【推荐1】My interest in body language began with a professor of mine at university. He mentioned “Pinocchio” to me one cold morning after saying that I always rubbed my nose when giving excuses for being late to his courses. Actually, when someone tells a lie, the person’s blood rushes to the nose and the extra blood makes it itchy (发痒的). This little example of non-verbal communication inspired me to become a body language expert. Now, I earn my living by training people in non-verbal communication. Knowing when someone is lying and knowing how to persuade people are two of the most important skills you’ll ever learn.

I have spent a lot of time studying the ways the human body gives and they provide more reliable information than the words we speak. The words say one thing but the body may say something completely different. We know that crossed arms can be seen as either defensive or aggressive (攻击性的), but what about facial expressions, postures and gestures? All of these say a lot and can only be understood if you know how to make sense of the signs.

Business companies always need my services and I try to improve their confidence by teaching them about body language. I give advice about handshakes, which should always be firm and steady, and I teach the importance of personal space. They may seem like small matters, but these codes of behaviour can be the key to making or breaking a business deal.

My working life gives me a great deal of satisfaction. I feel that I’m providing a public service, but it is a service that has had its downside. Whenever I meet someone new and I tell them what I do for a living, they immediately put their guard up and they’re no longer relaxed. They quite literally freeze in the attempt to hide all the signals that they think I’m reading. It makes life difficult at times, but I consider it a small price to pay for a job I enjoy so much.

【推荐2】A polished resume is essential for a successful school or job application. A clear structure and well-organized content can be the difference between success and failure.

Structuring your resume

(1) Create a header with your name and contact information. There are also down loadable templates(模板) available online. If none of them appeals to you, however, you can always use your own design.

(2) Use a chronological(时间顺序排列的)resume. In a chronological resume, you list your work and education experiences, starting with your most recent experience.

(3) Include your relevant education, awards or training. Typically, your highest academic qualification is the only one you need to include on your resume.

If you had a cumulative(累积的)GPA of 3.5 or higher, feel free to include it. Otherwise, it would be best to leave it out. If you re listing more than one degree, include your GPA on both of them, if possible.

(4) List work experience, including relevant volunteer work and internships. Use specific job titles and short explanations that tell potential employers exactly what you did, what skills you gained and how they could be useful in a new job.

(5) Try a functional resume, if you lack direct work experience. With a functional resume you can highlight your specific skills and resources without having to list previous jobs. A functional resume emphasizes what you can do rather than what you've done.

Making your content shine

Place keywords in your resume strategically. Schools or employers often use software to scan resumes for specific keywords.

【推荐1】East Africa is experiencing the worst desert locust outbreak in decades. Climate events have accelerated breeding of the pest across the region, and with a sudden rise in the locust population expected in coming weeks, urgent actions and funds are needed to prevent a human crisis.

Twenty million people in six of the eight East African countries are most affected by an ongoing desert locust outbreak at risk of serious food insecurity. Considered among the most destructive of moving pests, an adult locust can consume 2g of plants per day, affecting crops and grasslands. A group typically holds 20 to 150 million locusts per square kilometer and can move hundreds of kilometers per day, invading areas covering millions of square kilometers. An active group, therefore, can destroy crops and grasslands within a very short period of time.

That global warming could increase the risk of desert locust crisis was proposed over ten years ago, and in February, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that the current outbreak is linked to the effects of climate change: “warmer seas mean more perfect breeding ground for locusts”. The outbreak has its origins in 2018, when a series of windstorms in the Arabian Peninsula (阿拉伯半岛) enabled the warm and wet conditions the desert locust requires to breed and band undetected in remote regions. Though our focus here is migration west, dreadful outbreaks of the desert locust have been experienced to the east.

The situation is going out of control. A rescue operation and financial support admit no delay.

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) can take out only US$138 million for rapid response and immediate action — controlling the spread of the desert locust and safeguarding livelihoods. They say the maths is clear: about half the funding (资助) is needed for supervision, ground and sky control, and uniting efforts; the other half is needed for livelihoods and food security of farmers. As for the huge gap, they have called on the international community to act now through funding. However, by the end of February, just US$69 million had been promised.

This most alarming crisis has developed and is worsening in East Africa. The funds needed to control the situation become very difficult to achieve and the gap is a big concern.

【推荐2】More than 11,000 scientists are warning that the Earth, in their words, "clearly and unequivocally （明确地）faces a climate emergency.” The scientists represent several fields of study and come from 150 countries around the world. They approved a report that appeared in the publication Bioscience earlier this month. It warns that the world would face "untold human suffering" if it does not make deep and lasting shifts in human activities that influence climate change. Three leaders of the study are from the United States. They worked on the study with scientists from universities in South Africa and Australia. This is the first time a large group of scientists have jointly （共同地）used the word "emergency" when talking about climate change.

"Despite 40 years of global climate negotiations ...we have generally conducted business as usual and have largely failed to address this worrying situation,” the study said. “Climate change has arrived and is accelerating faster than many scientists expected."

The report identified five areas that the world needs to deal with immediately. The scientists appealed to nations to use energy more efficiently and cut their use of fossil fuels. They suggested that lawmakers approve taxes on the burning of carbon-based fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas. The report urges people to move toward more of a plant-based diet. Other areas of concern include preventing the destruction of forests and permanent loss of some plant and animal species. The report noted that it will most likely take strong actions by the public to move politicians to approve lasting policy changes.

The scientists added, "We believe that the prospects （前景）will be greatest if decision-makers and all of humanity quickly respond to this warning and declaration of a climate emergency, and act to support life on planet Earth, our only home.”

【推荐3】On Friday January 14, 2022, blast was heard 2,000km away in New Zealand and 3,300km away in Australia. Boats crashed into a quiet harbor in Southern California, a remote island was battered in Japan by 4 foot waves and two women were swept to their deaths on a beach in Peru some 6,000 miles from an undersea volcanic eruption so powerful that the tsunami which it set off stirred ocean waters halfway across the globe.

But on Sunday, as reports of the volcano’s effect crowded in from far-flung countries, there was little word from Tonga, the island nation just 40 miles from the site of the extraordinary explosion. As concerns from all over the world grew, the nation of about 100,000 people remained largely cut off from the rest of the world, its undersea internet cables knocked out of commission by the volcano.

In Tonga on Sunday, many residents lost not only communication channels but electric power. Up to 80,000 people there could be affected, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told the BBC.

New Zealand and other nations in the region pledged to give Tonga aid to recover. But with heavy concentrations of airborne ash making flights impossible, just like the Iceland volcano eruption in 2021, it was difficult even to know what was needed. Ardern, the New Zealand prime minister, said flights over Tonga were planned for Monday or Tuesday, depending on ash conditions.

Tonga has experienced a succession of natural disasters in recent years. In 2018, more than 170 homes were destroyed and two people killed by Cyclone Gita, a Category 5 tropical storm. In 2020, Cyclone Harold caused about $111 million in damage.