Why is setting goals so {#blank#}1{#/blank#}（importance）? Because goals can help you do, be, and experience everything {#blank#}2{#/blank#} you want in life. Instead {#blank#}3{#/blank#} always letting life happen to you accidentally, goals allow yourself{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (make) your life happen in control. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (success) and happy people have set lots of goals to help them reach their aims. By {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (set) goals you can take control of your life. It's like having a map to show you {#blank#}7{#/blank#} you want to go.

    Winners in life always set goals and then follow{#blank#}8{#/blank#}. Winners decide what they want in life and then get there by making plans and setting goals. Unsuccessful people just let life happen by accident. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (goal) are not difficult to set, and they are also not difficult to reach. It is up to you to find out what your goals really are. It is you {#blank#}10{#/blank#} decide what to do and in what direction to aim your life.

    When Mr. Wang, a Chinese calligraphy(书法)master and painter, invited me to his studio, I got extremely{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (delight) . What a treat!

    His apartment doubles as his studio, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} he creates calligraphy works and paintings as well. The living room has a long desk with a collection of{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (brush) of varying sizes, two big ink pots and a pair of paper weights.

    Mr. Wang showed his latest work, a scroll(卷轴)of the Great Wall at Badaling {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (wind) its way along the steep hills, which {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (recognize) as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1987. The beauty of the seven-meter-long scroll painting was beyond {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (describe).

    He told me someone had offered a large amount of money for the painting, but he refused {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(part) with it as he wanted to donate to the National Museum.

After that, Mr. Wang invited me to practice calligraphy, and it was the first time that I had {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(true) experienced the beauty of the line. It was then{#blank#}9{#/blank#} I noticed Mr. Wang appeared to have a healthy body. I wondered if practicing calligraphy kept him so fit. Whether that is true, one thing is certain; as Mr. Wang put{#blank#}10{#/blank#}, "Only do one thing and do it well—that's the secret to success"

    As I write this, I'm sitting on a bus back to Santiago in Chile where I am working {#blank#}1{#/blank#} a writer. I've just spent the weekend in a city called La Serena north of Santiago. I was lucky enough to see the flowering desert, a natural scene that {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (occur) around every five years here in the Atacama Desert.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (follow) a particularly large amount of rainfall earlier, a(n) {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (vary) of flowers come into blossom. Bright purple flowers create {#blank#}5{#/blank#} unbelievably beautiful scene at the base of the surrounding mountains.

    {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (have) a look at this wonderful treasure of nature, we took a bus from La Serena to a nearby town and then rented a car to go to the desert. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} we saw did not disappoint us, and as expected it was even more fascinating than the pictures we had seen online. The bloom was particularly {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (impress) this year due to the strong presence of El Niño (a band of warm water in the Pacific Ocean that changes the temperatures and increases the rainfall in certain areas). The vast carpet of color {#blank#}9{#/blank#} spread into the distance towards the green hills was {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (simple) breathtaking and deserved a large amount of photos! A real reminder of the beauty our planet can provide.

Linqing City is connected to Beijing, over 400 kilometers away, through its tribute(贡品) bricks. Linqing tribute bricks, or Gong Bricks, were transported to the country's capital through the Grand Canal for the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (construct) of historical buildings like the Forbidden City. Local people call the type of brick a legend {#blank#}2{#/blank#} flows from the Grand Canal. This "legend" {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(list) as an example of national cultural heritage on June 14, 2008.

Linqing sits at the confluence (交汇处) of the Weihe River and the Grand Canal, making transportation very {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(convenience) .

During the Ming and Qing (1368-1912) dynasties, Linqing was a large important city {#blank#}5{#/blank#}a population of over one million. Linging tribute bricks earned their reputation during the Ming Dynasty, when they were {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(wide) used for imperial buildings. Apart from the transport links, the quality of the brick is one factor to make {#blank#}7{#/blank#}famous.

The "Lianhua" soil in Linging is {#blank#}8{#/blank#}ideal raw material for bricks. The city is located in the plain of the Yellow River. So when the Yellow River floods, there will always be a layer of fine sandy soil {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(cover) the local soil. Over time, a layer of sandy soil and a layer of clay will form an overlapping structure, known as "Lianhua". Linging tribute bricks {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(make) of this soil will not be out of shape easily.