Some people have always been attracted to the world of movies and movie stars. One way to get closer to this word is to become a movie extra. Extras are the people seated at tables in a restaurant while the two main actors are in conversation. They are the guests at the wedding of the main characters. Extras don’t normally speak any lines, but they help make the scene look real.

Being a movie extra might seem like a lot of fun. You get to see what life is like behind the scenes. But don’t forget that being an extra is really a job and it’s mostly about doing nothing. First-time extras are often shocked to learn how slow the process of movie making is. In a finished movie, the action may move quickly. But it can sometimes take a whole day to shoot a scene that appears for just a few minutes on the screen.

The main requirement for being an extra is the ability to wait. You may report to work at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m., and then you wait until the director is ready for your scene. This could take several hours. Then there may be technical problems, and you have to wait a little longer. After the director says “action” and you do the first “take”, you may have to do it again if the director is not satisfied with the scene. In fact, you may have to do the same scene over and over again.

Despite the long hours and low pay, many people still apply for the job. Some people truly enjoy the work. They like being on a movie set, and they enjoy being with other extras. Most of them have flexible schedules, which allow them to be available. They may be students, writers, old people, or jobless actors. Some actors hope the work will help them get real acting jobs, but it doesn’t happen often.

The next time you see a movie don’t just watch the stars. Take a closer look at the people in the background. Maybe there is someone in the crowd who is just like you.

The Strangest Jobs in the World

You may be tired of a 9-to-5 job. Or you may be looking for something different to do. You won’t believe what some of these people do for a living. Check out these strangest jobs and tell us if you could handle doing any of them.

This may be one of the most boring jobs in the world. The paint company hires people to watch paint dry. They need to take note of the changing colors and have to examine the changes under a microscope(显微镜) as well as on the walls.

This job appeared after the Titanic tragedy(悲剧) in 1912. Iceberg movers remove icebergs and prevent any further accidents. Using satellites and airplanes, the movers search the seas for icebergs. And if any are found, they pull the iceberg to an area where it won’t be in the way. Pulling an iceberg can take up to 72 hours. This is because the boat needs ten hours to reach a speed of just one mile per hour.

There are many camp activities for children in New York. Mothers are now inviting luggage organizers to pack their kids’ bags. To hire an organizer costs around US $250 an hour. It can take up to four hours to be fully packed and ready. US $1,000 to pay somebody to pack your kids’ bags, is it worth it?

Many cities in the world are benefiting from the nocturnal (夜间活动的) activities of a group of people who call themselves guerrilla (游击队的) gardeners. Armed with trowels, spades arid a van full of flowers and plants, guerrilla gardeners turn abandoned urban land into a blaze of colon. In city centre locations where there was mud, weeds and empty plastic bottles, residents often wake up to find that the wasted area has been transformed overnight with brightly-colored bedding plants.

In most British cities, local governments and police turn a blind eye to the exploit of the gardeners, whose activities are always carried out under cover of nightfall. And so far, there has been nothing but praise from the astonished and delighted local residents when they find their neighborhood transformed in such a striking fashion.

Not only do the guerilla gardeners beautify neglected places, they also return regularly to water the plants and weed the flower beds. They also make sure that at least some of the plants they bring are evergreens, which means that the area doesn’t look dismal in the winter months.

The first guerrilla gardener in London was Richard Reynolds, whose day job is at an advertising agency. Mr. Reynolds, a graduate of Oxford University, began his efforts two years ago when he moved to a flat in a tower block in South London. From his balcony, he could see several empty concrete pots, placed by the local government to contain plants but never used. He went out after midnight and filled the pots with plants, and then planted more flowers in the path leading to the entrance to the block.

He then set up a website to explain his plan and called upon more gardeners to join him. Cash donations flooded in and, more importantly, volunteers rushed to be part of the campaign. Within six months, there were five hundred people in London prepared to come out at very short notice to revitalize (恢复活力) neglected parts of the urban landscape. There are now unofficial but carefully-organized groups in many cities in Britain and North America and there is a website where would-be urban gardeners can find out the location of the next expedition.