> Toughest job in China? Zoo seeks panda keepers
熊貓飼養員招聘，收到數百份簡歷卻零錄取……

The difficulties around raising giant pandas in captivity are in the news after a zoo received hundreds of applicants for panda keeper jobs but said it could not find any suitable candidates.
前幾日，有關一家動物園招聘大熊貓飼養員，收到數百份簡歷卻零錄取的事沖上熱搜。

Nanshan Mountain Bamboo Scenery Zone in eastern China’s Jiangsu province told the Modern Express that recruitment had been a “headache” for years and the zoo could not recruit enough panda caretakers due to a lack of qualified people.
據《現代快報》報道，在江蘇常州溧陽，南山竹海熊貓館這幾年每年都在招大熊貓飼養員，簡歷收了數百份，但錄取率為0，這讓管理方很是發愁。

A manager at the tour zone said being a panda keeper is more complex than most people realize and involves much more than feeding and playing with them.
相關負責人介紹，照顧大熊貓的工作比很多人想象中的要復雜，不僅僅是給大熊貓喂食、陪玩。

He added that the job has high benchmarks for professionalism, personality and observation skills.
這項工作對專業、性格、觀察力等都有很高的要求。

“There are many detailed requirements for a keeper during the raising of pandas, such as weighing their feces, observing the pandas’ moods and distributing bamboo by scattering it around and leaving it in a vertical position,” the manager said. “Perhaps due to the high threshold, we found very few applicants meet our requirements. So far, none of them has been recruited.”
負責人介紹，飼養過程中也有很多細節要求，包括給大熊貓糞便稱重，留意大熊貓心情變化，投放竹子要分散直立等等。可能由于門檻過高，很少有應聘者符合要求，目前也沒有人成功上崗。

The manager said they wanted panda keepers with degrees in livestock rearing or veterinary medicine who are patient and responsible.
負責人表示，希望飼養員為畜牧專業、畜牧獸醫專業，或相關農業學校畢業；

“They must love animals. Having experience raising animals in a zoo is a plus,” said the manager.
要有絕對的耐心和責任心，以及富有愛心，喜歡動物，最好有飼養經驗。

> Survey: Americans now less patriotic, less religious
民調顯示，美國人不再愛國，不再信教且更加悲觀

Americans are placing far less importance on patriotism, religion and other values, according to a new survey by the Wall Street Journal and the University of Chicago’s NORC.
《華爾街日報》聯合NORC公共事務研究中心近日發布民調，發現美國人對于愛國、宗教信仰等價值觀的重視程度大幅降低。

The poll surveyed 1,019 adult Americans from March 1 to 13 and compared the results to a 1998 poll.
這項民調在3月1日至3月13日訪問了1019名美國成年人，并將調查結果與1998年的民調作比較。

The poll found 38 percent of respondents said patriotism was very important to them, down from 70 percent in 1998. And 39 percent said religion was very important, down from 62 percent in 1998.
結果顯示，38%的美國人認為愛國非常重要，遠低于1998年的70%。39%的人表示宗教信仰非常重要，大幅低于1998年的62%。

Respondents under 30 placed much lower importance on those values than groups over 65. Money was cited as very important by 43 percent in the new survey, up from 31 percent in 1998, and it was the only priority that grew in importance.
美國30歲以下群體比65歲以上人群更加不重視這些價值觀。有43%的人認為金錢很重要，高于1998年的31%，這是民調中美國人唯一更加重視的事項。

Jennifer Benz, vice-president of public affairs at NORC, said that views in the survey might have been colored by the downbeat economic outlook. “People are just sort of down on everything about the country,” she said.
NORC公共事務副總裁珍妮弗?本茨認為，美國悲觀的經濟前景影響了民調中的觀點。“人們對美國的一切都很失望。”她說。

The Wall Street Journal said major events in the US have “shaken and, in some ways, fractured the nation,” among them the terrorist attack on Sept 11, 2001, the financial crisis of 2008, and the rise of former president Donald Trump.
《華爾街日報》則表示，近幾十年來，包括“9?11”恐怖襲擊、2008年金融危機以及特朗普擔任總統等重大事件，動搖甚至分裂了美國。

> Barcode turns 50 but its days might be numbered
條形碼誕生50周年 全球每天掃碼次數達60億次

Barcodes were initially patented by Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver in the United States in 1952.
1952年，條形碼技術在美國由諾曼?約瑟夫?伍德蘭和伯納德?西爾弗申請獲得專利。

But it wasn't until nearly two decades later, in 1971, that US engineer George Laurer perfected the technology and moves toward its commercialization began.
但直到20年后的1971年，這項技術才被美國工程師喬治?勞雷爾完善，并開始走向商業化。

On April 3, 1973, the standard to identify products was agreed on by a number of large retailers and food companies.
直到1973年4月3日，若干大型零售企業才就條形碼掃碼標準達成一致。

The following year, on June 26 in the US state of Ohio, the first product was scanned: a pack of chewing gum that is now in the National Museum of American History in Washington.
次年的6月26日，美國俄亥俄州首件帶有條形碼的商品——一包口香糖被掃碼。目前這包口香糖已成為位于華盛頓的國立美國歷史博物館的藏品。

The patch of irregular vertical lines that revolutionized supermarket checkouts and facilitated the globalization of retail is turning 50.
這個由不規則垂直線條排列組成的圖形標識符曾經徹底改變了人們在超市的結賬方式，促進了零售業的全球化，如今它已經50歲了。

The trademark beep as a product is scanned is heard about six billion times per day across the world, as around 70,000 items are sold each second.
目前全球每天條形碼掃碼次數高達60億次，每一秒鐘就有約7萬件商品被掃碼出售。

But its days might be numbered as it faces competition from the younger QR code.
不過，隨著科技進步特別是二維碼的迅速崛起，條形碼或終被取代。

Developed in 1994, QR codes can hold much more information, as they are read both horizontally, like barcodes, and vertically.
誕生于1994年的二維碼既可以像條形碼一樣橫向讀取，也可以縱向讀取，并且其本身能包含比條形碼更多的信息。

But barcodes are likely to remain in place for years to come as the world gradually transitions to QR codes.
不過，在逐漸向二維碼過渡的過程中，條形碼在未來幾年可能還會繼續存在。

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