Big changes in agriculture are taking place in Singapore. The small, Southeast Asian nation is leading a farming revolution.
Singapore covers 724 square kilometers of land and only one percent of that land is used for agriculture. Food production costs are higher there than the rest of Southeast Asia. As climate change and population growth threaten food supplies, the pressure is on new farmers to answer the government's call—to grow more with less.
"Whenever I talk about food security in Singapore, I tell people not to think land-think space because you can go upwards and sideways." said Paul Teng, an agriculture professor at Nanyang Technological University.
There are more than 30 vertical(垂直的)farms in Singapore-ones that grow up not across the land. Sustenir Agriculture is one of these businesses. Its hydroponic(水栽法的)farm grows non-native foods like cherry, tomatoes and strawberries inside buildings under artificial lighting. Then it sells the produce to local supermarkets and online stores. Sustenir raised $16 million from investors(投资人)last year. The money will be used to expand operations in Singapore and open in Hong Kong.
However, not everyone thinks the new technology is best. Egg farmer Milliam Ho says the government should not depend so much on agriculture technology businesses. "Many of them have failed. That's why I'm always asking the government, 'Why don't you invest in us old-timers?' We are more practical," he said. Professor Paul Teng said an issue for urban farmers is that the high cost of the technology makes their products too pricey for many people.
Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in New Zealand
Nature has shaped New Zealand with the beauty of a movie set. Few destinations(目的地) boast so many natural wonders packed into such a small area. Here are the best attractions travelers can explore.
Kaikoura, South Island
Birders, wildlife and seafood lovers will love the charming coasted village of Kaikoura. Between the Seaward Kaikoura Range and the Pacific Ocean, Kaikoura offers excellent coastal hikes and popular whale watching tours. In addition to whales, passengers may spot fur seals, dolphins and a wide variety of birds.
Queenstown, South Island
Queenstown is New Zealand's adventure capital. Bungee jumping, jet boating, rock climbing, mountain biking and downhill skiing are just some of the thrilling things to do here. In addition to the adventure sports? Queenstown offers all the comforts, with first-class hotels, spas, restaurants, galleries and shops.
Bay of Islands, North Island
A three-hour drive north of Auckland, the beautiful Bay of Islands is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the country. There are more than 144 islands on the bay, making it a perfect place for sailing. Penguins, dolphins, and whales live in these waters, and the area is a popular sport-fishing spot. The towns in the area such as Russell, Opua and Paihia are great bases for exploring this scenic bay.
Rotorua, North Island
This is a land where the Earth speaks. Boiling mud pools, volcanic craters and steaming hot springs show the forces of New Zealand's dramatic landscapes. Visitors can take a walking tour of these geothermal(地热的)wonders and bathe in the springs while visiting the interesting attractions to learn about the area's rich Maori history and culture.
Burlington School, London
Burlington School is located in Parsons Green, 15 minutes by underground from the centre of London. Our standard of teaching is high, with courses in General and Specialist English. The coffee bar is open all day serving freshly-cooked meals, and the school organizes a range of social activities to complement (补充)the classes. Students live either in homestays or in one of our hotels.
See Burlington School courses and save 10%.
Interactive English School, Brighton
We are a small friendly school. Being a small school means we can cater for your individual needs more easily than larger schools can. All of our teachers are native speakers, qualified and experienced. Our prices are very affordable and start from £ 60 per week for full-time courses of 12 lessons.
See Interactive English School courses and save 5%.
University of Liverpool, English Language Centre
You can have confidence in the University of Liverpool. While studying here, you will benefit from modern English teaching methods in small classes of fewer than 16 students.
See University of Liverpool courses and save 12%.
New School of English, Cambridge
The New School of English is located in the beautiful city of Cambridge. The school is open all year and provides a range of English language courses for adults aged at least 16 from all over the world. These courses cover General English as well as courses for professionals looking to focus on specific topic areas. They have a range of accommodation choices for students.
See New School of English courses and save 5%.
