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.

    Stress(压力) is a popular cause of major diseases affecting people worldwide. It is so common that people have begun to search for the best and easiest ways to reduce stress. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Exercise for a better life.

    Regular runners say that there is no better feeling than the one you get when you finish your daily run. Exercising is a good way for you to remove stress from your life. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And it can also lift your mood. An additional benefit of exercising is that it keeps you fit and healthy!

Organize it.

    Keeping your workplace and home organized is also a way for you to avoid stressful situations. Working in a messy(凌乱的) area keeps your brain thinking on several different things at the same time.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Manage your time wisely.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Sticking to(坚持) your schedule gives you focus and a goal to work on. It also helps you avoid missing out on deadlines which are a great source of stress. Managing your time wisely means managing your stress.

    In a word, we shouldn't let stress stop us living a normal and healthy life. Stress will naturally appear due to the modern way of life. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Don't let stress get the better of you and make you lead an unhappy life.

A. Avoid stressed people.

B. Know what causes your stress.

C. Plan your day ahead and stick to it.

D. Here are some ways to say goodbye to stress.

E. Regular exercise gives you time to think things.

F. And it gets hard to focus on (思想集中) just one thing.

G. But just like fire, if we control stress it can't hurt us.

    When you are travelling in Thailand, which means of transport is the best choice?

    You can rent a variety of motorbikes or bikes in Thailand. It seems to be very popular in most of the beaches and islands along the places in the north. The most popular bikes are the little 125 cc Honda Dream which you can get for about 150 baht (铢) a day or as little as 3,000 baht per month, making it the cheapest way to tour Thailand for the people from other countries.

    Sometimes you will have to go somewhere by taxi. When you are in cities in Thailand, especially in Bangkok, always remember to get a taxi that is traveling on the roads. Some drivers outside hotels refuse to use the meter(计程表). They will ask a price which is several times the price when they use the meter!

    The quality of the roads in Thailand is generally pretty good, so renting cars is another way to get around. The big car rental companies may offer you slightly older cars at a very reasonable(合理的) price. It is a little surprising considering that the cost of buying a car in Thailand is more than that in the West. Petrol is also reasonably priced in Thailand, more expensive than American prices, but much cheaper than what is paid in Europe. In the past, Bangkok could be a difficult place to drive in—signs were generally in Thai only, making it a hard job to find exactly where you were by looking around. But now, the situation is improved. In a lot of places, even the farthest corners of the country, street signs are in both Thai and English.

    Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping, has drawn extensive attention from people both at home and abroad for her charisma and grace. Accompanying her husband on his first overseas trip after becoming president, Peng Liyuan exhibited graceful demeanor, a pleasant personality and well-chosen dress, prompting people to coin the term “Liyuan style”.

Peng Liyuan, as one of China's best-known singers, was popular among Chinese people long before her husband became the president. Loved by her fans, she has been in touch with the people for years.

    “Liyuan style” is not only representative of a fashion idol, but also overpass cultural and diplomatic barriers. The beautiful handbags Peng has carried, and the plain but elegant and delicate dresses she has worn have become popular. Her choice of clothing, made-in-China instead of luxurious foreign brands, shows her belief in domestic dress designs.

But “Liyuan style” is not only about clothing and a woman's paraphernalia. It is also about diplomacy and promoting China's soft power. In Moscow, Peng visited a boarding school for orphans and children estranged (疏远) from their parents, encouraging them to strive for a better life, which brought out the maternal side of her character. In Tanzania, she donated sewing machines and school bags to women and children. And as a World Health Organization ambassador in the fight against AIDS, Peng is devoted to many public causes, including those relating to charity and healthcare.

    Some observers have already started saying that Peng's activities have become part of public diplomacy in China.

Also, “Liyuan style” has boosted the confidence of the Chinese people. Modem but not flashy, elegant but not arrogant, Peng has all the virtues of a Chinese woman and carries them to the international stage.

Since the 18th Party Congress and the annual sessions of the NPC and CPPCC, the country's new leadership has vowed to adopt a down-to-earth work style to connect with the people. Peng's plain but elegant style shows that thriftiness and an earthy style need not be drab and boring.

    So it can be said that Peng's first appearance on the international stage has kicked off well.

    Not all think laughter is the best medicine, but it seems to help. So scientists carried on a new study of diabetes (糖尿病) patients who were given a good dose of humor for a year to prove it.

    Researchers divided 20 high­risk diabetic patients into two groups. Both groups were given standard diabetes medicine. Group L viewed 30 minutes of humor of their choice, while Group C. the control group. did not. This went on for a year of treatments.

    By two months into the study. the patients in the laughter group had lower level of the hormones epinephrine (肾上腺素), considered to cause stress. which is known to be deadly. After the 12 months. HDL cholesterol rises 26 percent in Group L but only 3 percent in Group C. In another measure. C­reactive proteins, a maker of heart disease. drop 66 percent in the laughter group but only 26 percent in the control group.

    “The best doctors believe that there is a physical good brought about by the positive emotion, happy laughter. ”said study leader Lee Berk of Loma Linda University. And other research has found that humor makes us more hopeful. Still, more study is needed, Berk said. The research by Berk found that humor can bring about similar changes in body chemistry. which was proved in the new study. The research result will be presented this month at the meeting in the US. Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine shows that laughter causes the inner lining of blood vessels to expand. increasing blood flow in a way thought to be healthy.

    “Lifestyle choices have an important effect on health and these are choices which we and patients should pay attention to. rather than prevention and treatment,”Berk said in a statement this week.

Learning, Fast and Deep

    Over the past five years researchers in artificial intelligence have become the rock stars of the technology world. A branch of AI known as deep learning, which uses neural(神经的) networks to scan through large volumes of data looking for patterns, has proven so useful that skilled practitioners can command high six-figure salaries to build software for Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google.

    The standard route into these jobs has been a PhD in computer science from one of America's top universities. Earning one takes years and requires a personality suited to academia, which is rare among more normal folk.

    That is changing.

    Last month fast.ai, a non-profit education organization based in San Francisco, kicked off the third year of its course in deep learning. Since its foundation it has attracted more than 100, 000 students around the globe from India to Nigeria. The course and others like it, come with a simple idea: there is no need to spend years obtaining a PhD in order to practise deep learning. Creating software that learns can be taught as a craft, not as a high intellectual pursuit to be undertaken only in an ivory tower. Fast. ai's course can be completed in just seven weeks.

    To make it accessible to anyone who wants to learn how to build AI software is the aim of Jeremy Howard, who founded fast.ai with Rachel Thomas, a mathematician. He says school mathematics is sufficient. "No. Greek. Letters," Mr. Howard intones, pounding the table with his fist for punctuation.

    Some experts worry that this will serve only to create a flood of unreliable AI systems which will be useless at best and dangerous at worst. In the earliest days of the Internet, only a select few nerds, namely computer holies with specific skills, could build applications. Not many people used them. Then the invention of the World Wide Web led to an explosion of web pages, both good and bad. But it was only by opening up to all that the Internet gave birth to online shopping, instant global communications and search. If Mr. Howard and others have their way, making the development of AI software easier will bring forth a new crop of fruit of a different kind.