1 . Cheney School is a popular, high performing school located in the heart of Oxford serving a diverse community of students who are eager to learn. The school is looking to add to its bank of exam invigilators (监考人), who will be employed on a casual basis to watch over students taking both mock(模拟) and actual GCSE / GCE exams, as necessary throughout the school year.

Full training will be provided and staff will be contacted before the exam period to discuss the invigilation schedule in relation to their own availability.

We are looking for people who

*have a command of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint

*have effective written communication skills

* are reliable and punctual

*are able to solve problems and keep calm under pressure

*enjoy working as part of a team

We can offer you

*€10.19 per hour

*reduced tuition fees for your kids

*a housing allowance

*shuttle service

If you would like to find out more, please contact Ms Marie-Anne Fischer at mf@cheney.oxon.sch.uk, or by telephone on 01865 5755270.

How to apply: Please download an application form from the school’s vacancy website: http://www.cheney.oxon.sch.uk/lnvigilators.

2 . The ancient Babylonians （巴比伦人）are thought to have been the first people to set New Year's resolutions. They made promises to gods that they would return any objects they had borrowed from others. If they did this, then it was said that gods would protect them in the year ahead. Since then, resolutions have changed from promises to gods to promises to ourselves and others. That could be starting a new hobby, trying to be healthier or learning a new language. Given the difficulties that any people have in keeping their New Years resolutions, though, should people wait a little longer before deciding what they'll be? Is January the right time to set New Years resolutions?

Yes — it gets the year off to a good start. They're called New Year's resolutions, not Half-Year resolutions. The whole point of setting New Year's resolutions is that it's done at the start of the year.Waiting longer just defeats the purpose of it. New Year's resolutions are a fun tradition to discuss with family and friends. You won't be able to talk about it in the same way if you're all setting them at different times. Besides, the more you put it off, the less likely it is that you'll ever decide on what your resolutions are going to be. You can always set new ones, or change your goals, but it's important to start off with something. By the time you've decided on some resolutions, you'll have less time to do them — which only increases your chances of failure.

No — January isn't the right time. January is a cold and dark month. Why would you want to start something new then? During the winter months, most people just want to stay nice and warm indoors, rather than try something new. People should make resolutions to lead happier, healthier lives whenever they want, not just on 1 January. Waiting longer means that you'll have more time to plan and will have a better idea of what you want to do in the year ahead. This will result in better resolutions, which have a stronger chance of success. One study found that by 6 January, one in five people had failed to stick to their resolutions. By not rushing into it, you're less likely to get discouraged and give up if you haven't succeeded right away.

Now that you've read a bit more about it, tell us what you think by voting in our poll at theweekjunior. co. uk/polls.

3 . Technology is likely to play a big part in reaching its climate goals in the future.

Fusion is the process that fires the sun. But some experts say it could someday power our homes. Fusion happens when the nuclei (核) of two atoms are subjected to extreme heat. This leads to the formation of a new larger atom and large amounts of energy. One problem is the process itself requires a large amount of energy. Developers of the technology haven’t yet performed a fusion reaction that releases more energy than it requires. In addition, running an electric power plant of fusion would require the resulting heat to be contained in an economical way.

Advanced nuclear plants would be smaller than today’s massive nuclear reactors. Experts say they could be used in rural areas and could take over for wind and solar power when the sun goes down or the wind dies. But advanced nuclear reactors are difficult and costly to build. Critics say they would also create more waste. And they would run on uranium (铀), which could make some advanced reactors more appealing to militants (激进分子) seeking materials to make weapons.

Currently, there are 15 direct air capture plants operating worldwide, getting CO directly from the air and puts the gas underground. The costs are currently high. But supporters say those costs will fall as the technology improves. They also say tax breaks for businesses could help the technology. But critics say offering large credits could actually lead to more plants continuing to burn fossil fuels.

Hydrogen (氢) can be mixed with natural gas to make a cleaner-burning fuel. This could power a fuel cell vehicle. Such a vehicle would release environmentally friendly water vapors.

So-called clean hydrogen can be produced using energy methods such as wind and solar. But those methods are more costly than “grey hydrogen”, which is made with fossil fuels. Geothermal power plants capture heat up to 370 degrees Celsius far below the earth’s surface. The heat creates steam that can turn turbines (涡轮机) to produce electricity. But the technology would need to greatly expand to become a major alternative to fossil fuels.

4 . The English language has many expressions that describe a fast-moving event. Some expressions relate to body movements. We say something happens in the blink of an eye or in a heartbeat. Other expressions are related to the world of nature.

For example, there is an expression related to velocity involving an animal. You might think the creature will be a big cat, such as a lion or maybe even a small but speedy animal, such as a hare (野兔). But it is none of them. The expression today involves sheep—baby lambs to be exact.

Lambs are cute, but they are not really known for their lightning speed. Our expression is about a specific part of the animal—its tail. Lambs can shake their tails very fast. And when something happens quickly, we say it happens in “two shakes of a lamb’s tail”. Here is an example, “I’m going to the store I’ll be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail!” This expression is a cuter and more descriptive way of saying “quickly”. Maybe instead of sending a text message with the letters BRB (be right back), we could use the image of a lamb shaking its tail.