Dürer's Journeys
Time: 6 March 2023-13 June 2023 Location: Sainsbury wing
The first major UK exhibition of German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer in nearly 20 years. Through paintings, drawings and letters, this exhibition follows his travels across Europe, bringing to life the artist himself, and the people and places he visited.
'Dürer's Journeys' will bring together loans from museums and private collections across the world, including the artist's ‘Madonna and Child'.
Artemisia
Time: 4 April 2023-26 July 2023 Location: Sainsbury Wing
In 17th-century Europe when women artists were not easily accepted, Artemisia was exceptional (非凡的). She challenged traditions and became a successful artist and one of the greatest storytellers of her time.
In this exhibition of her work in the UK, see her best-known paintings including 'Judith beheading Holofernes', as well as herself portraits (肖像) and recently discovered personal letters.
Impressionist Decorations
Time: 11 September 2022-9 January 2023 Location: Sainsbury Wing
From the 1860s to the 1920s, the Impressionists tried to bring the outdoors inside, turning landscapes and scenes of modern life into paintings and decorated objects for the home.
Discover the Impressionists' decorative works through over eighty paintings and panels by leading figures including: Manet, Monet and Renoir.
The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Raphael
Time: Opening spring 2023 Location: North Galleries
In the year that marks the 500th anniversary of Raphael's death, we present one of the first-ever exhibitions to explore his complete career.
The exhibition looks at his celebrated paintings and drawings as well as his work in architecture, poetry, and design for sculpture.
With loans from the Hermitage, the Louvre, etc, this is an opportunity to see the width of Raphael's skill and creativity.
Pets are like our family members and their good health is very important to all pet owners. Just as the pollutants in the air affect our health, they can affect our pets too.
57% of dogs exposed to higher pollution levels developed brain diseases and showed signs of neuro(神经)problems. While a more recent study found that cats with breathing problems were more likely to live in households with higher indoor air pollution.
Air purifiers (净化器) have been brought into use in recent years. They work to remove harmful chemicals from the air. But are they safe for pets? How can we ensure that they aren't harming our furry friends?
The physical safety of using a mechanical device around pets is what we have to pay attention to. There is an existing risk of our pet becoming trapped in the electrical wire of our air purifier. Air purifiers are designed to be used in the home around children and their internal mechanisms should also be safe from small tails of our pets and other parts of their bodies.
Whether the air purifier improves or damages the health of our animals is also something we have to consider. The air purifiers are safe for pets, but only if they do not produce any ozone byproduct (臭氧副产品) . We should always stay away from the ones that produce even minimal quantities.
Picking the wrong air purifier type can quickly make things worse for our pets. On the other hand, picking the correct air purifier can lead to a big increase in the quality of life for them.
A. At present many homes are equipped with these useful devices.
B. Before buying an air purifier, we should keep two aspects in mind.
C. Pet owners always pay close attention to the physical health of their pets.
D. Even the smallest pets shouldn't be able to access the insides of air purifiers.
E. This greatly depends on the type of air purifier and air cleaning technology used.
F. So always check the product specifications and try to find a model that does not produce any carbon monoxide.
G. A 2008 study published in Brain and Cognition showed that dogs' brains were negatively affected by the heavy pollution levels.
Arthur C Clarke (1917-2008) is a science-fiction writer. His fictional HAL 9000 computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he co-wrote, 1 many of today's fears about artificial intelligence. I have a copy of a long-forgotten 1987 book of him July20, 2019: Life in the 21st century. I did not plan on mentioning it until the 50th anniversary of the first moon landings, which its title reflects. But I am 2 my own word because re-reading it has given me new insight.
Till now, the book is 3 in almost every detail. Clarke suggests, for example, "amplifiers(放大器)" to make us more intelligent, but makes no 4 of the Internet, which was in development at the time and was 5 15 years earlier by Joseph Licklider of MIT, when he was working at the US defence department.
Being wrong is just one problem I have with Clarke's book. Like most future-gazing, it sees tomorrow 6 in terms of technology. He viewed technology as humanity's saviour(救世主). Technology is marvellous, but it has had little or nothing to do with the best things about the world, and it will play a 7 role in casting out humanity's worst things: poverty, ignorance and madness. What do I mean by the best things? The outlawing of racism; rights for disabled people; liberation for women; the rise of 8 but the fall of superstition(迷信); social security, animal rights and greater life expectancy.
