Time for a Brainstorm

    A brainstorm is a session where a small group of people come together to solve a problem．People voice spontaneous ideas, sometimes just shouting , and a note-taker writes them all down．{#blank#}1{#/blank#}By getting different ideas out there, ideas are said to bounce off each other and even can help solve the problem at hand．Brainstorming is often a group exercise but individuals can also conduct personal brainstorms．

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}He defined it as using the brain to storm a creative problem and do so in commando (突击队）fashion，with each stormer attacking the same objective．According to him,, it was easier to tone down a wild idea than think up a new one．He placed importance on the collection of as many ideas as possible and dismissed scientific thinking．

    Brainstorming has become one of the most popular ways to solve problems and hold discussion in schools and businesses．Many students brainstorm for a group assignment or even for a personal essay． Sarah Grace, 24, is an Australian marketing analyst and uses brainstorming during all her creative duties． She thinks brainstorming is the best way to work as a team．The sessions get everyone on the same page，everyone moving together and with a clear understanding about the foundations of an event or idea．{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

However, a big problem with brainstorming is creating a mess that leads people further away from a solution．{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you don't have a strong moderator or leader of the brainstorm, can go really off track，and people just start discussing something totally different． Brainstorming can sometimes confuse the human brain． {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you brainstorm too much and your page is filled up with all the messy links, you can paint yourself into a bit of comer and get trapped with ideas． You need to move past brainstorming as soon as you have something workable．

A．The ideas can be smart，strange or crazy．

B．It is caused by a lack of direction from a leader．

C．Brainstorming really helps her organize her thoughts．

D．Brainstorming really is the best way to build team spirit．

E．It can open too many doors and not suggest a clear direction．

F．Brainstorms were popularized in the 1940s by American advertising boss Alex Osborn．．

G．They can be words, phrases, paragraphs and anything that can help answer the question．

    Goals are the guides all through our life. We all have goals that we are moving towards and making a great effort to achieve. This is a good thing. Or can it be bad? How many of us never reach our goals and yet we have tried so hard and really thought about nothing else? I believe the mistake most of us make is that we do not focus on our present situation.

    Let me explain. Most of us see our present situation as a stepping stone that we use simply as a means of reaching our final destination. We don't take time to truly appreciate where we are today and all the great things we already have in our lives. We should focus our attention on the journey and not on the destination, or we will miss the beautiful scenery along the way.

    Let's use our job as an example. Now most of us want a promotion. We have plans to become the manager or general manager in our companies. Unfortunately, most of us will never reach the goal, but will watch others achieve our goal instead.

    What we should be doing is focusing on the job we are currently in now. Forget where we want to get to and just focus on the present. You see, what we can control is our performance in our current job. We can decide to be the best we possibly can in our current job. Now this may mean further education to have the skills we currently do not have. It may mean working harder to produce better results than our colleagues. It could simply be a change of attitude, such as stopping complaining and becoming a more devoted and supportive employee. By doing our current job to the best of our abilities, we in fact give ourselves the best chance of promotion.

    So the best thing for all of us to do to achieve our goals is to just focus on what we have and where we are now. Do the best and be the best we possibly can in our current situations, and we will give ourselves the very best chance of reaching our goals in the future. We have heard the old sayings and they are true: “Rome wasn't built in a day.”, “Patience is a virtue”, and so on.

Have patience, have appreciation of what we already have, and take time to help ourselves be the very best we can. Do these things and we will all reach our goals, but more importantly, we will enjoy our life every day.

How to improve vocabulary fast

    Your vocabulary refers to the words in a language you are familiar with. We should learn some ways to expand it.

    Read every day. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Choose reading material that is slightly above your level and keep a dictionary with you to look up words you do not know.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. If you do not meet with an unfamiliar word in your daily reading, use your dictionary to search for one.

    Learn the correct definition and pronunciation for each new word. Pronunciation is as important as definition because in order to add a word to your active vocabulary, you must be able to use it in speech.

    Elaborate (详尽阐述) on the meaning of the word. If you have just learned the word “stubborn”, think about the neighbour who will not lend you his car. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Use your new word in speech and in writing. E-mail your sister about how your cat is stubborn about sleeping on your pillow. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. But the more you use it, the more fluent you will become in its use. Soon it will be a regular part of your active vocabulary.

    Tell everyone you are trying to increase your vocabulary. Encourage them to ask you what your latest word is. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    The more you explain the meaning of a word to someone, the more likely you are to remember it.

A. The vocabulary can be increased.

B. Find a new word every day.

C. Or let them ask for the definition of a new word you have used.

D. The more often you read, the faster your vocabulary can grow.

E. The first time you use a new word in speech it may seem strange.

F. Imagine him shaking his head, and think of him as “stubborn in his refusal”.

G. Your vocabulary contains the words you understand.

    Have you ever kept your eyes groundward while otherwise presenting yourself well at a job interview? People who do often wonder why they fail to get the job despite having made full preparations and taken into consideration every possible interview question. To a large degree, the problem is not about your verbal preparation but rather your body language at an interview, Preparing your body language for an interview is crucial (至关重要的)，because it has various meanings in different cultures.

