【推荐1】The following card includes a brief summary and a short assessment of a research paper. It can provide a guide for further reading on the topic.

Trevor, C. O., Lansford, B. and Black, J. W., 2004, “Employee turnover (人事变更) and job performance: monitoring the influences of salary growth and promotion”, Journal of Armchair Psychology, vol. 113, no.1, pp. 56-64.

In this article Trevor et al. review the influences of pay and job opportunities in respect of job performance, turnover rates and employees’ job attitude. The authors use data gained through organizational surveys of blue-chip companies in Vancouver, Canada to try to identify the main cause of employee turnover and whether it is linked to salary growth. Their research focuses on assessing a range of pay structures such as pay for performance and organizational reward plans. The article is useful as Trevor et al. suggest that there are numerous reasons for employee turnover and a variety of differences in employees’ job attitude and performance. The main limitation of the article is that the survey sample was restricted to mid-level management, thus the authors indicate that further, more extensive research needs to be undertaken to develop a more in-depth understanding of employee turnover and job performance. As this article was published in a professional journal, the findings can be considered reliable. It will be useful additional information for the research on pay structures.

【推荐2】Do you have excellent communication skills and think you can close a sale? Are you eager for variety and to build a work at home business? If yes,come and join us!

【推荐3】Will you want a part-time job after class to make some money and improve yourself? Here are some good companies.

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)

It is a well-known fast food shop. Working hours are flexible. Fit 10 hours of work into your week. There is also a 10% discount and a free pound of chicken every week.

Position: selling assistant (experience wanted)

Website: www.kfc.com

Convenience Food Market

It sells natural and organic food. Working hours are not fixed. Benefits include paid-time off and a 25% discount. There are also training courses on food every week.

Position: secretary

Website: www.conveniencefoodmarket.com

Sicilian Coffee

Sicilian is still at the forefront of coffee revolution. It offers flexible hours and highest part-time pay. Most importantly, it treats its employees like family. However, there is no discount offered to its employees.

Position: assistant coffee taster (experience wanted)

Website: www.siciliancoffee.com

Yagol

Yagol is a clothes store which focuses on casual comfort. Employees (even part-time employees) have the chance to get a 30% discount on its clothes. Besides, part-time employees can come to work anytime they like as long as they work for 3 hours a day.

Position: salesperson

Website: www.yagol.com

【推荐2】People often ask me for suggestions about how to learn English. As for it, everyone is different. I’ll share some of my experience. I once took a school year English course in Wuhan University, but I mostly learned English on my own.

One thing I can tell you is that, once you start learning, you should try to think in English as much as you can. If you see something when you’re riding your bike or walking down the street, just think about “How would I say them in English?” At first, it might be with simple words or phrases, but later you should think about longer phrases and sentences. Now I am in America, and for most of the time, I would think in English and speak it directly. It is amazing how much this helps.

For several years after I started learning, I was often afraid of talking with others in English because I did not want to make mistakes. Finally I got it over. And while traveling in America, I’d try to hang out with friends who couldn’t speak Chinese, so that I’d have no choice but to speak English. And I also decided that if I said something stupid and other people laughed at me, then so be it. After that, my English started improving much more quickly.

Besides, it may be a good idea to ask your American friends to look at the way you’re writing, and give you some suggestions for improvement.

【推荐3】My youngest son has a severe form of Autism (自闭症). Even though he is in his twenties now he still has the mind of a small child. Things I find silly delight him and little changes that wouldn't bother me at all bother him greatly. Most of the time he is happy but there are also times when he can be terribly upset. He will tear up things and cry for no reason. It always hurts me to see him suffer this way especially when there is little I can do to help.

This morning was particularly trying for him. He broke a new shirt and cried on and off for an hour. Finally he calmed down. I was still feeling stressed, however, and tiredly sat down at my computer to see if I could get a little work done. As I was turning it on, I heard my son laugh for the first time all day. I turned my head and saw him standing directly under the glass angel hanging from our ceiling fan. The light from our house lamps seemed to shine brightly all around him like a halo (光环). His eyes lit up as the little angel swung gently above his head.

