A speech is a wonderful opportunity to inform,persuade or entertain.The best speeches often take on a combination of all three of these components（组成部分）.However,before you can go about the writing of a great speech,it is important to set goals.Goals keep you,your speech and your audience focused.

What a goal is

    In the context of a speech,a goal is the purpose of the speech,and what it hopes to accomplish.For example,the goal of a eulogy（颂歌）might be to celebrate the life of a loved one.The goal of a speech at a political gathering would be to inform the crowd about the political position of a candidate and persuade them to vote and campaign for the candidate in question.

    Why a goal is important

    Without a goal,a speech is without direction.The goal informs the structure and content of the speech.For example,if a speech's goal is to convince people that smoking is bad for them,the speech will be structured with persuasive arguments to back up the goal.A speech with a goal of informing audience will keep the information fair and factual.

    A goal is incredibly important to the speech's ability to connect with an audience.If the speaker is unaware of the goal of the speech,the audience will likely be unaware as well.This severely reduces the effectiveness of the message.

    Besides informing the audience of the content and structure,a speech's goal drives the speaker to greater heights. If a speaker is asked to speak on a specific subject but never establishes the goal,they won't know where to start in the research,organizing and writing of the speech.

    If you have been charged with delivering a speech,establishing a goal can seem difficult at first.There are several things to take into consideration.First,think about who you will be speaking to.The demographic（人口统计）of your audience will likely determine whether you will be able to persuade them or whether they will be able to sit through（一直坐到……结束）.Second,think about the topic itself.If the topic is something controversial（有争议的）,it may worth your while to consider an informative approach to present both sides of the issue.Finally,consider your resources.A speech with an informative or persuasive goal usually requires a great deal of research,and sometimes takes more time to write.

    When people ask me to name typical British dishes, I have, however, struggled to think of an answer. Yes, we do have our own national dishes. We do have fish and chips, and we have other dishes like roast dinner and shepherd's pie. But how much do we actually eat them?

    Fish and chips, is made up of battered（绞碎的）fish and chips,which is often accompanied by a thick paste（酱）. The majority of British people really do love this dish but it is not something that we would eat,say,on a weekly basis.It's also not usually something that we would cook at home.The British people associate this dish with the seaside and it's something that will usually be eaten on a day trip there,bought from a takeaway fish and chip shop.

    Another favourite British dish is roast dinner.This is made up of roast meat,usually chicken or beef, accompanied by roast vegetables and a meat sauce called gravy（肉汁）.It is usually eaten on a Sunday,perhaps for a special family dinner.It can either be cooked at home or eaten in a traditional pub.We also eat a more elaborate version of this for our Christmas dinner.

    Although we do have our traditional dishes,our diet has been greatly influenced by other countries.You can find a wide range of international foods in the supermarket or varieties of different restaurants on our high streets.A famous saying amongst British people is that our national dish is now chicken tikka masala,a dish which is heavily influenced by Indian cuisine.

    Don't expect to be served a traditional dish if you ever get invited for dinner at a British family's home!

    These days having a best friend seems so important to girls. However I have learned that having one best friend is not the way to go. It's so much better to have many great friends.

    As I was coming into Middle School, I was really excited because my friend Jennifer was going to be in the same Middle School! At first things were great, she introduced me to her friend Amy and we had lots of fun together. Then things started to change. Jennifer was very controlling: I couldn't make new friends, and pretty soon being Jennifer's friend was a struggle.

    Jennifer wanted to be the "leader" of our little group. Amy and I were never partners with each other in class projects or gym; it was always, "Who gets the privilege（特权） of being Jennifer's partner." Amy and I both wanted to be Jennifer's number one.

    I always waited for Jennifer and Amy after classes. They chatted by Jennifer's desk as Jennifer packed her books up and I waited by the door. Sometimes when they left, they'd walk right past me. No "Thanks for waiting." No "Sorry we took so long." It was as if they couldn't even see me.

    After months of living through school this way, I had really changed. I was moody, depressed, lonely. I spent lots of days trying not to cry, I felt so left out.

