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.

    There exist cruel wars, fighting and sadness in the world today, so it's not only necessary, but also essential to have a good sense of humor just to help us go through difficult times in out lives. Putting a smile on someone's face when you know they are feeling depressed, as the saying goes, makes me feel good and warms my heart.

    How would you feel if you could not joke around with wife, husband, child, co-worker, neighbor, close friend, or even just someone that you are standing in line with at your corner store? I am always saying things that make others smile or laugh, even if I don't know the person I'm joking around with. My Grandma always found humor in everything she did, even if it was the hardest job anyone could imagine. This not only relieves stress in any situation, but also is a common manner to speak to others that are around you.

    I know of a few people that don't have a funny bone in their bodies, as they say. Everyone around them could be rolling on the floor after hearing a great joke and they would sit there without the slightest smile on their faces. They don't get the joke that makes others laugh. I am, busting a gut while they just sit there, looking at me as if I were from outer space. How can people not get a really funny joke?

    Laughing is essential to keep your stress levels under control. Without humor, we would find ourselves with a lot of psychological problems, or on a lot of medications to keep us from going crazy. There is too much sadness and bring a little light into our lives.

    Therefore, I believe our best medicine is to get together and tell some jokes and have some fun laughing together.

    Tears ran down from my eyes as I saw the essay my high school English teacher had just handed back. A big F was written on top. I was hopeless. I was stupid !My face burned with shame when my classmates called me stupid.

    “I'm the only one who doesn't know my ABCs!” I sobbed to Mom.

    “I'll help,” she promised.

    Everyday I sat with her, but to me, cat looked like cta and red was reb. Frustrated, I would return to my bedroom and draw, filling the paper with houses, restaurants and offices.

    “When I grow up, I want my own store,” I told Mom , pointing to my drawings.

    “That's great!” she said, “ but first you have to learn to read.”

Later, I was diagnosed with dyslexia (失读症). So Mom took me to a learning centre, where I was given reading exercises. But I still had a hard time. Finally, I graduated, but I was afraid of my reading skills.

    “I'll never get a job !”  I cried to Mom later again.

    “Don't focus on what you can't do,” she comforted, “ Concentrate on what you really can.”

    But what can I do? I wondered. Suddenly, I thought of the drawings I'd made as a child and my dream of having my own store. I enjoyed sales so much that over the next few years, I tried my hand at other businesses. Today, I watch over seven branches. We have 187 employees and $15 million in sales.

    While I'll never be what my teachers might have wanted, I am a success--on my own terms. The other day a student sent me a card, reading: You gave me so much confidence. I hope to be like you when I am big. Tears of joy filled my eyes. This was my A, and I smiled.

    Fireworks are exciting, but also hard to control. The Chinese artist Cai Guoqiang, though, has developed a way to harness the visual and physical power of fireworks to make art He recently used them to create a burning sculpture that stretched high into the sky. Guoqiang fittingly named the work Sky Ladder.

    Guoqiang built Sky Ladder by making a frame out of metal. He coated the frame with gunpowder, the main chemical material in fireworks.

    The artist tried one end of the frame to the ground and attached a large weather balloon to the other end. The balloon was filled with helium — a gas that is lighter than air. When released, the balloon floated upward, pulling the top of the ladder 500 meters into the sky. That's higher than the top of the Empire State Building.

    Guoqiang set fire to the bottom of the ladder, and the crackling（啪啪作响） flames raced skyward up the frame. The sculpture burned for two-and-a-half minutes before its flames began to die out from the bottom up.

    Dealing with explosive (炸药）is challenging, and conditions had to be perfect for Guoqiang to achieve his desired effect. He first attempted Sky Ladder in 1994, but bad weather prevented him from successfully completing the work. Guoqiang put Sky Ladder aside so that he could work on other projects, perhaps most famously the fireworks display that opened the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

    Finally, after two more failed attempts, Guoqiang successfully sent his flaming ladder skyward last year. He presented Sky Ladder in his hometown, a quiet fishing village near Huiyu Island, Quanzhou. He offered the work as a gift to his 100-year-old grandmother, other family members, his friends and his town.

    “Behind Sky Ladder lies a clear childhood dream of mine, "Guoqiang explains. “Despite all life's twists and turns, I have always been determined to realize it. The ladder rose toward the morning sun, carrying hope. For me, this not only means a return, but also the start of a new journey."

    Samuel Osmond is a 19­year­old boy student from Cornwall, England. He never studied the piano. However, he can play very difficult musical pieces by musicians such as Chopin and Beethoven just a few minutes after he hears them. He learns a piece of music by listening to it in parts. Then he thinks about the notes in his head. Two years ago, he played his first piece Moonlight Sonata (奏鸣曲) by Beethoven. He surprised everyone around him.

    Amazed that he remembered this long and difficult piece of music and played it perfectly, his teachers say Samuel is unbelievable. They say his ability is very rare, but Samuel doesn't even realize that what he can do is special. Samuel wanted to become a lawyer as it was the wish of his parents, but music teachers told him he should study music instead. Now, he studied law and music.

    Samuel can't understand why everyone is so surprised. "I grew up with music. My mother played the piano and my father played the guitar. About two years ago, I suddenly decided to start playing the piano, without being able to read music and without having any lessons. It comes easily to me—I hear the notes and can bear them in mind—each and every note." says Samuel.

    Recently, Samuel performed a piece during a special event at his college. The piece had more than a thousand notes. The audience was impressed by his amazing performance. He is now learning a piece that is so difficult that many professional pianists can't play it. Samuel says confidently, "It's all about super memory—I guess I have that gift."

    However, Samuel's ability to remember things doesn't stop with music. His family says that even when he was a young boy, Samuel heard someone read a story, and then he could retell the story word for word.

    Samuel is still only a teenager. He doesn't know what he wants to do in the future. For now, he is just happy to play beautiful music and continue his studies.

    A popular TV host has reportedly invested about US$ 740,000 in a project to research, preserve and promote the Hunan provincial dialect (方言). Chinese TV presenters are required to speak Mandarin, or Putonghua, as part of their work, but should dialects be allowed on air?

    Bcnu (China): TV and radio stations have the right to decide whether dialects or Mandarin will be used in their programs. The popularity of some dialects in some areas will not challenge the leading role of Mandarin in the whole country.

    Rick N (US): TV and radio broadcasters should take the lead in popularizing Mandarin. To require hosts to speak standard Mandarin is not to oppress (压制) dialects, but it only aims to restrict irresponsible use of language. I think it is unprofessional for some hosts particularly to imitate the pronunciation of dialects.

    Cooper (UK): Dialects are an important part of local culture and now many kids even don't know how to speak their dialects because of the main use of Mandarin around them. It would be a pity if future generations were unable to understand the local dialects. It would be a terrible break in cultural traditions.

    Steve (France): To attract viewers or make more money, some hosts casually use dialects. Demanding TV and radio programs use Mandarin is a move to limit strange and irresponsible use of language, whether it is Mandarin or other dialects. In this way, the decision is also a form of protection for dialects. Hearing standard Mandarin on TV and radio programs is also a basic right of audiences around the country.