Goal setting seems to be a hot topic, yet it's easy to know about but difficult to practice.

People set goals, work hard at them for even a few months, and then    1    them. Next year, they set the    2    goals. But why do so many people do it? They may be making goals too    3    . But that isn't to say that they aren't    4    goals. They need to be broken apart into smaller and    5    pieces. Make spoon-size goals and you'll accomplish them    6    .

Many people are probably unwilling to    7    you to reach your goal. They're    8    with you when you have your own goals. They may even be enthusiastic about your desire    9    something or accomplish something new.     10    , as you change and accomplish, they may not like it. Why? It's usually because your changes and accomplishments    11    them that they could be doing it, too...    12    they aren't!

You may have filled your    13    with so many things that there' s little    14    for your goals to grow. We must be careful not to confuse busyness with    15    , as goals are always achieved step by step. Be    16    about how you use your time and what you focus on. Success often comes when you know what to    17    , rather than what to include in your life.

Goal settling is like the pig and chicken walking out early one morning. The chicken became really    18    when she saw a sign : "Ham & Eggs, $2.99". She said to the pig, "Look, we've got double billing again." The pig said, "That 's    19    for you to say! For you, it' s all in a day 's work. For me, it 's total commitment. " Goal setting is all in a day's work. Goal    20    is total commitment.

Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a water puddle ahead on the path. I walked around to the side of the path that wasn't covered by    1    . As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for it was so    2    . I stepped back and my attacker stopped attacking me.     3    attacking more, he flied in the air with its graceful    4    in front of me. Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing but I was unhurt, it was    5    and I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!

I took a step forward, and my attacker rushed me again. He    6    me in the chest with his head and body. It's just not everyday that    7    is attacked by a butterfly, so I stopped to find out the    8    . My attacker moved back as well to    9    on the ground. That 's when I discovered why my    10    was charging me only moments earlier. He had a mate beside the puddle    11    he landed and she was dying.

Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only    12    the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate, even though she was    13    dying and I was so large. He did so just to give her those extra few    14    moments. Now I knew why and what he was    15    . l couldn't do anything other than reward him by changing my    16    to the more difficult side of the puddle. He had truly    17    those moments to stay with her. I cleaned the mud from my boots and left.

Since then, I've always tried to remember the    18    of that butterfly whenever I see huge    19    facing me. I use that butterfly's courage as an inspiration to    20    myself that good things are worth striving for.

In 2017, I haul just recovered from a serious illness when I received an invitation to a writer's conference in Orlando, Florida. My family persuaded me that a(n)    1    might be just    2    the doctor ordered, so off I went.

Arriving in the Sunshine State was rather tiring, but I    3    to catch a taxi to my    4    and settle in. Next morning , I look another    5    to the shopping centre to buy a few souvenirs.     6    I went to a cafe to have lunch, but all the tables were    7    . Then I heard a friendly voice saying, "You can    8    my table."

l gratefully sat down with the    9    lady and we had a happy lunch together. As the    10    drew to a close she asked how long I would be in Orlando. I had already told her that I hadn't    11    a car, and hadn't realized how    12    taking taxis would be. After a while she said,"My dear , don 't use any more taxis. I'm retired and it would be my pleasure to    13    you wherever you wish." I told her that I couldn't put her to that trouble, but she brushed    14    my protests(反对). She asked me where I was    15    and next morning she was waiting at my apartment at the    16    time to take me lo Disney World. She spent some time with me before leaving me to    17    alone. At the end of the day, she    18    to take me back to my accommodation. I offered her money but she    19    to take any.

I'll never forget that wonderful lady    20    , through her kindness, filled my brief holiday in Florida with wonderful memories.

If someone says you are smart, what do they mean? Is it a good thing or something had? The    1    is not as easy as you might think. This is    2    the word smart has many meanings.     3    , someone could say you look smart or are dressed smartly. That means they like    4    you are wearing and your physical    5    . To use a slang expression(俚语), they could say, You look    6    cool ! "

But if something smarts, it can be    7    or hurtful, either physically or mentally. If you accidentally trip over a chair and    8    , you might shout, "Wow! That smarts!" Or if a friend says something that    9    your feelings, you can say you are smarting from the upsetting    10    .