At that moment my heart opened. I could see that the miracle was reminding me that my son was more than his Autism. I instead saw the shining soul within. I saw the love and light of his spirit and knew he was here for a purpose. My eyes watered and I appreciated this minor miracle and gentle reminder of his love for all of us.

Miracles are all around us, but we can't always see them with our eyes. We often have to see them with our hearts. Keep your heart open to them then. And let yourself be the miracle you were meant to be!

【推荐1】When I was eleven, my parents gave me the first book I ever owned-The Tales of Edgar Allan Poe. It was written by the famous novelist Edgar Allan Poe. I clearly remember opening it, reading the first lines of the book, and saying to myself, “So this is what reading is!” I was delighted. Little did I know at the time that I was at the beginning of a lifelong journey.

So, if I read my first real book at the age of eleven, what was I reading before then? In a word, these books are relatively plotless(没有情节的)and repetitive, and they attempt to teach children to recognize letters and their sounds and to build their vocabulary. But I still had no idea what writing was. In Poe’s stories, the sentences were more complex and stylish than anything I had ever read before.

Poe, in short, was a start. My parents gave me that first book, but then I searched for other books. I liked science, which led me to discover Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. Other writers followed in quick one after another, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and Arthur C. Clarke. But I didn’t limit myself to science fiction. Other books that deeply impressed me, and which I have carried on my life’s journey, include: The Yearling, Shane, Ivanhoe, Of Mice and Men, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

It went on from there. I became that kid who, long after his parents turned the lights off, hid under the covers with a flashlight, a book, and his greatest fear of being discovered and having his flashlight taken away. I realized that my parents must have known I was defying them. But in their wisdom they pretended to ignore it. And so I owe my start as a reader to my parents.

【推荐2】I once thought that my teenager years were going to be the worst years of my life, because when I was 12 years old, I was a total outsider, was often bullied (欺凌) at school. I felt completely alone in my small town.

But by starting to do volunteer work when I was 14, I turned my problem into a passion for helping others. The opportunity to practice kindness made me feel like my life had a greater purpose. The more positive energy I shared, the more kindness and appreciation I received. I realized that the real meaning of my life would be to reach out to people, specifically teenagers, and help them feel less alone.

Books were my true friends back then. I was so thankful that the authors wrote those books. The kindness they offered me with their books saved my life. One of my biggest dreams was to become an author so I could write books that would help other teenagers the way those books helped me.

Kindness saved me when I needed help the most. Even small acts of kindness can change someone’s life. You never know what someone else is going through. But by practicing daily kindness, you become an architect of positive change.

【推荐3】“They’re following me!” I thought to myself, as I watched the two young men on motorbikes slow down next to me as I drove. “Ignore them. They’ll go away.” I decided and turned my attention back to the road. As a woman living in a big city, such encounters were not new, but I was unusually disturbed by a strange sadness that day. I realized that whenever I stopped at a signal, the two bikers would also pause alongside, staring intently (热切地).

This continued through three traffic signals, leaving no room for doubt. I drove as fast as I could to stay ahead of them, but I couldn’t shake them off for the busy evening traffic. I finally reached home and released a sigh of relief until I realized that they had chased me all the way to my doorstep. Even scarier, they were now off the bike and at the gates, trying to talk to me.

Feeling safer on familiar ground, I turned back to tell them off. “Please don’t get us wrong,” one of them said, his tone low and concerned. “We saw you weeping inside your car and wanted to make sure you were okay.”

I realized in an instant what must have happened. The men had seen me breaking down in my car and followed me out of concern. I thanked them sincerely. My emotions got better at the time. I never saw them again. But even more than 10 years later, I still am struck by their selfless concern for a stranger and remember them with gratitude.