【推荐1】How to Study at Home Effectively

Studying at home is comfortable and relaxing. However, it can be difficult to study at home effectively. Watching TV, eating snacks or looking through social media may take you away from your study.     1    .

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Students of all ages should get at least eight hours of sleep every night. It's the best way to ensure that the brain is refreshed and ready to process all of the information during the day. A full night's sleep is especially important the night before a test.

Study at the right time

    3    . Some people are night owls (夜猫子) while others prefer the morning. Don't try to force yourself to study when your brain isn't at its best. Try to study when you are the most energetic, so that you are able to gain more information.

Have a fixed study area

Whether it's the kitchen table or the desk in your bedroom, it is necessary to create a fixed study area. Try to reserve (预留) your bed for sleeping and avoid studying in it.     4    . And keep your fixed study space organized so you can put more time into studying instead of looking for a pen or other things.

Create a timetable

Creating a timetable helps to organize your time. It is especially useful when you have different subjects to study.     5    . Set reasonable limits for how much time you spend studying each day, and break your study time into manageable periods of time.

【推荐2】At the start of your career, it can feel like a Catch-22 situation: You can’t get hired without experience, but you can’t get experience without being hired.     1     Luck certainly plays a part and personal connections can be hugely valuable, but what else can you do?

Target realistic roles. If you don't have relevant experience in your chosen field, you’ll have to apply for roles right at the bottom of the ladder and work your way up—     2     They can both be character building and a great way to develop a knowledge of the role. That will give you a head start as you work your way up through the organization.

Emphasize the skills you do have. Don't get hung up on the experience you don’t have.     3     Soft skills such as communication, and team working are highly valued by all sorts of employers. If you lack experience in your chosen field, then it’s important to acknowledge that, but use it as an opportunity to demonstrate your passion for the role and your motivation to learn.

    4     Some industries are so competitive that, even to get an entry-level position, you might have to consider working for free. Volunteering and internships (实习) are excellent opportunities to gain first-hand knowledge of a job and build useful contacts that could lead to a paid position.

Stay busy and resilient (有韧性的) . Trying to find a job with little or no experience isn't easy, and yet it’s something everyone has gone through.     5     However, by volunteering, participating in community activities, being social and getting out in the world, opportunities will present themselves and you will find the right role for you.

Roller coasters (过山车) are the most popular rides at most amusement parks. These days, each new coaster has to be bigger, faster, more exciting, and scarier than the last. But how do riders know the coasters are safe?

Parks are very careful about testing their coasters. They have to make sure that the coaster does not go too fast and that the loops and turns are not too tight. They also have to make sure that riders will not get sick or hurt. They use computer models to make sure the design is safe. The models show, for example, that the coaster won’t fly off the track (轨道) or send riders shooting into the air. They test the coasters with water models of different sizes that represent real riders. They use crash test models, like carmakers do. Finally, they run the ride over and over with real test riders. What a great job that sounds like — riding roller coasters all day!

▲ Think about it. Your body is shaken around, your stomach drops, and the turns and loops make you dizzy — all day long. Some parks hire volunteers to come in and ride all day. One such rider, when interviewed, said, “When I was asked if I wanted to be a test rider, I jumped at the chance. And the first six or seven times were great! But by the thirtieth time, I was so ready to get off that ride. I felt sick and had a headache. And the ride was boring by then.”

Parks also hire full-time testers. These people ride new roller coasters many times before the coasters open. One test rider says, “It’s not a good idea to eat a big meal just before you test coasters.” No kidding! The same tester remembers how once when a new coaster opened, he rode it 23 times in a row. The rest of his day wasn’t so great.

Testers learn each coaster well. They can hear any little new sound or feel any new bump or shake the coaster makes. Several times a week, they ride each coaster to check for anything that seems different or that concerns them. If they notice anything, however small, they let the people who repair the coaster know. The staff then goes over the coaster to make sure there is nothing wrong with it.

Full-time testers seem to love their jobs, even if there is the occasional day of feeling sick. For these thrill-seekers, coasters never get boring. For the rest of us, the testers are the last step in making sure our rides are safe as well as fun and exciting.