Choosing the right job is probably one of the most important decisions we have to make in life, and it is frequently one of the hardest decisions we have to make. One important question that you might ask yourself is: “How do I get a good job?” {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    There are people who can answer an insignificant advertisement in the local paper and land the best job in the world; others write to all sorts of places all over the country, and never seem to get a reply at all. Still others believe that the in person, door-to-door approach is by far the best way to get a job; and then there are those who, through no active decision of their own, just seem to be in the right place at the right time. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. He used to spend a lot of his free time down by the sea watching the tall ships, but never thinking that he might one day sail one of them. His father was a farmer, and being a sailor could never be anything for the boy but an idle dream. One day, on his usual wandering, he heard the captain of the ship complaining that he could not sail because one member of his crew was sick. Without stopping to think, the lad (少年) offered to take his place. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. If the lad had gone home to consider his decision for a week, he may have missed his chance. It is one thing to be offered an opportunity; it is another thing to take it and use it well.

    Sometimes we hear stories about people who break all the rules and still seem to land good jobs. When you go for a job interview or fill out an application, you are expected to say nice things about the company to which you are applying. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. And within a year this person had become general manager of the company.

A. This story also illustrates the importance of seizing an opportunity when it presents itself.

B. People find jobs in an infinite number of ways.

C. it's almost impossible to find a good job by answering advertisement in newspapers

D. Take for example the young man who wanted to be a sailor.

E. But there was one person who landed an excellent job by telling the interviewer all the company's faults.

F. He spent the rest of his life happily sailing the ships he had always loved.

G. It is very important to seize an opportunity when it presents itself.

    As is often the case, you are trying hard to keep your eyes open in class after a late night doing piles and piles of homework, "{#blank#}1{#/blank#}" You are probably thinking, " This weekend I'll make up for all the sleep I have lost."

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Most people think the same way-if you stay in bed longer on Saturdays or Sundays, you will recover your missed sleep during the week.

    However, this is not correct.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Actually, researchers have just discovered that sleeping during the weekend will not do you any good, but rather make you feel more tired on Monday morning.

    Our body keeps a clock inside. It tells us when to wake up in the morning and when to feel sleepy at night. But the time on our body clock can be changed once we start taking on different sleeping habits.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} This may mean on Monday morning we sometimes struggle to get out of bed.

    If we decide to get up only 20 minutes or half an hour later, it won't matter. This is because our body clock can accommodate(顺应) a delay of up to an hour, which means that a short lie-in at weekends is unlikely to have any big effect, we needn't worry about it at all.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    So, what should we do to balance and make up for all the sleep we've missed? Scientists say that simply eight hours of sleep would do the trick, not any longer.

A. You are not alone.

B. I need more sleep!

C. Sleep is important for everyone.

D. Sleeping is nothing like paying back money.

E. However, if we sleep longer our sleep becomes less efficient.

F. But delays of up to two hours or more can throw our body out of order.

G. This is why staying in bed for longer than usual might confuse our body clock.

    Most people have practiced some form of hobby at a point in their lives, whether it is some form of sports, playing a musical instrument, creating art, cooking or something else. There are many different reasons and skills for taking up a hobby.

    Realize you have more time than you think.

    This is probably the one thing that keeps most people back from practicing a hobby. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But we waste so much time on social media, television commercials and worrying about life which we could have used to practice a hobby. Schedule some time for a hobby into your day. Plan ahead and just do it.

    Involve other people.

    Why? Well, have you ever noticed that you stick to something longer when you feel that you cannot let another person down? So, get someone to jog with you, or make music with you, or share recipes with you. Plus, you will inspire them to keep on practicing their hobby.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Put your money where your mouth is.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} So give out a bit of your budget lo your hobby of choice so that you cannot blame a lack of “materials” for not doing anything.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    For me, this has been the most important step in going out and doing a hobby. If you jog, decide which races you want to do this year. If you practice music, organize a concert.

    Find the pleasure in what you do.

    As with most things, starting of getting something ready to start can be difficult. But don't give up.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It is a total win-win.

B. Work towards something.

C. Think of a hobby that might interest you.

D. Others' help will definitely do you good.

E. You think that you don't have enough time to even start.

F. The fact is that people spend money where their heart is.

G. Once you have started you'll find the beauty and relaxation in it.

    Wolves travel shorter distances and move slower during snowfall events, according to new research by University of Alberta biologists. The effects were most pronounced at night, when wolves hunt, and behaviour returned to normal within a day. Wolf tracks across snow in northeastern Alberta.

    "Our findings suggest that there is something about actively falling snow that causes wolves to slow down," said Amanda Droghini, a former MSc student in the Department of Biological Science and lead author on the study. "We don't know the exact mechanism behind that. It's unlikely that they were staying still because they were feasting on a recent kill. Instead, active precipitation(降雪量)might affect wolves' hunting abilities. Like rain, snow clears the air column of scent molecules. So, maybe falling snow makes it harder for wolves to detect the smell of prey."

