When Charles Lee handed me the small red notebook in 1974, he changed my life. “While you are traveling, you should keep notes of things you see and do,” he explained.

    I was 20 years old, a junior in college, spending a term at the University of London. Charles was a retired traveling salesman. I was staying with him in his cottage in Kendal, located in the Lake District of northern England. It was a one-week homestay the university arranged for us before classes began.

    I took his advice. I wrote in the notebook every day during the homestay. Back in London, I recorded weekend trips to Wales, Yorkshire, France, and Spain. I commented on my classes, professors, and classmates. I contrasted my life at a small college in the US with my wandering through the streets of London, my introduction to life in a big city, and my initial travels outside the US. I tracked ideas I had about my life and my future.

    When I wrote in the notebook, I struggled with a sense of my audience and purpose. Who would read this? Were these writings just for me, or did I want others to read them? Was I recording events and ideas just as a prompt(提示) to memory, or was there some larger purpose for this daily exercise?

    I knew I was recording events, thoughts, words that were important to my life. I imagined a future me sitting down to read the pages. I wondered what it would feel like to read those words later. I wondered where I would be and what my life would be like.

    I filled the notebook Charles gave me. I bought a new one and filled it. Then another and another. I continued writing in notebooks for four decades. By that time, they filled two boxes in my garage.

    I had reread some of the journals. Specific volumes had provided me with the background I needed for dozens of articles for magazines. But I had never read them all. Recently, I decided to bring my collection of notebooks into my office and replay my life. As I opened the first box, I suddenly became nervous would I like the former me described on those pages? There was a risk in opening that first notebook. I did it anyway.

    Charles had been right. I remembered the big events and the central happenings, but on each page were many details I hadn't retained(保留).

    The pages revealed highlights from college classes and stories about roommates and friends. I read anxious comments I'd written as I'd launched my teaching career, learned to write lesson plants, assigned grades for student work, and solved discipline problems. I reflected on my coming marriage, then the wedding, and eventually the proud moments when I held each of my three girls as a father. I recounted more trips—returning to Europe, teaching in South America, going on safari(游猎) in Africa, and exploring Greenland. I relived memories of trails hit, rivers crossed, and mountains climbed.

    The writings in those journals framed my life. I hadn't written every day. I often skipped a few days or even weeks, but I always picked up the writing when it felt important. Journals went with me when I traveled, and I often wrote in them at school when my own students were writing.

    It took several long evenings to read through the notebooks, taking me on tour spanning(持续) 42 years. As I read I could recall sitting on a bench in Trafalgar Square in London or in our apartment in Peru to write to the future me. It was then that I realized: I am now the person I was writing to throughout those years.

    Welcome to our school. You can do a lot of things here. Come and join us.

    A new “smart bin” could spell the end of environment - conscious families spending hours sorting tins, cartons, bottles, and cardboard for recycling. The invention, which automatically sorts rubbish into recycling categories, is being trialed in Poland and is set to go on sale in the UK within a few years.

    The bin, designed by start - up company Bin. E, recognizes different types of waste via a system positioned inside the bin which uses sensors, image recognition and artificial intelligence. Once waste is placed inside, the camera and sensors identify its type and place it in one of the smaller bins. Then it compresses (压缩) the waste so it occupies less space.

    News of the launch showed that more than a million households are being forced to accept bin collections every three or four weeks, because councils are trying to force them to recycle more. Data collected by The Telegraph has showed at least 18 areas have moved or will shortly be moving to three - weekly rubbish collections, while a further three have adopted or are trialing four - weekly collections. While reducing general bin collections, councils are increasing the frequency of recycling collections in a bid to change people's behaviour. It is thought that the bin could be stocked by department stores such as John Lewis, which said it is introducing new hi - tech recycling bins to satisfy increasing customer appetite for them. Matt Thomas, a utility (家用设施) seller at John Lewis, said, “We've recently seen a jump in specialist bins sales, with a 25 percent increase in the last few months alone. We have noticed our customers are becoming more and more sustainability focused, choosing dual compartment (双格) recycling bins that make it far easier to recycle different types of waste. In response to this demand, we are really excited to introduce a new voice and sensor activated smart bin this autumn / winter season — designed to use new technology to make recycling more efficient and functional for the everyday home.”

