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There's still time to look

天气回暖，细雨蒙蒙，一切似乎都预示着春天的到来以及崭新未来的开始，但很多学生的工作仍旧没有着落。尽管如此，他们仍想振作起来，因为三月通常被称为求职“白银季”。 Rising temperatures and drizzle may have pointed the way to a new spring and a new future, but the job status of many students is still uncertain. Still, they might want to take heart, because March is often called the “silver” job-hunting season.

每年的这个时候，那些还没有找到理想工作的人们跃跃欲试，准备做最后的冲刺。河南大学农学院大四学生，22岁的冯文江就是其中一员，他正竭尽全力地寻找工作。寒假期间，他挖空心思整理个人简历，努力提高应付英文面试的技能。他希望能去一家大规模上市公司做销售。 At this time of the year, anyone who hasn't found that ideal employer is usually toeing the line, ready to make the final dash. Feng Wenjiang, a 22-year-old senior at Henan University's college of agriculture, for example, is trying his level best. He's going all out to fix his resume and upgrading his English interview skills during winter break. He hopes to work in marketing in a large listed company.

“我已经错过了很多机遇。”冯文江说。“随着毕业的临近，我确实需要在离开校园之前，尽快找到一份稳定的工作。” “I've missed out on lots of chances,” Feng said. “As graduation draws near, I really need to speed things up in getting a solid deal before I leave campus.”

《解放日报》的一则报道称，据“可靠消息”，截止二月底，长江三角洲地区，江浙一带的大学生就业率与去年同期持平，约为20％。上海则为27％左右。 One Jiefang Daily report, quoting “reliable sources”, said that, by the end of February, student employment in the Yangtze River Delta region in both Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces is at nearly the same level as last year: around 20 percent. And it's about 27 percent in Shanghai.

保持积极乐观 Be positive

然而，我们有理由对此保持乐观，因为将有更多工作机遇涌现出来。“在制定完明年财政年度的预算或计划后，一些公司将提供新的工作机会。”来自北京中通智慧信息咨询有限公司的陈阳表示。“这样一来，意外的机遇与惊喜就可能随时出现。求职者也可以更好地关注工作动态。” But there's enough reason to be positive: new job opportunities are coming. “After companies complete plans or a budget for the new financial year, they'll post new openings,” said Chen Yang, of Beijing's Zhongtong Wisdom Consultancy company. “So, unexpected chances or pleasant surprises could pop up at any time. It's helpful for job hunters to keep a sharp eye out for this.”

从这点来看，三月求职可能还要看“运气”，因为有时，好事往往姗姗来迟。同时，大学生求职者也可以在前几个月的面试经验基础上，充实自己的面试技能。如果他们明智，他们就能学以致用，使自己变得更游刃有余。 In this sense, looking for a job in March could turn out to be even a “blessing” because, sometimes, the best things come at the last. Also, student job candidates have a chance to mature in their interviewing techniques by building on the experience they've accumulated over the past few months. If they're wise, they can put this to use, and appear smarter.

如何能够密切关注职位信息，对此陈阳给出了几条建议。首先，应充分利用学校求职BBS以及职业中心。很多院校都提供求职服务以及24小时在线帮助。你还可以参加人才招聘会。很多大型招聘会都会在三月召开。每天去热门求职网站看看，也会得到新的发现。“原则就是不放走一丁点希望曙光。”陈阳表示。 Chen has some suggestions on how to keep up with job postings. First, make good use of the university's job BBS and career center. Many colleges offer job services and online aid at “all hours”. Also, you can take part in job fairs. Many large fairs are scheduled for March. A routine search of popular job sites just might turn up new discoveries. “The rule is to not let one small ray of hope go,” Chen said.

不过，在此期间的重中之重是要镇定并保持头脑清醒。首先要避免就是“贱卖心理”。正是出于这种心理，一些学生在毕业前夕，宁愿以自身兴趣及能力为代价，孤注一掷地签下一纸合同。 What's most important, however, for this season, is to stay cool and be level-headed. The first thing to avoid is “low-bidder psychology”. That's where students might get so desperate to get a contract before graduation that they're willing to sacrifice their real interests or abilities.

来自北方工业大学法律系大四年级，22岁的纪炎涛表示无论怎样，他都不会向就业压力妥协。除非他的所有要求都基本得到满足。 Ji Yantao, 22, a senior in law at North China University of Technology, says that he won't give in to pressures to close a job deal, no matter what. Not until he's basically satisfied in every way.

事实上，他已经被某国际性非政府组织录取了。虽然很看重这份工作的性质，但他并不急于接下这份工作。纪炎涛认为2000元的工资不能够维持他在北京的开销。他解释说：“签合同容易，但如果后悔，那接下来它就意味着麻烦。” In fact, he's got an offer from an international non-governmental organization but is in no hurry to take it, even though he values the nature of their work. Ji thinks the 2,000-yuan salary might not allow him to survive in the capital. “Signing a contract is easy, but it would mean trouble later on if I regretted the decision,” he explained.

obo 发布在 每日记事  |  发布时间: 04:22PM Mar 01, 2010  |  评论[0]

Cellphones: is there a cancer link?

手机可以致癌？不管这一说法是否属实，人们已经开始担心，电话，输电线以及wi-fi可能会引发皮疹，脑瘤等一系列疾病。 Could your cellphone give you cancer? Whether it could or not, some people are worrying about the possibility that phones, powerlines and wi-fi could be responsible for a range of illnesses, from rashes to brain tumors.

