Spring is coming, and it is time for those about to graduate to look for jobs. Competition is tough, so job seekers must carefully consider their personal choices. Whatever we are wearing, our family and friends may accept us, but the workplace may not.

    A high school newspaper editor said it is unfair for companies to discourage visible tattoos(纹身) nose rings, or certain dress styles. It is true you can't judge a book by its cover, yet people do “cover” themselves in order to convey certain messages. What we wear, including tattoos and nose rings, is an expression of who we are. Just as people convey messages about themselves with their appearances, so do companies. Dress standards exist in the business world for a number of reasons, but the main concern is often about what customers accept.

    Others may say how to dress is a matter of personal freedom, but for businesses it is more about whether to make or lose money. Most employers do care about the personal appearances of their employees, because those people represent the companies to their customers.

    As a hiring manager I am paid to choose the people who would make the best impression on our customers. There are plenty of well-qualified candidates, so it is not wrong to reject someone who might disappoint my customers. Even though I am open-minded, I can't expect all our customers are.

    There is nobody to blame but yourself if your set of choices does not match that of your preferred employer. No company should have to change to satisfy a candidate simply because he or she is unwilling to respect its standards, as long as its standards are legal.

    People who do not get enough vitamin A in their diet may develop night blindness. But in the developing world, a lack of vitamin A causes much more serious harm to children. The world Health Organization links the lack of vitamin A to as many as 250,000 child deaths every year.

    One excellent source of vitamin A is found in newly developed sweet potatoes with orange flesh. Orange sweet potatoes contain high levels of beta-carotene, which the body changes into vitamin A. Experts say orange sweet potatoes could help the Africans who are lacking in vitamin A. But, first, more people will need to be persuaded to eat them. Sweet potatoes need a better image in Africa. Jan Low with the International Potato Center says, “We do have an image problem with sweet potatoes. In many African countries, they are seen as a crop of the poor.”

    Ms. Low explains that sweet potatoes are mainly grown by poor women to feed their families in case another crop fails. The sweet potatoes commonly grown in Africa have white or yellow flesh. But they are low in vitamin A.

    Jan Low took part in a project to study how to market orange sweet potatoes to Africans best. She worked on an information campaign(活动) in Mozambique and Uganda. The campaign included radio messages about the nutritional(营养的) benefits of the orange sweet potato. They advertised its ability to “fight diseases, make you strong, clear you skin and make you look healthy”. In areas without radio, the campaigners spread the message through theater. The performances included singing, dancing and storytelling. And everywhere they went, the campaigners wore orange T-shirts and hats. They even drove orange cars.

    Dan Gustafson heads the Washington office of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. He mentions the efforts in the past to increase the popularity of other nutritious crops. He says most of these efforts failed because organizers of the campaigns did not consider what people wanted to eat. People want to eat what they are familiar with. But Mr. Gustafson sees a better chance for the efforts to increase the popularity of the orange sweet potato in Africa. Except for the color, the orange sweet potato is almost the same as what people already eat. Dan Gustafson says, “I think this time the campaigners will succeed, because they have made enough advertisements and the difference between the vegetable they have advertised and what people already eat is not a radical one.”

    Have you ever been to France before? It is not only a country of great food, fashion and art. It's also home to the most influential painters in the world.

    Edouard Manet

    He was one of the first artists to paint modern life. He began to paint in his own style, but still used some of Couture's techniques like thick lines and dark colors. He was greatly influenced by Claude Monet and Berthe Morisot, which can be seen in his use of light shades. Most of his paintings had scenes of daily life on the streets of Paris. His works include Olympia and The Absinthe Drinker.

    Camille Pissarro

    In his early years, Pissarro painted scenes of a river or a path from memory. After meeting Claude Monet and Paul Cezanne, who painted in a more realistic style, he changed his course to Impressionism. During his career, he experimented with various styles, and finally formed his own one. His works include Old Market at Rouen and Sunset at St. Charles.

    Vincent van Gogh

    He had a huge influence on art in the 20th century. His early works were most painted in somber tones. However, influenced by Monet, Pissarro, and Bernard, he adopted brighter colors in his works, and started creating his own techniques. Although he had produced more than 2,000 works of art, the artist sold only one painting during his lifetime — Red Vineyard at Arles. His works include The Potato Eaters, Starry Night and Bedroom in Arles.

    Claude Monet

    He was the founder of the Impressionist movement and completely changed the French painting in the 19th century. Although he first started by selling charcoal caricatures（木炭讽刺画）in Paris, he soon started painting with oil after meeting Eugene Boudin, who taught him to use oil paints and also encouraged him to paint outdoors. And then he painted with his own style. His works include Impression, Sunrise and The Water Liles.

