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 ponder（考虑） 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 plum jobs（美差）. 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 a variety 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.

    Imagine one day, the water taps in your house stop running. You have to buy water from shops. And still there isn't enough for everyone. Your mother has to save the family's shower water to do other things. Would you be able to stand that kind of life?

    Probably not. But that's what kids in Yemen are experiencing. Experts said Yemen is going to be the first country in the world to run out of water. According to a report, the capital, Sanaa, will run out of drinking water as early as 2025.

    Because of the shortage, the government often cuts the water supply. Hannan, 18-year-old from Lahej, told the Times: “In a good week, we'll have a water supply all week. But then the following week there will be water only for a day or two.”

    Hannan said only rich people have enough water to use. They can buy water from the shops or from the water truck. Private companies own the trucks. They travel around the city every day to sell water-at very high prices.

    “A lot of people can't afford it,” she said. The average person in Yemen uses 100 to 200 cubic meters of water per year. That is far below the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters.

    The government is thinking of making use of seawater. But it will cost a lot and it may not happen soon enough to help the people of Yemen.

    You may have never heard of Lanthanum, Cerium or Neodymium, but these elements (元素) and others known as “rare earth” play a major role in modern technology. They can actually be found in many places on the earth, but not in quantities that can be mined. Only a few countries — China, America, India, Australia, Brazil and Malaysia have any that can be mined enough to be traded.

Even though some of these elements such as Cerium are as abundant as Copper, they are not found in concentrated amounts on the earth's surface. They are often mixed together with other metals, which makes extraction (提取) of these elements an expensive and an environmentally messy process. It was due to this reason that the term “rare earth” was invented.

    Rare earth metals are used widely in our life. Rechargeable car batteries, computers, iPhones, DVD players, computer monitors, televisions, lighting, lasers, glass polishing, and superconductors all use quantities of rare earth metals. Also, with the advancement in “green” technology like solar panels, these shiny materials are becoming more important than ever. An average electric car uses 10 pounds of Lanthanum for its rechargeable battery!

    America has large deposits (存储量) of rare earths and has one of the first mines. It was openedin Southern California in 1940. The element “Europium” was the first metal to be separated in quantity for use in color televisions. However, in the 1980's and 1990's, as China started producing these elements in Inner Mongolia, the mines in America and elsewhere could not keep pace. The mine in Mountain Pass, California also failed environmental regulations and shut down in 2002.

    Now, recognizing the importance of having more than one supplier of this important resource, other rare earth owning countries like India and Australia are either dusting off their rare earth mines or speeding up their production. It is believed that the debate over rare earths will become louder in the coming months and years.

    NOT all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive these experiences in nightmares.

    Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce ,or possibly erase(抹去),the effect of painful memories.

    In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.

    The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.

    Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war. They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.

    "Some memories can ruin people's lives. They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions," said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "This could relieve a lot of that suffering."

    But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity (特质). They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past.

    "All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out, "said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.

    Everybody seeks happiness in the world. We will be really happy when we get a new car or a big house or get married... The thing is, if we are continually searching for happiness in the outside world, we will be very disappointed. It seems as if we are forever chasing it and it is always just one step away.

    Happiness is a short state of mind, just like the state of sadness or joy or anger. It would not be possible for us to be in a happy state 24 hours a day. If you think that sounds laughable, think about being at a funeral when everyone is mourning. Would it feel right to go about with a huge smile on your face?

    What we go through in our lives helps us grow and understand the value of happiness. We need to be able to respond in all manner of ways according to what we are dealing with at any given time. All emotions and states are part of the life.

    Happiness can be found in reaching out and being in relationship with people. Though time or money may be lost in helping others, these will become our happy memories. Happiness is a dance with whatever in front of you. It is a deep connection to everything around you. It does not come from expecting others to bring you joy but from how you can create joy for others.

    If you want to experience happiness more often, see what you can do to put a smile on someone else's face each day and notice how much happier you feel when you have achieved that. Happiness is not to be found in material possessions. It is freely available to everyone at any time. All that is required to experience happiness is that you place your focus on moments in your life that make you smile.

The rejuvenating effects of a restorative nocturnal repose are widely recognized; it can engender a state of enhanced well-being. Academics in the field posit that the excellence of one's slumber may indeed be instrumental in the prolongation of one's lifespan.

Male subjects who enjoy a state of somnolent tranquility could potentially extend their existence by a span of nearly five decades in comparison to those bereft of such repose. The female counterparts stand to gain an increment of two decades. Additionally, it has been observed that youthful individuals who adhere to salutary somniferous routines are less susceptible to a premature demise. However, the mere quantity of repose is insufficient to reap the potential healthful dividends; the caliber of one's slumber is equally pivotal.

The parameters of commendable slumber were delineated by a quintet of distinct criteria. These encompassed an optimal duration of seven to eight hours of repose per nocturnal cycle; experiencing difficulty in the initiation of sleep no more than twice per hebdomadal period; similar challenges in maintaining somnolence no more than twice weekly; abstaining from the consumption of any soporific pharmaceuticals; and awakening with a sensation of invigoration on no fewer than five days per septenary cycle.

The conclusions derived from the study intimate that approximately 8% of fatalities, irrespective of their etiology, could be imputed to inadequate somniferous patterns. Dr. Frank Qian, a resident physician specializing in internal medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, America, remarked, "A distinct proportional response relationship was discerned. Consequently, an increase in the beneficial elements pertaining to the quality of sleep correlates with a progressive diminution in mortality from all causes."

The research collated data from a populace of 172,321 individuals with an average age of 50, of which 54% were female. These participants were engaged in the National Health Interview Survey, spanning the years 2013 to 2018, which sought to scrutinize the well-being of the American populace, inclusive of inquiries into their somniferous habits.

The subjects were tracked for a mean period of 4.3 years, during which 8,681 succumbed to death. Of these fatalities, 2,610 (30%) were attributable to cardiovascular afflictions, 2,052 (24%) to oncological disorders, and 4,019 (46%) to a miscellany of other causes. Among the male and female participants who reported adherence to all five indices of quality sleep (an optimal quintile score), the expectancy of life was augmented by 4.7 years for males and by 2.4% for females, in contradistinction to those who possessed none or a solitary factor.

Further scholarly endeavor is warranted to elucidate the raison d'être for the dichotomy in the enhancement of life expectancy, with males exhibiting twice the increment observed in females despite equivalent somniferous quality.

A caveat of the study lies in the reliance on self-reported somniferous habits, which were not subjected to objective quantification or verification.