Sitting in the garden for my friend’s birthday. I felt a buzz (振动) in my pocket. My heart raced when I saw the email sender’s name. The email started off: “Dear Mr Green, thank you for your interest” and “the review process took longer than expected.” It ended with “We are sorry to inform you…”and my vision blurred (模糊). The position—measuring soil quality in the Sahara Desert as part of an undergraduate research programme — had felt like the answer I had spent years looking for.
在朋友的生日聚会上坐在花园里。我的口袋里传来一阵震动。当我看到发件人的名字时，我的心跳加快。邮件开头写道：“亲爱的格林先生，感谢您的关注”和“审查过程比预期的时间长。”结尾写道：“我们很遗憾地通知您……”我的视野变得模糊。那个测量撒哈拉沙漠土壤质量的工作，作为本科研究计划的一部分，一直是我多年来都在寻找的答案。

I had put so much time and emotional energy into applying, and I thought the rejection meant the end of the road for my science career.
我在申请工作上投入了大量时间和感情，我以为这次被拒意味着我科研生涯的尽头。

So I was shocked when, not long after the email, Professor Mary Devon, who was running the programme, invited me to observe the work being done in her lab. I jumped at the chance, and a few weeks later I was equally shocked—and overjoyed—when she invited me to talk with her about potential projects I could pursue in her lab. What she proposed didn’t seem as exciting as the original project I had applied to, but I was going to give it my all.
所以当收到邮件后不久，玛丽·德文教授邀请我观察她实验室里正在进行的工作时，我感到很震惊。我迫不及待地接受了这个机会，几周后，同样让我感到震惊和高兴的是，她邀请我与她讨论我可以在她实验室开展的潜在项目。她提出的项目似乎没有我申请的原始项目那么让人兴奋，但我会全力以赴。

I found myself working with a robotics professor on techniques for collecting data from the desert remotely. That project, which I could complete from my sofa instead of in the burning heat of the desert, not only survived the lockdown but worked where traditional methods didn’t. In the end, I had a new scientific interest to pursue.
我发现自己与一位机器人学教授一起研究远程从沙漠收集数据的技术。这个项目不仅在封锁期间得以继续进行，而且比传统方法更有效。最后，我有了一个新的科学兴趣要追求。

When I applied to graduate school, I found three programmes promising to allow me to follow my desired research direction. And I applied with the same anxious excitement as before. When I was rejected from one that had seemed like a perfect fit, it was undoubtedly difficult. But this time I had the perspective (视角) to keep it from sending me into panic. It helped that in the end I was accepted into one of the other programmes I was also excited about.
当我申请研究生院时，找到了三个能让我按照我期望的研究方向发展的项目。我像以前一样充满焦虑的兴奋地申请了。当我被一个看起来很合适的项目拒绝时，无疑很困难。但这次我有了更广阔的视角，不至于让我陷入恐慌。最后被另外一个我同样感到兴奋的项目录取也有助于缓解。

Rather than setting plans in stone, I’ve learned that sometimes I need to take the opportunities that are offered, even if they don’t sound perfect at the time, and make the most of them.
我学会了不将计划固定不变，有时候需要抓住当下的机会，即使当时听起来并不完美，并且充分利用它们。

1. How did the author feel upon seeing the email sender’s name?
   A. Anxious. B. Angry. C. Surprised. D. Settled.
   答案：A

2. After talking with Professor Devon, the author decided to __.
   A. criticise the review process B. stay longer in the Sahara Desert
   C. apply to the original project again D. put his heart and soul into the lab work
   答案：D

3. According to the author, the project with the robotics professor was __.
   A. demanding B. inspiring C. misleading D. amusing
   答案：B

4. What can we learn from this passage?
   A. An invitation is a reputation. B. An innovation is a resolution.
   C. A rejection can be a redirection. D. A reflection can be a restriction.
   答案：C