My Favourite Books
Jo Usmar is a writer for Cosmopolitan and co-author of the This Book Will series（系列）of lifestyle books. Here she picks her top reads.
Matilda
Roald Dahl
I once wrote a paper on the influence of fairy tales on Roald Dahl's writing and it gave me a new appreciation for his strange and delightful words. Matilda's battles with her cruel parents and the bossy headmisres, Miss Trunchbull, are equally funny and frightening, but they're also aspirational.
After Dark
Haruki Murakami
It's about two sisters-Eri, a model who either won't or can't stop sleeping, and Mari, a young student. In trying to connect to her sister. Mari starts changing her life and discovers a world of diverse "night people" who are hiding secrets.
Gone Girl
Gillian Fynn
There was a bit of me that didn't want to love this when everyone else on the planet did but the horror story is brilliant. There's tension and anxiety from the beginning as Nick and Amy battle for your trust. It's a real whodunit and the frustration when you realise what's going on is horribly enjoyable
The Stand
Stephen King
This is an excellent fantasy novel from one of the best storytellers around. After a serious flu outbreak wipes out 99.4% of the world's population, a battle unfolds between good and evil among those let. Randall Flagg is one of the scariest characters ever.
“You can use me as a last resort（选择）, and if nobody else volunteers, then I will do it.” This was an actual reply from a parent after I put out a request for volunteers for my kids lacrosse（长曲棍球）club.
I guess that there's probably some demanding work schedule, or social anxiety around stepping up to help for an unknown sport. She may just need a little persuading. So I try again and tug at the heartstrings. I mention the single parent with four kids running the show and I talk about the dad coaching a team that his kids aren't even on … At this point the unwilling parent speaks up,“Alright. Yes, I'll do it.”
I'm secretly relieved because I know there's real power in sharing volunteer responsibilities among many. The unwilling parent organizes the meal schedule, sends out emails, and collects money for end-of-season gifts. Somewhere along the way, the same parent ends up becoming an invaluable member of the team. The coach is able to focus on the kids while the other parents are relieved to be off the hook for another season. Handing out sliced oranges to bloodthirsty kids can be as exciting as watching your own kid score a goal.
Still, most of us volunteers breathe a sigh of relief when the season comes to a close. That relief is coupled with a deep understanding of why the same people keep coming back for more: Connecting to the community（社区）as you freely give your time, money, skills, or services provides a real joy. Volunteering just feels so good.
In that sense, I'm pretty sure volunteering is more of a selfish act than I'd freely like to admit. However, if others benefit in the process, and I get some reward too, does it really matter where my motivation lies?
Marian Bechtel sits at West Palm Beach's Bar Louie counter by herself, quietly reading her e-book as she waits for her salad. What is she reading? None of your business! Lunch is Bechtel's "me" time. And like more Americans, she's not alone.
A new report found 46 percent of meals are eaten alone in America. More than half（53 percent）have breakfast alone and nearly half（46 percent）have lunch by themselves. Only at dinnertime are we eating together anymore, 74 percent, according to statistics from the report.
"I prefer to go out and be out. Alone, but together, you know？"Bechtel said, looking up from her book. Bechtel, who works in downtown West Palm Beach, has lunch with coworkers sometimes, but like many of us, too often works through lunch at her desk. A lunchtime escape allows her to keep a boss from tapping her on the shoulder. She returns to work feeling energized. "Today, I just wanted some time to myself, "she said.
Just two seats over, Andrew Mazoleny, a local videographer, is finishing his lunch at the bar. He likes that he can sit and check his phone in peace or chat up the barkeeper with whom he's on a first-name basis if he wants to have a little interaction（交流）. "I reflect on how my day's gone and think about the rest of the week," he said. "It's a chance for self-reflection, You return to work recharged and with a plan."
That freedom to choose is one reason more people like to eat alone. There was a time when people may have felt awkward about asking for a table for one, but those days are over. Now, we have our smartphones to keep us company at the table. "It doesn't feel as alone as it may have before al the advances in technology," said Laurie Demerit, whose company provided the statistics for the report.
Bacteria are an annoying problem for astronauts. The microorganisms（微生物） from our bodies grow uncontrollably on surfaces of the International Space Station, so astronauts spend hours cleaning them up each week. How is NASA overcoming this very tiny big problem? It's turning to a bunch of high school kids. But not just any kids. It depending on NASA HUNCH high school class, like the one science teachers Gene Gordon and Donna Himmelberg lead at Fairport High School in Fairport, New York.
HUNCH is designed to connect high school classrooms with NASA engineers. For the past two years, Gordon's students have been studying ways to kill bacteria in zero gravity, and they think they're close to a solution（解决方案）. "We don't give the students any breaks. They have to do it just like NASA engineers," says Florence Gold, a project manager.