If you are standing too close to a campfire, you could say your eyes are smarting from the smoke of the fire. Here the word “smarting" means a sharp    11    . But the most common meaning of smart is to be    12    . If someone is smart as a whip(鞭), they have the    13    to think very quickly.

People have    14    ways of being smart. Some people are,     15    street smart. They may not have a strong education. But they are    16    in dealing with people and problems in the real world. Other people might be book smart. This means they have spent many years in school. But when dealing with people or problems    17    existing in our world they may not he so smart.

And then there is another    18    of smart that means to talk or behave disrespectfully. If you say something disrespectful to your parents, they might    19    , “Don't get smart with me ! "Here, "smart" means to show a   20    of respect by saying something mean.

Our daughter Brenna was born in 2011 with a very severe, rare genetic skin illness   1    Harlequin Ichthyosis(丑角样鱼鳞病). It means that Brenna's skin has difficulty doing the job that skin typically does, like protecting her from bacteria(细菌). To try to   2    this error, her body produces skin too quickly, leaving her a terrible   3    .

This lifelong condition   4    our lives every day, sometimes very deeply; as we try to   5    our daughter as best we can, we also ensure the public's   6    to her look different from   7     children.

One day, a family was behind us in the checkout   8    at the grocery store, and a little girl sat in her cart   9    behind my daughter.

She   10    to Brenna and asked, "Daddy, why is her face red ?"

Without   11    , the father responded easily ,"Because that 's just the way she looks."

"Oh !" the girl said with a smile .

   12    is a wonderful thing, especially for children learning about their world. You may first notice Brenna's deep   13    coloring, but once you allow yourself to see   14    that, you'll simply see a child enjoying life with parents. You'll see a child   15    loves animals and pizza, and who will jump at the chance to go to the library or the park.

When we see those around us with   16    differences, perhaps we simply need to remind ourselves that   17    and wrong aren't mutually exclusive(互相排斥的). Although her skin appears different than most, and it doesn't   18    like most, what we've come to realize is that our differences are what make us   19    in bold, beautiful ways. Our differences are what make our life   20    and fulfilling.

With time flying, people become aged. Then many people even in their middle age often start to notice that their memory and mental clarity are not what they used to be. We suddenly can't remember    1     we put the keys just a moment ago, or an old friend's name, or the name of an old band we used to love. As the brain    2     , we refer to these occurrences as "senior moments".     3     seemingly innocent, this loss of mental focus can potentially have a damaging effect    4     our social and    5     well-being.

Neuroscientists—experts who study the nervous system, are increasingly showing that there's actually a lot that can be done. It    6     out that the brain needs exercise in much the same way our muscles do, and the right mental    7     can significantly improve our basic cognitive     8     . Thinking is basically a    9     of making connections in the brain. To a certain extent, our ability to    10     in making the connections that drive intelligence is inherited.     11     , because these connections are made through effort and practice, scientists believe that intelligence can expand and wave    12     mental effort.

Now, a new web-based company has taken a step    13     and developed the first " brain training program "designed to actually help people improve and    14     their mental sharpness.

The web-based program    15     you to systematically improve your memory and attention skills. The program keeps a(n)    16     of your progress and provides detailed feedback    17     your performance and improvement. Most importantly, it    18     changes and improves the games you play to    19     up the strengths you are developing--much like an effective exercise routine    20     requires you to increase resistance and vary your muscle use.

In our modern society, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The    1    is that countries around the world have growing mountains of    2    because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

How lid we    3    a throwaway society? First of all it is now easier to    4    an object than to spend time and money to repair it.     5    modern manufacturing(制造业) and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and    6    .

Another cause is our    7    of disposable(一次性的)products. As    8    people, we are always looking for    9    to save time and make our lives easier. Companies    10    thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

Our appreciate for new products also    11    to the problem. We are    12    buying new things. Advertisements persuade us    13    newer is better and we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we    14    useful possessions to make room for new ones.