48岁的美国人Camilla Rees曾是一名投资银行专家。由于受不了邻居家产生的电磁辐射，她搬出了位于旧金山的寓所。 For example, Camilla Rees, 48, a former investment banker in the US, moved out of her apartment in San Francisco because of the radiation coming from next door.

Camilla Rees在接受《洛杉矶时报》采访时表示，新邻居入住后就安装了Wi-Fi路由器，之后自己便失去了清晰思考的能力。她说：“早晨起床时我会觉得头晕，并且常常会摔倒在地板上。我必须要逃离这个梦魇。”从那时起，Camilla Rees就成为了一位坚决反对低强度电磁辐射（也被称为EMFs）的人士。 Rees told the Los Angeles Times that when her neighbors moved in and installed a wi-fi router she lost her ability to think clearly. “I would wake up dizzy in the morning. I'd collapse to the floor. I had to leave to escape that nightmare,” she said. Since then, she's been on a crusade against low-level electromagnetic fields, or EMFs.

而她并非孤立无援。数以百万记的民众表示，当同手机及其它电磁源亲密接触时，自己会感到头痛、抑郁、恶心，并患上皮疹。 And she's not alone. Millions of people say they suffer from headaches, depression, nausea and rashes when they're too close to cellphones or other sources of EMFs.

尽管世界卫生组织已发表官方声明称，电磁辐射似乎不会造成太大的威胁；但各国政府还是对此非常担忧。事实上，去年四月份，欧洲议会就曾呼吁各国采取重大措施，控制电磁磁场的影响范围。同时，旧金山及缅因州也正在考虑在手机上粘贴“手机会提高癌症可能性”的标签。 Although the World Health Organization has officially declared that EMFs seem to pose little threat, governments are still concerned. In fact, last April, the European Parliament called for countries to take steps to reduce exposure to EMFs. The city of San Francisco and the state of Maine are currently considering requiring cancer-warning labels on cellphones.

如果这些担忧并非无稽之谈，那么我们可能都要为自己花在电话和wi-fi无线网络上的时间而担忧了。 If these fears are justified, then perhaps we should all be worried about the amount of time we spend talking on our phones or plugging into wi-fi hotpots.

人们表示不断增加的恐慌是有一定依据的。纽约阿尔巴尼大学环境健康科学教授David Carpenter认为，高压电线导致发生儿童期白血病的几率超过95%。同时，机会导致发生脑部肿瘤的几率也超过90%。 Some say there is evidence to support the growing anxieties. David Carpenter, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University at Albany, in New York, thinks there's a greater than 95 percent chance that power lines can cause childhood leukemia. Also there's a greater than 90 percent chance that cellphones can cause brain tumors.

但也有一些人认为这是在杞人忧天。美国国立癌症研究所的辐射列病学主任Martha Linet博士也曾做过与Carpenter教授一样的研究，但得出的结论却不同。Linet博士说：“我不赞成在手机上粘贴警示标志，目前我们并没有证据表明手机的使用会造成脑癌的发生。” But others believe these concerns are unjustified paranoia. Dr Martha Linet, the head of radiation epidemiology at the US National Cancer Institute, has looked at the same research as Carpenter but has reached a different conclusion. “I don't support warning labels for cellphones,” said Linet. “We don't have the evidence that there's much danger.”

到目前为止，各项研究数据表明电磁辐射同各种疾病之间联系甚微，甚至可以忽略不计。一项由13个国家参与，致力于验证手机是否会导致脑癌的跨国研究已进行多年。该研究由欧盟及部分手机产业公司赞助。该研究报告将于今年年底公布，但目前的研究数据却表明手机的使用同脑癌的发生概率二者之间并没有较大联系。 Studies so far suggest a weak connection between EMFs and illness–so weak that it might not exist at all. A multinational investigation of cellphones and brain cancer, in 13 countries outside the US, has been underway for several years. It's funded in part by the European Union, in part by a cellphone industry group. The final report should come out later this year, but data so far don't suggest a strong link between cellphone use and cancer risk.

美国马里兰大学(University of Maryland)的名誉物理学教授Robert Park则表示，与紫外线以及X射线不同，电磁波的能量很微弱，不足以分裂DNA，也就无法致癌。 According to Robert Park, a professor emeritus of physics at the University of Maryland in the US, the magnetic waves aren't nearly powerful enough to break apart DNA, which is how known threats, such as UV rays and X-rays, cause cancer.

也许这只是心理效应。一些专家发现电磁敏感综合症似乎与化学敏感性综合征很相像；在某种情况下，化学敏感性综合征是由心理因素引起的。 Perhaps it's just psychological. Some experts find that the electro-sensitivity syndrome seems to be similar to chemical sensitivity syndrome, which is a condition that's considered to be psychological.

不管是否出于心理原因，Camilla Rees都遭受了身体上的不适。对此，她还有一套自己的对策。她会尽量避免使用手机，并且尽可能让自己待在低强度辐射的环境当中。她表示：“我喜欢逗留在山里或者是海边。” Psychological or not, Rees suffers physically and has her own defense strategy. She shuns cellphones and spends as much time as she can in low-EMF areas. “I like to spend time in the mountains and by the sea,” she said.

不管电磁辐射有害与否。远离手机，去乡间度假，这或许对我们来说是很有益处的。 Whether EMFs are harmful or not, a break in the countryside, without the cellphone, would probably be good for all of us.

obo 发布在 每日记事  |  发布时间: 04:19PM Mar 01, 2010  |  评论[0]