"There are no tests," Gordon says. "There is no graded homework. There almost are no grades, other than'Are you working towards your goal?' Basically, it's 'I've got to produce this product and then, at the end of year, present it to NASA.' Engineers come and really do an in-person review, and…it's not a very nice thing at time. It's a hard business review of your product."
Gordon says the HUNCH program has an impact（影响） on college admissions and practical life skills. "These kids are so absorbed in their studies that I just sit back. I don't teach." And that annoying bacteria? Gordon says his students are emailing daily with NASA engineers about the problem, readying a workable solution to test in space.
Imagine a child standing on a diving board four feet high and asking himself the question:“Should I jump? This is what motivation or the lack of it can do. Motivation and goal setting are the two sides of same coin. Like the child on the diving board, you will stay undecided.
More than that, how should you stay motivated to achieve the goal? First, you need to evaluate yourself , your values your strengths, your weaknesses, your achievements, your desires ,etc. Only then should your you're your goals
You also need to judge the quality and depth of your motivation. This is quite important, because it is directly related to your commitment. There are times when your heart is not in your work. So, slow down and think what you really want to do at that moment. Clarity（清晰）of thoughts can help you move forward.
Another way of setting realistic goals is to analyze your short and long term objectives, keeping in mind your beliefs, values and strengths. Remember that goals are flexible. They also need to be measurable. You must keep these points in mind while setting your goals.
Your personal circumstances are equally important. For example, you may want to be a Pilot but can't become one because your eyesight is not good enough.You should reassess your goals, and motivate yourself to set a fresh goal.
You will surely need to overcome some difficulties, some planned, but most unplanned. You cannot overcome them without ample motivation. Make sure that you plan for these difficulties at the time of setting your goals.
A. This can affect your work.
B. So how should you motivate yourself?
C. However, this should not discourage you.
D. So why should we try to set specific goals?
E. They can change according to circumstances.
F. Motivation is what you need most to do a good job.
G. Without motivation you can neither set a goal nor reach it
It's about 250 miles from the hills of west-central lowa to Ehlers' home in Minnesota. During the long trip home, following a weekend of hunting, Ehlers 1about the small dog he had seen 2 alongside the road. He had 3 to coax（哄）the dog to him but, frightened, it had 4.
Back home, Ehlers was troubled by that 5 dog. So, four days later, he called his friend Greg, and the two drove 6. After a long and careful 7. Greg saw, across a field, the dog moving 8 away. Ehlers eventually succeeded in coaxing the animal to him. Nervousness and fear were replaced with 9. It just started licking（舔）Ehlers' face.
A local farmer told them the dog sounded like one 10 as lost in the local paper. The ad had a 11 number for a town in southern Michigan. Ehlers 12 the number of Jeff and Lisa to tell them he had 13 their dog.
Jeff had 14 in lowa before Thanksgiving with his dog, Rosie, but the gun shots had scared the dog off. Jeff searched 15 for Rosie in the next four days.
Ehlers returned to Minnesotan, and then drove 100 miles to Minneapolis to put Rosie on a flight to Michigan. “It's good to know there's still someone out there who 16 enough to go to that kind of 17," says Lisa of Ehlers' rescue 18.
I figured whoever lost the dog was probably just as 19 to it as I am to my dogs,” says Ehlers. “If it had been my dog, I'd hope that somebody would be 20 to go that extra mile.”
A 90-year-old has been awarded“Woman Of The Year”for （be）Britain's oldest full-time employee-still working 40 hours a week. Now Irene Astbury works from 9am to 5pm daily at the pet shop in Macclesfield， she opened with her late husband Les. Her years of hard work have （final）been acknowledged after a customer nominated（提名）her to be Cheshire's Woman Of The Year.
Picking up her "Lifetime Achievement" award，proud Irene （declare） she had no plans （retire） from her 36-year-old business. Irene said," I don't see any reason to give up work. I love coming here and seeing my family and all the friends I （make） over the years. I work not because I have to, because I want to.”
Granddaughter Gayle Parks，31-who works alongside her in the family business-said it remained unknown as to who nominated Irene for the award. She said，"We don't have any idea who put grandma forward. When we got a call （say）she was short-listed，we thought it was joke. But then we got an official letter and we were blown away. We are so proud of her. It's (wonder）."
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Since I was a kid, I've considered different job I would like to do. First, I wanted to be a fireman, whose uniform looked so coolly. Then, when I was in the five grade, I wanted to be a teacher because I liked my English teacher too much. When I studied chemistry high school, I reconsidered my goal or decided to be a doctor. They were two reasons for the decision. One was that I was amazing at the fact that a sick person could feel much more better after seeing a doctor. And the other is that I wanted to help people in need.
⑴比赛信息；
⑵赛前准备；
⑶表达期待。
注意：
⑴词数100左右；
⑵可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