    If you love to read, and if you love social networking, you should check out Goodreads. Goodreads allows you to write reviews（评论）for everything you've ever read. You can see and comment on your friends' reading progress, as well as create or find a book club group page in your area.

    Goodreads is simple to use. When you sign up here for an account（帐户）, you will be able to find your friends by their email addresses or other accounts. Once you have some friends, every time you log in（登录）, you will see a timeline of their updates. You can see when they've added a book to a list, or when they've finished or reviewed a book. As soon as you have an account, you can also start looking for books you've read or that you want to read. Once you finish reading a book, you can go to the book page and review it.

    Finding your next book has never been easier. Now, not only can you search for books you know you want to read and add them to your “to read” list, but you can also easily see what your friends have recently read.

    If you are looking for a book club that meets in your area, you can search for that on Goodreads, too. Similarly, if you want to create your own book club, you can do that easily: just start a new group on Goodreads and update the page to show what books you're reading.

    For those concerned about wrinkly old skin, it might be a creative solution: an elastic(有弹性的) “second skin” that can be smoothed on to make aged tissue look more youthful.

    The wearable film, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has shown promise in a series of small experiments where it was applied to wrinkles, under-eye bags and areas of dry skin. When applied to the face or body, the thin, transparent layer sticks to the skin and supports the tissue, making it look and behave like younger skin, its producers claim.

    “What we've been able to do is create a cream that you can put on the skin, and then when it's on the skin it can actually form, essentially, an elastic second skin,” said Bob Langer, who led the research. Tests in the lab found that the polymer film (高分子膜), which is only 70 thousandths of a millimeter thick, reduced the appearance of wrinkles and under-eye bags, and helped keep moisture (水分) in areas of dry skin.

    The layer is designed to be applied in the morning, then peeled off at night, In previous studies, the second skin withstood normal daily wear, and the stresses and strains of exercise and swimming, without falling off or causing irritation. It also survived exposure to rain.

    “It's something you can wear for a whole day or longer, depending on the physical forces that get applied to the area where it is worn, "said Daniel Anderson, who helped develop the product at MIT. “You can't tell you're wearing it.”

    While normal cosmetics can mask imperfections on the skin, the new coating changes the way skin behaves by giving it the elasticity of young skin. It was developed with help from two companies.

    The impression you make at the beginning of an interview is very important. Employers often decide to hire someone in the first three minutes of the interview. They judge you by your appearance, attitude and manners.

    A friendly smile when you walk into the room is important. A smile shows a confident and positive attitude.

    When you introduce yourself, make eye contact with the interviewer. Some interviewers offer a handshake. Others don't.

    Try to be as natural as possible. But pay attention to your body language. The way you sit, walk, gesture, use your voice and show feelings on your face is all part of your body language. It makes the interviewer know how you feel about yourself and the situation you are in. Are you feeling positively about yourself? Your abilities? Your interest in the job?

    Speak clearly and loudly enough. Show interest and enthusiasm in your voice. When you speak, look at the interviewer. Also, don't say negative things about yourself, or former employer.

    Listen to questions carefully. If you don't understand a question, ask the interviewer to repeat or explain:

    "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch that."

    "I'm not sure exactly what you mean."

    Almost everyone is nervous in a job interview. Interviewers know that. They don't expect you to be totally calm and relaxed. But they expect you to try to control your nervousness. They expect you to show confidence in your ability to do the job.

    At the end of the interview, thank the interviewer for her or his time.

    It's a good idea to send a short thank-you letter right after the interview, or deliver it by hand.

    Phone the company if you have not heard anything after one week. Ask if they have made a decision about the job.

    Good luck!