    One of the hardest parts of living abroad is being away from your loved ones, especially your family. While my friends are so important to me, I've personally found it more difficult being away from family.

    However, I was fortunate that my mum and sister recently found the time to see me. Both my sister and I have major birthdays this year as she's tuming 18 and I'll be 21. My sister is a very big music fan and this year, I created my status as the best older sister by keeping an eye out for music concerts in Paris. In our home town of Leicester, we don't regularly get many well-known artists playing in our city. But in Paris, I managed to get the best 18th birthday present of all: tickets for all three of us to see my sister's favorite American rapper, Angel Haze.

    I will try to visit for my sister's actual birthday in June, the chance for my sister and my mum to visit became a birthday treat. The experience of finding our way together to the concert or getting to show them around the Paris sites such as the Eiffel Tower,the Arc du Triomphe and even my favorite ice cream place,Amorino, was an amazing memory for us all !Despite the fact that I felt the slight pressure to make sure the weekend went smoothly,even the heavy rain failed to dampen our mood.

    Therefore, while it can be difficult being away from home and potentially missing big family moments,there are ways to avoid the sadness and find a way to make the best of your situation to create an unforgettable memory. Just like the continuing rain while we went up the Eiffel tower, every cloud has a silver lining, because then we got the funniest photos ever!

    Science has a lot of uses. It can uncover laws of nature, cure diseases, make bombs, and help bridges to stand up. Indeed science is so good at what it does that there's always a temptation(诱惑) to drag it into problems where it may not be helpful. David Brooks, author of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement, appears to be the latest in a long line of writers who have failed to resist the temptation.

    Brooks gained fame for several books. His latest book The Social Animal, however, is more ambitious and serious than his earlier books. It is an attempt to deal with a set of weighty topics. The book focuses on big questions: What has science revealed about human nature? What are the sources of character? And why are some people happy and successful while others aren't?

    To answer these questions, Brooks surveys a wide range of disciplines(学科). Considering this, you might expect the book to be a dry recitation of facts. But Brooks has structured his book in an unorthodox(非常规的), and perhaps unfortunate, way. Instead of introducing scientific theories, he tells a story, within which he tries to make his points, perhaps in order to keep the reader's attention. So as Harold and Erica, the hero and heroine in his story, live through childhood, we hear about the science of child development and as they begin to date we hear about the theory of sexual attraction. Brooks carries this through to the death of one of his characters.

    On the whole, Brooks' story is acceptable if uninspired. As one would expect, his writing is mostly clear and, to be fair, some chapters stand out above the rest. I enjoyed, for instance, the chapter in which Harold discovers how to think on his own. While Harold and Erica are certainly not strong or memorable characters, the more serious problems with The Social Animal lie elsewhere. These problems partly involve Brooks' attempt to translate his tale into science.

    On a comfortable sunny Sunday, I was going to meet an old university friend I hadn't seen for years, and was really excited to hear all his news. My train was running a little late, but that was no big problem — I could text him to say I would be delayed. He would understand. But.. . where was my mobile phone? I had that familiar sinking feeling. Yes, I'd left it at home.

    No mobile phone . I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling anxious, on edge and worried when I don't have my phone with me. In fact, I know I'm not alone: two-thirds of us experience this " nomophobia".

    That's according to a study which surveyed 1,000 people in the UK about their relationship with mobile phones, which says we check our mobile phones 34 times a day, that women are more "nomophobic" than men, and that 18-24-year-olds are the most likely to suffer fear of being without their mobiles: 77% of them say they are unable to be apart from their phones for more than a few minutes.

    Do you have "Homophobia"?

    •You never turn your phone off.

    •You obsessively (着迷似地)check for texts, missed calls and emails.

    •You always take your phone to the bathroom with you.

    •You never let the battery run out.

    It's funny to think that around 20 years ago the only people with mobile phones would be business persons carrying their large, plastic "bricks". Of course, these days, mobile phones are everywhere. Its subscriptions has outnumbered people across the world.

    And when there are more phones than people in the world, maybe it's time to ask who really is in charge? Are you in control of your phone, or does your phone control you? So, what happened with my university friend? When I arrived a few minutes late he just laughed and said: "You haven't changed at all — still always late!" And we had a great afternoon catching up, full of jokes and stories, with no interruptions and no nagging (唠叨的)desire to check my phone.

    Not having it with me felt strangely liberating. Maybe I'll leave it at home on purpose next time.