Smokejumpers

Smokejumpers are a special type of firefighter. 【小题1】 They parachute (跳伞) in as the first line of defense to fight the fire.

【小题2】 Their main goal is to stop a fire from spreading or to slow its progress until full, ground-based firefighters arrive. Using basic equipment, smokejumpers clear land of burnable material, like dry grass and dead trees. They carry water with them, too, but only a limited amount.

To get hired as a smokejumper, one must already have experience fighting wildfires on the ground. Green hands need to already know how to use wildfire-fighting tools, be in peak physical condition, and be able to stay calm under severe stress. Although the majority of smokejumpers are men, more women are joining now. 【小题3】 Smokejumpers employed in the United States, for example, must be between 54 and 91 kilograms so they don’t get blown away by the strong winds or get hurt when they land. Smokejumpers must also be capable of surviving in the wilderness. In Russia, many smokejumpers know how to find food in the forest and can even make simple furniture from trees.

The work is dangerous, and the hours are long. 【小题4】 They love being able to jump out of planes, fight fires, and live in the forest. As Alexi, a 28-year-old Russian smokejumper, says, “This is the best job for tough guys.”

Becoming an astronomer might seem straightforward. The awesome night sky inspires a child to someday study astronomy in school, eventually leading to a graduate degree and a job in the field. But as a new book makes clear, few women find the road so simple.

In A Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman, Lindy Elkins-Tanton, a planetary scientist, recalls her struggles with depression and anxiety as a child and with the sex discrimination she faced early in her career. In one example, she and colleagues (all men but one) were collecting rock samples in Siberia, searching for evidence of a connection between volcanic eruptions and past extinction events. Taking her time to break the rock at the right spot, Elkins-Tanton could smell the silent impatience from the men nearby. “They could have done it faster, but it’s important to let each person do the tasks they want and need to do, at their own pace.”

Her male colleagues’ discrimination against women in science, she writes, fanned her own self-doubt. To demand the same respect as male scientists, she learned she had to insist, gently, to carry her own baggage and take her own samples, her way and on her time. The lessons she learned in Siberia and in the lab helped her develop a compassionate and just leadership style in her post.

That culture is changing slowly. Before 1990, fewer than 40 women held full-time positions in astronomy or astrophysics at North American universities. Now, the number is high enough that it’s not as easy to track how many women successfully pursue a career in the field. Although those numbers point to progress, the book reminds readers that subtle acts of sex discrimination are still present and that careers in science can still be tricky for women. And yet women persist, as Lindy writes, driven by the “realization that we are only a tiny part of a vast unexplored universe.”

The growing ice cream franchise (特许经营权) is the brainchild of Tom Landis, a restaurateur (餐馆老板), who wanted to create a safe space for people with special needs to work in the food industry, plus the flavors are great!

At the Dallas-based restaurant, employees serve large scoops of ice cream handed over with love. Tom Landis has hired people with special needs for many years. But he couldn’t always provide a job for everyone who came to his fast-paced sandwich shops and pizza joints looking for work. Determined to create a business where friendliness mattered and kitchens were safe, he landed on ice cream.

In 2015, he opened the first ice cream shop; there are now seven franchises in cities including Asheville, El Paso, Indianapolis and Denver. Each shop creates 15 jobs in a safe environment for people with special needs. He said two more franchises were opening soon. “Our relentless mission is to employ all,” he said while interviewed by the local media.

Employees are behind some of the best ideas at the ice cream shops, which boast (有) fun flavors like top-selling Dr Pepper Chocolate Chip, and other favorites like Cold Brew &Cookies and Strawberry Milkshake. In-store sampling events are leading to deal with some grocery stores in the coming months.

When Landis talked about the varieties of ice cream in his shops, he said, “It just works. We sell out every time.” In the sunny and brightly colored shops, employees spread kindness and happiness to their customers as they dish out extra ice cream and free sprinkles.

“That’s what ice cream is,” said Landis with joy. His employees are heroes. “They lead me,” he added.