    Over the course of two winters, the researchers used remote cameras to disclose snowfall events and estimate snow depth. To study wolf movement, they collected telemetry(测距仪) data from 17 wolves to calculate travel speed and duration, as well as resting periods. It is the first study to examine how large flesh-eating animals respond to snowfall events.

    With the effects of climate change on precipitation in the north forest region uncertain, it is difficult to predict the implications for wolf populations. Studies such as these increase our understanding of how large mammals react to normal snowfall events, but the type and amount of winter precipitation will likely have an impact on animal behavior and the energetic cost of movement.

    "Winter is already challenging for many wildlife species because moving through snow requires more energy. Snow can also make it harder for animals to access food resources," said Droghini, who conducted the research under the supervision of Professor Stan Boutin, Alberta Biodiversity Conservation Chair.

    "Anything that increases those costs, such as increased rain-on-snow events, could lead to lacking in nutrition, poor body condition, and even starvation as animals are unable to make up for those additional costs. That is one of the worst-case scenarios(设想)but, in truth, we know very little about potential changes to precipitation patterns and how wildlife will respond to those changes."

    GOING TO UNIVERSITY is supposed to be a mind-broadening experience. That statement is probably made in comparison to training for work straight after school, which might not be so encouraging. But is it actually true? Jessika Golle of the University of Tübingen, in Germany, thought she would try to find out. Her result, however, is not quite what might be expected. As she reports in Psychological Science this week, she found that those who have been to university do indeed seem to leave with broader and more inquiring minds than those who have spent their immediate post-school years in vocational (职业的) training for work. However, it was not the case that university broadened minds. Rather, work seemed to narrow them.

    Dr. Golle came to this conclusion after she and a team of colleagues studied the early careers of 2,095 German youngsters. The team used two standardized tests to assess their volunteers. One was of personality traits, including openness, conscientiousness（认真）and so on. The other was of attitudes, such as realistic, investigative and enterprising. They administered both tests twice—once towards the end of each volunteer's time at school, and then again six years later. Of the original group, 382 were on the intermediate track, from which there was a choice between the academic and vocational routes, and it was on these that the researchers focused. University beckoned for 212 of them. The remaining 170 chose vocational training and a job.

    When it came to the second round of tests, Dr. Golle found that the personalities of those who had gone to university had not changed significantly. Those who had undergone vocational training and then got jobs were not that much changed in personality, either—except in one crucial respect. They had become more conscientious.

    That sounds like a good thing, certainly compared with the common public image of undergraduates as a bunch of lazybones. But changes in attitude that the researchers recorded were rather worrying. In the university group, again, none were detectable. But those who had chosen the vocational route showed marked drops in interest in tasks that are investigative and enterprising in nature. And that might restrict their choice of careers.

    Some investigative and enterprising jobs, such as scientific research, are, indeed beyond the degreeless. But many, particularly in Germany, with its tradition of vocational training, are not. The researchers mention, for example, computer programmers and finance-sector workers as careers requiring these traits. If Dr. Golle is correct, and changes in attitude brought about by the very training Germany prides itself on are narrowing people's choices, that is indeed a matter worthy of serious consideration.

    Even for a first-time visitor to China, it is impossible to ignore the popularity of Quick-Response (QR) codes. These square-shaped black-and-white symbols in WeChat or Alipay where QR codes are scanned to add new friends or make payments.

    The QR Code system originated in Japan. The engineer Masahiro Hara felt the limitation of the one-dimension barcode in use and thus developed the QR codes which could carry data horizontally and vertically. QR codes could hold much more information than barcode due to their extra dimension. In addition, QR codes have larger data capacity, smaller print—out size and higher resistance to dirt and damage, which make them widely applied in many other applications.

    Though the technology of QR codes is complicated, we can easily create our own QR codes with the help of QR code generators, many of which are available online for free. Users could enter the data they wish the QR code to display, and the generator turns it into a symbol that can be printed or displayed in electronic form. The process of creating QR codes could be really fun when we customise the design of the codes according to our specific needs. For instance, we can adjust the color, add a logo, and create social options etc. Moreover, dynamic (动态的) QR codes are also available. They are more various than standard QR codes because they allow users to edit data entered previously whereas data in standard QR codes cannot be edited once printed. Plus, don't limit your QR code to one mobile scanner. Anyone can scan your code with any reader. A lower barrier to entry makes success more likely for you and the user.

    Meanwhile, we must also recognize the vulnerability of QR codes. Due to its easy access, criminals can steal simply by replacing the QR codes with their own, routing cash into their own bank accounts. Hence, we should all become more conscious towards virtual money transactions through QR codes and participate in additional security measures.