The port of Kaohsiung never sleeps. Day and night, ships arrive from every corner of the world, and cranes lift steel boxes of 11 onto waiting trucks. A modern container 12 may carry twenty thousand boxes, yet fewer than thirty people work on board. Most of the crew spend the whole 13 far from their families, sometimes for eight months at a time. When a ship finally reaches the 14, the sailors often have only a few hours ashore before loading starts again. Bad weather remains their greatest fear, since one storm can 15 a ship and its entire load.
Few jobs sound more exciting than that of an airline 16. The truth, however, is quieter than films suggest. Modern aircraft fly themselves for most of the trip, and the crew on the flight 17 spend their time watching screens and speaking to control towers. Training is long and expensive: students must train on a small single-engine 18 for months before they may touch a jet. They practice for emergencies again and again, though almost none of them will ever open a 19. Most say the greatest 20 of the job is watching the sun rise above the clouds.