Asha was in charge of（负责）/ɪn ʧɑrʤ əv/ the Rivergate career（职业生涯）/kərɪr/ conference（会议）/ˈkɑnfərəns/. A local business association（协会）/əˌsoʊʃiˈeɪʃən/ agreed to sponsor（赞助方；赞助）/'spɒnsә/ the event（活动；事件）/ɪˈvent/, whose agenda（议程）/ә'dʒendә/ included a lecture（讲座）/'lektʃә/, a practical（实际的；实用的）/'præktikl/ workshop（工作坊；研讨会）/'wә:kʃɒp/, and a panel（讨论组；评审组）/'pænl/ on future occupation（职业）/.ɒkju'peiʃәn/ choices. Students could register（登记；报名）/'redʒistә/, create a professional（职业的；专业的）/prəˈfɛʃənəl/ profile（档案；简介）/'prәufail/, and speak with people from commercial（商业的）/kəˈmərʃəl/ and corporate（公司的；企业的）/'kɒ:pәrit/ fields. The school's intention（意图；目的）/ˌɪnˈtɛnʧən/ was to help every participant（参与者）/pɑrˈtɪsəpənt/ set a goal（设定目标）/sɛt ə goʊl/, build confidence（建立信心）/bɪld ˈkɑnfədɛns/, and understand wage（工资）/weidʒ/, benefit（福利；益处）/ˈbenɪfɪt/, and bonus（奖金）/'bәunәs/ systems（系统）/ˈsɪstəm/.

One day before the event, the main speaker cancelled. He had planned to explain how employers（雇主、老板）/im'plɒiә/ hire（雇用）/haiә/ staff（员工；全体人员）/stæf/. He also wanted to show how young（年幼的；较年轻的）/ˈjʌŋɡə/ people can stand out（脱颖而出）/stænd aʊt/. His absence（缺席、缺乏）/'æbsәns/ threatened（恐吓、威胁）/'θretn/ the entire（整个的）/ɪnˈtaɪər/ format（形式；格式）/'fɒ:mæt/, because his presentation（展示；演讲）/.prezәn'teiʃәn/ connected all three sessions（环节；会议）/'seʃәn/. Asha made an initial（最初的）/i'niʃәl/ attempt（尝试）/əˈtɛmpt/ to contact（联系；接触）/ˈkɒntækt/ another operator（操作员；运营者）/'ɒpәreitә/. It was difficult to find a suitable（合适的）/'sju:tәbl/ expert（专家；专业人士）/ˈekspɜːt/ in one day. The team had to meet a complex（复杂的）/kәm'pleks/ challenge（挑战；难题）/ˈtʃælɪndʒ/ with almost no time.

The planning committee（委员会）/kəˈmɪti/ reviewed its priorities（优先事项）/prai'ɒriti/. One student suggested a competition（比赛；竞争）/ˌkɑmpəˈtɪʃən/ with an award（奖项；授予）/əˈwɔːd/; another wanted a virtual（线上的；虚拟的）/'vә:tʃuәl/ talk. Asha said, “We do need a speaker, but our first criterion（标准）/krai'tiәriәn/ is useful（有用的）/ˈjuːsfəl/ guidance（指导）/'gaidns/, not fame（名望、名声）/feim/. Let us engage（使参与；吸引）/in'geidʒ/ the audience（观众；听众）/ˈɔːdiəns/ and facilitate（促进；使便利）/fә'siliteit/ real interaction（互动）/.intәr'ækʃәn/.” Her teacher recommended（推荐、介绍）/.rekә'mend/ Ms Morgan, who had retired（退休）/ri'taiә/ after a long career in labour（劳动；劳务）/ˈleɪbər/ consultation（咨询）/.kɒnsәl'teiʃәn/. She had once resigned（辞职）/ri'zain/ from a senior（资深的；高级的）/ˈsinjər/ corporate role to work as（担任；从事）/wərk ɛz/ an independent（独立的）/ˌɪndɪˈpɛndənt/ adviser.

Ms Morgan accepted. She asked students to submit（提交）/sәb'mit/ questions in advance（预先；提前）/әd'vɑ:ns/ and composed（组织；撰写）/kәm'pәuz/ a comprehensive（全面的）/.kɒmpri'hensiv/ session around them. She compared employment（就业；雇用）/ɪmˈplɔɪmənt/ options（选择；选项）/ˈɔpʃən/, explained how to correspond（通信；相符）/.kɒri'spɒnd/ with an institution（机构）/ˌɪnstɪˈtuʃən/, and showed why internal（内部的）/in'tә:nәl/ expectations（期待；预期）/.ekspek'teiʃәn/ can differ（不一致、不同）/'difә/ from public advertisements（广告）/ˌædvərˈtaɪzmənt/. She also discussed membership（会员资格）/'membәʃip/ in a professional association, the potential（潜在的；潜力）/pә'tenʃәl/ contribution（贡献）/.kɒntri'bju:ʃәn/ of each occupation, and the critical（关键的；批判性的）/ˈkrɪtɪkəl/ difference between confidence（信心）/'kɒnfidәns/ and empty claims（理赔申请；主张）/kleɪm/. Her examples helped students gain experience（积累经验）/geɪn ɪkˈspɪriəns/ through decisions（决定）/dɪˈsɪʒn/ rather（更确切地；而不是）/ˈrɑːðə/ than memorising（记住、熟记）/'meməraiz/ advice.

The revised（校订、修正）/ri'vaiz/ conference exceeded（超过、超越）/ik'si:d/ its target（目标）/ˈtərgət/. The panel answered every prior（事先的；优先的）/'praiә/ question, the workshop helped students prepare for（为……做准备）/priˈpɛr fər/ interviews, and the sponsor offered a certificate（证书）/sә'tifikeit/ to each participant. Asha received a service award, but she considered the team's cooperation（合作、协力）/kәu.ɒpә'reiʃәn/ the greater reward（回报；奖励）/ri'wɒ:d/. They had adapted（使适应、改编）/ә'dæpt/ the agenda, attained（达到；获得）/ә'tein/ their main goal（目标）/ɡəʊl/, and lived up to（达到；不辜负）/lɪv əp tɪ/ the school's promise. The event also boosted（促进；提高）/bu:st/ interest in career education. Several students said they now understood（理解）/ˌʌndəˈstʊd/ how talent（才能；人才）/'tælәnt/, practical judgement（判定、审定）/'dʒʌdʒmәnt/, and honest communication（沟通）/kəmˌjunəˈkeɪʃən/ could help them compete（竞争）/kәm'pi:t/ for future opportunities（机会）/ˌɑpərˈtunəti/.