All around the world, we cam see the    15    of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To    16    the amount of rubbish and to protect the    17    , more governments are requiring people to recycle materials.     18    , this is not enough to solve our problem.

Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions.     19    throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about    20    . Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.

If you're the smartest person in your circle, you're in the wrong circle—you've outgrown it. It's time to move to the next    1    . This saying encourages people to___2___more by hanging out with those    3    are more driven and experienced than they are.

l heard this saving    4    to me from my daughter's friend this past week. Ally, Wes and I have been running for upcoming    5    . I'm going to do another 5K and Ally and Wes are going to to the 12-mile obstacle course.     6    , their training is more intense than mine, but when I was in    7    with them last week, Wes suddenly said, " You should    8    with us! "

"You mean do what you're doing?" I asked, with a surprised    9    on my face. "Exactly," he answered. "You ran do it ! You    10    need someone to push you."

As much as I    11    to admit it, he was right. I needed to    12    outside my comfort zone. I always let them run ahead of me, content to run at my own comfortable pace. But that was the    13    —I'd grown too comfortable with my training.

I    14    pushing my self. Ever since I had the surgery in April, I was a little nervous and running again. I was afraid to even try    15    that night when Wes pushed me into it—and outside my comfort zone. He was right! I was able to run--only about 5 minutes at a time before I had to walk again--but it was a(n)    16    . And that was all I needed to get back at it—no longer afraid to train harder.

Recently l have    17    my "training circle"to include Ally and Wes, and he wasn't afraid to push me. So, how are the circles in your life? Are you being    18    in every area of your life, or are you very comfortable these days, not being    19    at all, still living inside your comfort zone? If you're the most    20    one, then it's time to get into a new circle or at least add lo your existing ones.

I work for a group that serves children with disabilities. I love it and a particular    1    today makes me love it even more.

We often have a    2    with the kids, and last Friday we brought them to a park. I was playing with three young girls    3    all bad Down's syndrome(唐氏综合征). We were running around happily, and the girls were having a great    4    . We didn't care about the    5    from people around us. The next moment I will    6    for the rest of my life.

The girls were screaming in    7    on the bike when a young woman came up to me. She    8    told me that she    9    the girls had Down's syndrome.

She said she had a baby who had Down's syndrome, and she had been most    10    if he would be able to experience    11    and live a happy life. She then    12    to say that    13    these girls made her think    14    . Then she thanked me for    15    her the best gift she could have asked for:     16    .

I am so thankful that the girls are able to bring this mother a huge sigh of relief and make her    17    her baby will experience a happy life. Every time I think about this or even as I write this, I can't help but    18    .

These kids that I am so    19    to work with every day and their smiling fares are an important    20    why I smile every day.

As we know, what makes a good friend is presence. A good friend is there for you when you    1    him.     2    it's helping you through the     3    of losing a loved one or being by your side when you're sick, good friends are present in good and bad times.

You don't have to be in    4    when you need a good friend. Sometimes being present for a good friend only means listening when he needs to    5    , helping out with homework, or even helping in search for a missing cellphone.

One of the    6    to being present for a good friend is in action. People ran    7    all kinds of things, but as the old saying .     8    , "actions speak louder than words". Someone may say he'll be there    9    you need him, but when difficulties come up, a good friend will really be there to help.

As a    10    friend, you should be loyal(忠诚的). We all    11    times when we're not the most popular person. Perhaps we're done something    12    . Good friends are loyal and    13    you for who you are during the good and bad    14    .

Good friends are also honest. Some people would like to slay with people    15    will tell them what they want to    16    . Good friends will tell you what you need to hear.     17    you don't want to hear it.

Along with good friends who are present, loyal, and    18    , most people want friends who are trustworthy. If you can't    19    a person, it's hard to think him as a good friend. Mutual(相互的) trust between friends is a building of a solid    20    that could last a lifetime.