Your career is a very important part of who you are. The career you have     1     (define) your life, so taking time to think about it is     2     essential exercise.

The best time to start thinking about possible careers is while you are still at school, before you make any choice about your     3     (far) education. Some young people know     4     they want to do, but many others just have a few ideas     5     (bounce) around in their heads. One way to get some insight on a career path is to complete a “career aptitude test”,     6     results will tell you about your     7     (strong) and interests, suggesting careers that you may be suited to. Having this information will provide you     8     a better chance of finding a job you like. There are many free tests online, if you don’t want to look back in years     9     (come) with regret, give one a try.

In conclusion, career aptitude tests are clearly a very useful tool. However, it is important to remember that they     10     (mean) for guidance. The secret to a good career is finding something you are passionate about.

2 . For the first fourteen years of my life, I thought science was boring. As far as I could tell, science was a process of memorizing _______ : the order of the planets, the names of clouds, etc. So instead I spent all my spare time reading and writing, and decided to be a _______ when I grew up.

This all _______ in my first year of secondary school, when I met the periodic table(元素周期表) that I found amazing. In the next year, maths also became _______ . So now I had a _______ . I wasn't so interested in being a writer any more, and I _______ liked maths and science. However, in my school, all the best maths and science students _______ to be doctors; but I wasn't so excited about _______ things.

During this inner _______ , something else was going on: I was becoming interested in the ________ . This was mostly a ________ of peer (同辈) pressure. There was a cool group of students, who'd started an environmental club. Once a week, I ________ with them at club meetings, where we had long discussions.

I ________ to wonder if there was a career path which ________ the environment with maths and science. Then, one day I was chosen to ________ a climate change conference. The first ________ was called "The Science of Climate Change". The speaker talked about many different things and all of them were ________ . It slowly occurred to me that the job called "scientist" basically ________ you could study whatever you found interesting, and get paid to do so. "Right then." I thought. "I'll be a scientist."

Eleven years later. 1 ended up studying a part of the climate system. ________ is full of creativity and solving mysteries. My work is always changing and ________ . and I never get bored.