    Finally, near the very end of the school year, I was so incredibly sick of having to battle for friendship. I stopped sitting with Jennifer at lunch and stopped waiting for her after class.

    It was tough at first, but now, I have tons of friends. We have fun and happy times together and I love them all to bits. It amazes me how easy our friendship is. There's no struggling to be on top. I wish Jennifer could understand. Maybe one day she'll look back at what happened and she'll change, but even though I lost a friend, I am a happier person.

    Traveling abroad for leisure is becoming more and more popular for Chinese. The UK is high up in the list of places that the Chinese want to visit. There is a sense of mystery about the UK: it's often the images of England's green parks, countryside and Victorian houses that people point to as an alternative to polluted, overcrowded cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou.

    The capital is viewed as modern and dynamic, while being filled deep with history. When asked what other images are thought of by the UK, the reply is often "the Queen, tea and Oxbridge". So what's stopping them actually coming? Sebastian Wood, the British ambassador in Beijing, has described the UK as a "fortress", and while this is perhaps an exaggeration (夸张), Britain does have a reputation as a country that is harder to access.

    The main problem for Chinese tourists is obvious. Although visa applications are now completed online, visitors are still required to visit one of 12 UK centers across the country for a face-to-face interview and fingerprinting. If you don't live near one of these centers already, you'd have to travel some distance to get there.

    Another problem is also to be mentioned. If travelers from China visit the UK, they also want to cover as much ground as possible. But the UK is not included in the Schengen visa, which allows access to a host of 26 European countries such as France and Germany. So it makes the former seem less worth it.

    There is also the issue of cost:￡47 for a Schengen visa, ￡82 for the UK. On top of this, the UK is viewed as stricter in its handling of visas compared with the rest of Europe, fed by urban legends of rejected applications. In the end, the decision comes down to one question: Is Britain worth a visit?

    It is made from grapes grown without pesticides (杀虫剂) and chemicals, is kind to the environment and rarely causes hangovers (宿醉). Sales of organic(有机的) wine are booming in the UK.

    According to the organic food and farming group Soil Association, sales of organic beers, wines and spirits rose by 14.3% last year to reach nearly ￡6 million, driven by the demand from consumers who are increasingly seeking “natural” food.

    “It seems that people are rediscovering their link with the environment through organic food. Organic wines also taste better, perhaps due to less use of man-made chemicals.” said Finn Cottle of Soil Association. As well as the benefits of producing grapes without using pesticides, organic wine also contains less sulphur dioxide (二氧化硫), which can contribute towards hangovers.

    Supermarkets are increasing supplies on their shelves to meet consumer demand, while the switch to online shopping has also helped, as people are more easily able to find what they are looking for. Vintage Roots is now one of the UK's biggest online shops of organic wine, while Ocado provides more than 100 different organic wines and Daylesford, best-known for its organic vegetable boxes, has branched out into organic wine and spirits.

    The discount supermarket Aldi is set to start its first collection of so-called “green” wines this week, offering eight wines with organic certificates. Aldi expects the wines to appeal to the young shoppers who are increasingly concerned about the environmental influence of the produce that they are buying and consuming.

    English organic wine producer Oxney Estate's Noir Rosé recently won the Waitrose prize for the most outstanding rosé wine at the competition. A spokeswoman for Waitrose said:“Organic wine is a growing trend globally and we have seen sales increase by 16% in the last year”.

    Sparrow is a fast－food chain with 200 restaurants. Some years ago，the group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company. Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining，the chain was generally in an unhealthy state. With more and more fast－food concepts reaching the market，the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention. And to make matters worse，its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required.

    Sparrow failed to grow for another two years until a new CEO，Carl Pearson，decided to build up its market share. He did a survey，which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain，while customers of other fast－food chains were unwilling to turn away from them. Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign.

    Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand. The chain's owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy's restaurants. Pearson resisted，arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun. Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time. Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success，rather than customers' spending power. Finally, the owner accepted his idea.

    The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the fast－food industry. The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original songs performed by a variety of stars. Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product，the intention was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers.

    Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image. For example，he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover(营业额).

    These efforts paid off，and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast－food chains in the regions where it operated.