Top lists are lecturing people on everything from “100 places to visit” to “100 books to read”. Aren't you just tired of being told what to do with your time?

    Now you have a list to end all lists!

    Take a look at the following two examples from the list of “101 thins not to do”:

    Swim with Dolphins?

    Swimming with dolphins is one of the world's most profitable tourist activities. However, every dolphin will welcome having their busy, tiring day interrupted by tourists screaming pushing around them in the water. Worse yet, when dolphins get too near to the boats loaded tourists, they could get caught up in ropes and killed by propellers(螺旋桨).

    Here's a little secret. Dolphins look like smiling at you, but actually they're just opening mouths.

    Go to see the Mona Lisa?

    There must be something about the mysterious smile. The 6 million people who visit the lady in the Louvre every year can't all be wrong, after all. But they can be quite annoying, standing in front of you, holding up their cameras to prevent you from seeing anything. In fact, it is hard for you to see the painting clearly because you have to stay away from it for security reasons. After queuing for hours, many tourists can remain in front of the painting only for 15 seconds most.

    If the mysterious lady in the picture knew her fate, she wouldn't just be smiling, she'd be laughing.

    So, still long to see the Mona Lisa? If you want to find out more about the list, read 101 Things NOT to Do Before You Die. Visit www. not2dobeforeidie. co. uk and buy the book at a 20% discount.

    Why can't some people even get an inch of what they dream of becoming? Blame it on pure dreaming and lack of setting goals for achieving their dreams.

    Setting goals is very significant part of accomplishing and positive actions. It is like scaling (攀爬) a 200 feet construction and marking in the early hours on what feet you would like to reach at this specific period.

    People who set goals literally generate(形成) a map of their goal settings in life, marking where they should start, where to pause, where to study a bit, and where and when to end. Once this map comes into being, it allows the map drawer to check where he is in the scheme(安排) of things and whether or not he is making some planning that will take him closer to his goals.

    By setting goals, people will know how they are doing and what they should be doing to get their goals or dreams in life. They will know if they can relax or if they have to double their efforts when they are falling short of what is expected of them.

    Goal setting means a person is proactive in dealing with challenges that may affect his plans. Being proactive means one is able to outline possible difficulties that may happen as well as the solutions（解决方法）to these difficulties. By doing this, a person is not easily scared or defeated when challenges happen because he has already prepared for them. He knows they can happen and he has prepared a solution or strategy when that time comes.

    Setting goals will enable people to track their progress in whatever hard work they set out to do. It will help people become more confident in themselves and more motivated to get their plans.

    Can exercise during childhood protect you against memory loss many decades later? Exercise early in life seems to have lifelong benefits for the brain, in rats at least.

    “This is an animal study, but it shows that physical activity at a young age is very important—not just for physical development, but for the whole lifelong track of cognitive (认知的) development during ageing,” says Martin Wojtowicz of the University of Toronto, Canada. “In humans, it may delay the appearance of Alzheimer's symptoms (阿兹海默氏症), possibly to the point of preventing them.”

    Wojtowicz's team divided 80 young male rats into two equal groups, and placed running wheels in the cages of one group for a period of six weeks. Around four months later-when the rats had reached middle age-the team taught all the rats to connect an electric shock with being in a specific box. When placed in the box, they froze with fear.

    Two weeks later, the team tested the rats in three situations: exactly the same box in the same room, the same box with the room arranged differently, and a completely different box in a different room.

    The rats without access to a running wheel when they were young now froze the same percentage of times in each of these situations, suggesting they couldn't remember which one was dangerous. But those that had been able to run in their youth froze 40 to 50 percent less in both changed box settings.

    “The results suggest the amount of physical activity when we're young, at least for rats, has influence on brain and cognitive health-in the form of better memories-when we're older,” says Arthur Kramer of Northeastern University in Boston, who has found that, in humans, exercise promotes the growth of new brain cells.

    Austin Perine, a four-year-old boy, discovered that sympathy for the less fortunate can produce superhuman results.

    Once Austin's father, TJAustin, took Austin to the Firehouse Ministries, a local shelter that provides housing, food, and other services for homeless men. As they drove by the redbrick building, they saw a group of 25 homeless men standing on the street corner. "Dad, they look sad," Austin said. "Can we take them some food and make them smile?"

    That day, Austin used his allowance to buy each man a Burger King sandwich and handed the food out himself.

    Seeing what their presence meant to the men at the ministry, Austin and TJ returned the next week. After he returned every week for five weeks, word of Austin's acts of kindness spread through social media and national news outlets. Burger King jumped aboard, agreeing to donate $1,000 a month for an entire year toward the cause. Soon, churches and shelters across the country began inviting Austin to come and distribute food in other poor areas. Whereas before Austin and TJ could feed 25 to 50 people at a time, now, thanks to corporate and community support, they can feed 800 to 2,000 people at once.

    But Austin isn't just filling bellies. He's improving the lives of those he meets. On that first trip to Firehouse Ministries, TJ and Austin talked to a man named Raymont. The respect Austin gave 41-year-old Raymont touched the man. TJ helped Raymont collect all the credentials(资格) he needed to get a driver's license. The license helped Raymont get a job. And with money in the bank, he was able to rent his own apartment. All that was made possible because a little boy took the time to care.

It was my last class before summer break, and I was finishing up the first year of a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in poetry. Unsure if I deserved a 1 in the program, I worried I wasn't as2 as my peers. When the professor asked about our summer 3 , I panicked. I didn't want to appear idle (闲散的)，so without much 4 , I burst out "gardening". Surprisingly, my professor nodded and mentioned Emily Dickinson loved gardening. Emily Dickinson, a great American poet, studied plants as a 5 . But I was in my twenties and had no gardening 6 .

A few days later, I 7 some seedlings in a store. I thought I should get some. At least I could say I had 8 gardening. Wait, was that a jalapeno (墨西哥辣椒)? I 9 it up.

Over the summer, the plant grew, not big but 10 . I was proud. Maybe I didn't have 11 . But then I had to move out of my apartment for some reason. I 12 with my friends. It was December when I found my new apartment, and my jalapeno was suffering: its 13 had fallen off. I set it next to a window by the kitchen sink, and 14 for the best.

I 15 to work hard in school. Then spring came. My plant grew with new leaves. And it flowered when I 16 my graduate paper, a book of 17 , in May.

I was washing dishes one day when my professor called. "Your poems are strong..." he said. I'd done it! I went back to the dishes, but suddenly I found the flowers 18 my jalapeno were gone. Had I done something 19 ?  I looked closer. Where a flower had been, a tiny green fruit 20 through.