Being cute like a lamb may be fun, but it has its drawbacks. Cute things are often not taken seriously. And that is why Americans rarely use “two shakes of a lamb’s tail” in a serious situation. For example, if a person gets hit by a car, people would say something like “Help is on the way!” Generally speaking, an emergency is not a good time to use cute animal expressions.

7 . An 89-year-old man, Manfred Steiner, has reached a goal he spent 20 years working toward and nearly a lifetime thinking about: earning his Ph. D. And now he is a physicist

Steiner values this degree because it is what he always wanted and because he overcame health problems that could have affected his studies. “But I made it, and this was the most satisfactory point in my life, to finish it,” he said.

When he was young, Steiner wanted to become a physicist after reading about Albert Einstein. But his mother and uncle persuaded him that studying medicine would be a better choice. He earned his medical degree in 1955 and moved to the US soon after.

Steiner studied hematology（血液学）at Tufts University and biochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He became a full professor and led the hematology department at Browns’ medical school from 1985 to 1994. Steiner helped establish a research program in hematology at the University of North Carolina. He directed that program until he retired from medicine in 2000.

Steiner found medical research pleasing, but it was not quite the same as his interest in physics. “It was something like a wish that was never fulfilled, that always stuck in the back of my head,” he said. At age 70, he started taking undergraduate classes.

Physics professor Brad Marston was surprised when Steiner entered his quantum mechanics class. But he became Steiner’s adviser for his dissertation（学位论文）after realizing how serious Steiner was about the subject and how hard he worked. “He has written many papers in medical science, more papers than I’ve written in physics,” Marston said. “One thing that’s really true about Manfred is that he perseveres.”

After the university published a story about Steiner on its website, people across the US contacted him to ask for advice on how to go after their dreams later in life. His advice is: Do what you love to do.

9 . Everyone knows that there are people who can keep secrets and people who can’t. There are people who can keep things to themselves until the day they die and people whose mouths constantly swing open like a door.

I have a granddaughter who, try as she might, just can’t keep a secret. Take my recent birthday for example.

“I know it’s going to be your birthday soon,” she said with a naughty smile. “How old are you going to be?”

“How old do you think I’m going to be?”       

“22. That’s pretty old.”

“You’re close. I’m actually going to be 23.”

“Whoa,” she said, drawing the word out to make a bigger impact (影响).

“My mom said she would take me shopping because I wanted to buy you a present myself and I did.”

And with that, it began. I knew it was just a matter of time before she ruined the surprise. Ten, nine, eight…it seemed like she was about to explode.

“Mom took me to Stein Mart!” Seven, six, five... she jumped out of her chair with excitement.     

“I don’t want to know what you bought,” I sad.

“Oh, yes you do!” My granddaughter is like a mind reader; but I can’t tell her that.

“You like turquoise (绿松石), I know you do” She was hopping (跳) from foot to foot, spinning in circles, her voice rising higher. Four, three, two...

“You don’t want to know if I got you a necklace?”

“OK, I won’t tell you.”

She sat down and began to draw. She drew a semicircle (半圆) with turquoise shapes bordering it on one side and then, smiling from ear to ear, held the drawing up to her chest.

“I think I’m going to like it?” I said.

When her mom picked her up, she immediately admitted to telling the secret. She said that her stomach had hurt because the secret needed to come out. Isn’t that how it always happens? It’s not your fault, it’s the secrets fault.

On my birthday, I unwrapped (拆开……的包装) the colorful paper inside the gift bag and pulled out a lovely turquoise necklace. It was very similar to the drawing I’d seen the day before.

The kid may never have a career in espionage (间谍行为), but she surely has a future in art .

10 . The technology research company International Data Corporation, or IDC, has predicted a huge surge in total worldwide data in the coming years. It predicted world data demand will grow from 33 zettabytes（泽字节）in 2018 to 175 zettabytes by 2025. The world is about to have a serious data-storage problem that will only become more severe over time.

Several companies say they are exploring a possible solution. They suggest using genetic material, DNA, to store data. Experts have estimated data stored by DNA systems could be one billion times as many as those held in traditional electronic devices of comparable size.

Information about living things is stored in DNA using four different kinds of molecules（分子）. They can be represented by the letter codes A, T, C and G. Researchers have discovered that data can also be stored within DNA in the sequences of these letters. Electronic devices, however, store information in a two-letter code that produces combinations of ones and zeroes.

In order to make DNA storage succeed, digital information has to be changed to DNA storage and then back to digital data. One company working on DNA storage development is Microsoft. The company announced earlier last year that it had shown the first “fully-automated” DNA storage system. The research team from Microsoft and the University of Washington reported it had successfully encoded the word “hello” in pieces of DNA and changed it back to digital data. A chemical process is used to get the DNA into a storage device.

Microsoft said DNA storage systems can not only store more data, but also hold data for much longer periods of time. For example, DNA samples from the ancient bones of animals and humans have proven that the material can last thousands of years in tough conditions.

Experts from the World Economic Forum have praised recent developments in DNA storage technologies. But the organization says much more work needs to be completed before DNA storage systems can effectively compete with electronic ones. Currently, the systems are costly and the processing time can be very long.