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    Have you ever wondered why the roots of the plants always know which way to grow—into the soil but not above it? Some British scientists have recently solved this mystery.    

      It turns out that roots have special hairs that tie them into the soil and help them grow their way past obstacles, a team at the John Inners Center in Norwich reports in the February 29 issue of Journal Science.

    "The key is in the fuzzy(有绒毛的) coat of hairs on the roots of plants," says professor Liam Dolan. "We have found a growth control system that enables these hairs to find their way and to become longer when their path is clear."

    Root hairs explore the soil in much the same way a person would feel their way in the dark. If they come across an obstacle, they make their way around until they can continue growing in an opening. I the meantime, the plant is held in place as the hairs grip the soil.

    The hairs are guided by a clever chemical trick. A protein(蛋白质) at the tip of the root hairs called RHD2 helps them to take calcium(钙) from the soil. Calcium makes the hairs grow, and produce more RHD2, and take more calcium.

    But when an obstacle blocks the hair's path, or the hair reaches the surface of the soil, the cycle is broken and growth starts in another direction.

    This system gives plants the flexibility to explore a complex environment and to live in even the most unpromising soils, says Dolan.

    In poor soils such as in parts of Australia and Africa, native plants have adapted by producing enormous numbers of root hairs. A better understanding of this adaptation will allow scientists to develop hairy rooted crops that can grow in unfriendly environments.

    According to Dolan, "Research in the John Inners Center is taking a breeding approach(育种方法) to increase hair length in wheat but it will be some time before new cultivars(栽培变种) are developed."

How to find the perfect career

    Too many people are not satisfied with their professional career (事业) and are “stuck” in situations that do not make them happy. Here are some wonderful actions you can take to begin the path to a truly happy career.

Talk to your friends.

    Ask them, “what do you think I am best at”, or “what do you think I enjoy doing most”. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}However, their advice may help you decide what you should do.

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    Read some interesting magazines, books, newspapers or novels. They will give you a constant flow of ideas and keep the mind rich.

Talk to the happiest and most successful people you know.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Be serious with your questions. And see if there is anything you can learn from them. Have these people become your teachers and friends.

Keep a journal（日记）.

    Writing down your ideas is an important practice for your career growth. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}You never know when great ideas will come to your mind!

Develop patience.

    You may want a change in your career right now. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Anyway, doing the practices mentioned above will bring about the right chance much faster.

    “People are ruder today because they are rushed and more 'time poor' than ever before，” says Patsy Rowe, “Manners_have_fallen_off_the_radar(雷达)．” Due to our strong attraction to electronic equipment it is a wonder more people don't wake up each morning and greet the singing birds with a complaint(抱怨)about the noise. Here are some examples of rudeness.

    Some people prefer to do almost everything over the Internet. To them, dealing with an actual human needs more patience. It feels very slow because humans don't work at 4G speeds. When you have dinner with friends, you will often notice someone paying more attention to his mobile phone. We have programmed ourselves to think that every new message brings life－changing news, so taking calls and checking our texts are more important than talking to the people we are with. What is worse, some people even tend to send anonymous(匿名的) rude messages by email.

    However, rudeness is never acceptable. Don't assume it is OK to be rude if the person you're in touch with won't recognize you. If you have something awful to say, have the courage to face the person and say it, write a letter or email and sign it, or forget it. Upsetting people with unsigned messages is cruel and disgusting.（令人厌恶的）

    We shouldn't blame technology for our shortcomings. Technology is here to help us，but we should not allow it to take over our lives. An important step is acknowledging our shortcomings. People spend a lot of time pointing out bad manners but it would be even more helpful if we'd publicly acknowledge good manners when we see them.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

    Film has properties that set it apart from painting, sculpture, novels and plays. It is also, in its most popular and powerful form, a story telling medium that shares many elements with the short story and the novel. And since film presents its stories in dramatic form, it has even more in common with the stage play: Both plays and movies act out or dramatize（使戏剧化）, show rather than tell, what happens.

    Unlike the novel, short story, or play, however, film is not handy（日语做的）to study; it cannot be effectively frozen on the printed page. The novel and short story are relatively easy to study because they are written to be read. The stage play is slightly more difficult to study because it is written to be performed. But plays are printed, and because they rely heavily on the spoken word, imaginative readers can bring mind at least a pale imitation of the experience they might have been watching a performance on stage. This cannot be said of the screenplay（电影剧本）, for a film depends greatly on visual（视觉的）and other non-visual elements that are not easily expressed in writing. The screenplay requires so much “filling in” by our imagination that we cannot really obtain the experience of a film by reading a screenplay, and reading a screenplay is worthwhile only if we have already seen the film. Thus, most screenplays are published not to read but rather to be remembered.