    And how does the language of gestures vary between Chinese and Western society? Instead of examining the theory, let's focus on handshake, the most practical gesture that easily escapes our attention. Patti Wood once said, “Most of the hiring decisions are made in the first 10 seconds of an interview.” The way you shake the interviewer's hand could create the first impression you make. A weak handshake implies lack of confidence. But is it wise to use a powerful handshake? It depends. This would not be a problem if you were shaking hands with a Westerner as they appreciate a firm handshake. But for Asian people a gentler handshake is better, as an over-powerful grip might seem offensive.

    Hand gestures are another major difference. Western prospective employers are likely to appreciate interviewees who use their hands expressively, and to assume that those who keep their hands hidden are either distrustful or lacking in confidence. The opposite applies in Asia. Be sure, therefore, to keep your hand gestures to a minimum at interviews with local companies in China.

    There are, apart from these two differences, other elements of body language that could ruin your interview wherever you are. You should make eye contact with your interviewer. That doesn't mean you should glare directly into the interviewer's eyes. The best point of focus would be a little lower than the middle point. Secondly, you shouldn't touch your nose, lips or forehead. This tells the interviewer that you are either extremely nervous or lying. Lastly, never jiggle (抖动)your legs or fold your arms. Leg jiggling delivers clearly the message that you feel uneasy and want to escape as quickly as possible. Likewise, crossing your arms implies that you are either defensive or bored.

    A research entitled “Non-Verbal Clues in Job Interviews” found that interviewers spotted a high connection between motivation, social skills and employment. Job seekers hence communicate their motivation and social skills through their body language. This crucial factor determines your fate in any job interview, which is why I cannot overemphasize (过分强调)the significance of body language and gestures. If you now recall your last failed interview, perhaps it is easier to understand why you didn't get the job.

    In the 19th century, millions of European went to the USA because they wanted to find a better life. Many of them couldn't find work in cities like New York. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The people, called settlers, travelled west through the mountains on the Oregon Trail.

    Some of these people hoped to find gold in California. The journey sometimes took more than one year. There are a lot of films, called Westerns, about the settlers on the trail. In most of the film, we see the Native Americans (American Indians) attacking the settlers, and the "Indians" killing many white people.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In fact, most of them were very helpful to the settlers.

    It is true that the settlers' journey was extremely difficult. Many of them walked 3, 200 kilometers, the whole length of the trail. They had wagons(马车), but the wagons were often too full, so people could not travel in them. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The people were very poor and many did not even have shoes-they walked the whole trail barefoot in extremely cold temperature.

    More than 50, 000 people, including many women and children, died on the trail. A lot of people died from illnesses like cholera, because the drinking water wasn't clean. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Many people died under the wheels of wagons, for example, and from accidental gunshots.

A. They hoped they could make more money.

B. So they left and went to find farmland in the west.

C. Many parents also had to carry their small children.

D. But the truth is that the native Americans were not the biggest problem for the settlers.

E. Many of them lost their home.

F. There were also a lot of accidents.

    I returned to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, after college graduation. I had been there before my mother became a minister.

    Two weeks later, I told my mother I was bored. She said, "Here're the car keys. Go and buy some fruit." Delighted, I jumped into the car and speeded off.

 Seeing me or rather my car, a boy quickly ran up to me, eager to sell his bananas and nuts. "Banana 300 naira. Nuts 200 naira!" I bargained him down to 200 total for the fruit and nuts. When he agreed, I handed him a 500 naira note. He didn't have change, so I told him not to worry. He said thanks and smiled a row of perfect teeth.

   When, two weeks later, I ran into this same boy, I was more aware of my position in Nigerian society where it wasn't that uncommon to see a little boy who should have been in school selling fruit in the burning sun. My parents had raised me to be aware of the advantage we had been afforded and the responsibility it brought to us.

    "What's up?" I asked him. "I…I don't have money to buy books." I took out two 500 naira notes. He looked around nervously before taking the money. One thousand naira means a lot to a family that makes only 50,000 each year.

    The next morning, an officer told me, "In this place, when you give a little, people think you're a fountain of chance." Possibly it's right, but this happens everywhere in the world. I wondered if my little friend had actually used the money for books.

    After six months' work in northern Nigeria, I returned and saw him again standing on the road.

    "Are you in school now?" I asked.

    He nodded.

    A silence fell as we looked at each other, and then I realized what he wanted. I held out a 500 naira note. "Take this." He shook his head fiercely and stepped back as if hurt. "What's wrong? I asked. "It's a gift."

    Shaking his head again, he handed me a basket of bananas and nuts before he said, "I've been waiting to give these to you."