I love what technology is doing for the developing world, where electric lighting, washing machines and the Internet have 9 progress. But even better for that world will be universal education, the elimination of corruption(腐败), the rule of law, and democracy. Technology will play its part, but it will not be 10.
Mare Demarest, an Oregon-based digital thinker and author, believes technology tells us truths regardless of our nasty tendency to get distracted, to miss the moment, and to 11 data to make it mean what we want it to mean. "Gathering data is mostly done to 12 the human lot one way or another. Making sense of data, 13, will remain a human activity," he says. "We are better at 14 than any machine we will be able to make for a very long time to come."
We're not progressing humanity or changing the world. That's what ideas do, and machines don't have ideas. Technology is only the 15 of our desires. It isn't the future; we are the future. It's funny that even Clarke stopped short of predicting machines with imaginations.
China Chic, or guochao, features fancy designs mixed with elements from traditional culture. According to a report in 2021, (release) on Feb 3 by Bilibili, more than 177 million of the platform's users were in favor of videos featuring traditional culture. The (approve) reflected the way the "China Chic" phenomenon has been embraced by the younger generation in recent years.
During the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, young athletes wore sports clothing (bear) Chinese elements such as dragons, pandas and tigers, while the designs of some competition venues (include) images like the Great Wall and auspicious (吉祥的) patterns. China Chic could also be seen during the opening and closing ceremonies, and in the designs of gifts and medals.
A China Chic artist Yu Yang said, "China Chic represents a kind of pride and (confident) in our culture. We used (follow) lifestyles promoted by the West, but as China's economy (become) stronger, the young generation gradually get to know who they are and they really want to follow." However, problems can emerge when those who create it just copy iconic patterns from culture and design the surface." Some people just simply do ‘copy-and-paste' jobs. That will hurt the consumers' passion and (ultimate) ruin the trend's development. We have to deeply understand and love our culture first as designers," he said.
1）你的旅行计划：北京→泰山→杭州；
2）征求他的建议并询问他是否愿意充当你的导游。
注意：1）词数100左右；
2）开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数；
3）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：the Forbidden City紫禁城；Mount Tai泰山
Dear Li Hua,
I'm glad to tell you that I'm going to visit China in May.
……
Yours,
Jack
When I was about six years old, my family and I went to Disneyland one weekend and had a wonderful day full of excitement. Little did I know that the real excitement wasn't to begin until that night.
While we watched the fireworks, I began to get an urge to go to the restroom, but I didn't want to miss the show. I overheard my sister Isabel talking to my mom, and I got closer to them to hear what they were talking about.
"Mom, I'm going to the bathroom with Lizette, okay?" said Isabel.
"Okay," my mom replied, "but stay together. I don't want any of you getting lost. "
The second I saw my sisters leaving, I didn't think twice before running after them—without telling my parents. As I followed them through the huge crowd of people, I started to lose sight of them. I began to panic as I scanned the crowd for them. Crazy thoughts ran through my head like "What if I never see my family again?"
I gave up trying to find my sisters and tried to get back to my family, but I was completely mixed up. After searching for what seemed like forever, I couldn't hold back my tears, and I started crying like I had never cried before.
"Mommy!" I cried out. But everyone around me was too caught up by the fireworks to pay any attention to me.
I tried to stop the scary thoughts that were going through my head and started running as fast as I could...anywhere...everywhere. I was going crazy. I'm only six, and I've gotten lost. "What have I done? How could I have been so dumb to run off without telling anyone?" I thought.
With my face wet from tears, I kept running, pulling at people's pants and crying, "Mommy!" I was hoping, wishing, that one of these adults would be one of my parents.
注意：
1）续写词数应为150左右；
2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Luckily, I felt a pat on my shoulder and a gentle voice came, "Are you lost?"
……
Finally, through the crowd of people, I recognized a face.