    Still, film should not be ignored because studying it requires extra effort. And the fact that we do not generally “read” films does not mean we should ignore the principles of literary of dramatic analysis when see a film. Literature and films do share many elements and communicate many things in similar ways. Perceptive（精辟的）film analysis rests on the principles used in literary analysis, and if we apply what we have learned in the study of literature to our analysis of films, we will be far ahead of those who do not. Therefore, before we turn to the unique elements of film, we need to look into the elements that film shares with any good story.

    Dividing film into its various elements for analysis is a somewhat artificial process, for the elements of any art form never exist in isolation. It is impossible, for example, to isolate plot（情节）from character. Events influence people, and people influence events; the two are always closely interwoven in any fictional（虚构的）, dramatic, or cinematic（电影的）work. Nevertheless, the analytical method uses such a fragmenting（碎片）technique for convenience. It does so with the assumption（假设）that we can study these elements in isolation without losing sight of their interdependence or their relationship to the whole.

    Part-Time Store Sales Association

    Are you an energetic salesperson with a gift for offering exceptional customer service? This position needs you to develop relationships with a variety of customers.

    REQUIREMENTS:

    Candidates should be proficient in both English and French;

    High school diploma;

    Working knowledge of store operations;

    Ability to work varied shifts including nights, weekends, and holidays;

    Good verbal and written communication skills;

    Must possess a valid driver's license;

    Candidates must be authorized (批准) to work permanently in the United States;

    Candidates who receive a job offer will be required to meet all health requirements and pass background checks;

    Part-Time Customer Support Center Representative

    We are seeking a customer support representative who will respond to many customer questions about the company's products and services.

    REQUIREMENTS:

    College degree preferred;

    Excellent customer service skills;

    Excellent verbal communication;

    Excellent attendance;

    Dependable;

    This position offers a part-time work schedule; Four consecutive(连续的) hours per day, Monday-Friday between 7 am and 7 pm (plus one Saturday per month , 8am-5pm)

Part-Time Resident Assistant

    We work together to make a real difference in the lives of our residents. If you share our family values, we'd love to meet you.

    REQUIREMENTS:

    Ability to real, write and speak English;

    Ability to communicate effectively with residents, families staff and the general public;

    Must have a desire to work with the elderly;

    Must meet all health requirements and pass background checks.

    Part-Time Kitchen Helper

    As a part-time kitchen helper, you'll be responsible for food preparation, serving meals, setting tables, washing dishes , and completing cleaning duties. If you have a desire to help others, join us as we try to provide a positive physical and social environment for our residents.

REQUIREMENTS:

    Must be able to read, write and follow oral and written directions;

    Obtain Food Handles Permit (as required by state regulations);

    Ability to communicate effectively with residents, families, staff and the general public;

    A desire to work with the elderly;

    Must meet all health requirements and pass background checks.

    A dog spent the last four years of his life waiting a crossroad in the Thai city of Khon Kaen as if waiting for someone. People originally thought the dog had been abandoned, but then realized that he looked healthy, so people asked around about him. It turned out that the dog had indeed been spending most of his time around that crossroad, but a woman had been coming round regularly to bring him food and water.

    One day, while photographing the dog everyone called Leo, a reporter met the woman who had been taking care of him. She had come to drop off some food. After learning the story about the dog and the woman, the reporter decided to share the story on social media. The post soon went viral and the photos of Leo got shared hundreds of times. And the photos reached the eyes of Leo's former old owner.

    Nang Noi Sittisarn, a 64-year-old woman from Thailand's Roi Et Province, almost had a heart attack when her daughter showed her a photo of the beloved dog named BonBon she had lost during a car trip. When she learned that he had been waiting for her in the same spot for the last four years，her heart melted(融化).

    Auntie Noi told her daughter to drive her to where the dog was waiting. When she got there and called his name. BonBon, the poor dog started wiggling(扭动)his tail and came to her, but when she tried to take him home with her, he was unwilling to follow. She didn't want to force the dog to come with her, so she agreed to leave him with his new master. However, she and her daughter will come to visit him regularly.