describes manage to be both universal and specific to their circumstances," said Gates.

Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders (2018)

Saunders, a long-time short story writer, won high praise for this novel. The book imagines the ghosts that haunt (萦绕) the basement of Willie Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's son, who died at 11 in real life. "Willie's death after the Civil War made the president have a new understanding of the grief he's creating in other families by sending their sons off to die in battle," said Gates.

Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, by David Christian (2018)

This new book is by the creator of Big History, a free, online social studies course. It traces history in wide, sweeping movements, starting with the Big Bang, and it provides, in effect, a short course in modern science. This is a brief history of the universe. "David gets a little stuck on the current economic and political problems in the West, and I wish he talked more about the role technology will play in preventing the worst effects of climate change," said Gates.