【推荐1】Imagine a child standing on a diving board four feet high and asking himself the question: “Should I jump?” This is what motivation or the lack of it can do.

Motivation and goal setting are the two sides of the same coin.     1     Like the child on the diving board, you will stay undecided.

    2     More than that, how should you stay motivated to achieve the goal? First, you need to evaluate yourself, your values, your strengths, your weaknesses, your achievements, your desires, etc. Only then should you set your goals.

You also need to judge the quality and depth of your motivation. This is quite important, because it is directly related to your commitment. There are times when your heart is not in your work.     3     So, slow down and think what you really want to do at that moment. Clarity of thoughts can help you move forward.

Another way of setting realistic goals is to analyze your short and long term objectives, keeping in mind your beliefs, values and strengths. Remember that goals are flexible. They can change according to circumstances. They also need to be measurable. You must keep these points in mind while setting your goals.

Your personal circumstances are equally important. For example, you may want to be a Pilot but can’t become one because your eyesight is not good enough.     4     You should reassess your goals, and motivate yourself to set a fresh goal.

You will surely need to overcome some difficulties, some planned, but most unplanned. You cannot overcome them without ample motivation. Make sure that you plan for these difficulties at the time of setting your goals.

【推荐1】The more parents talk to their children, the faster those children’s vocabularies grow and the better their intelligence develops. Dr. Hart and Dr. Risley published their study in 1995.

They found a close relationship between the number of words a child’s parents had spoken to him by the time he was three and his academic success at the age of nine. At three, children born into professional families had heard 30 million more words than those from a poorly performed family. Besides, recent studies show that words should be spoken directly to a child, rather than simply heard in the home. Leaving children in front of the television does not have the same effect. Neither does letting them sit at the feet of academic parents while the grown-ups talk about Plato.

The effects can be seen directly in the brain. Babies are born with about 100 billion neurons more or less, and connections between these neurons form at an exponentially(以指数方式) rising rate in the early years of life. It is the pattern of these connections that determines how well the brain works, and what it learns. By the time a child is three years old, there will be about 1,000 trillion connections in his brain, and that child’ s experiences continuously determine which are strengthened and which decreased. This process—gradual and irreversible, has shaped the path of the child’s life.

Fortunately, there are tools that can help those silent parents. One such is a Language Environment Analysis (LENA) device. It is like a pedometer, but instead of recording users’ walking steps, this device keeps track of words by analyzing the speech children hear. Parents use it to monitor and improve their patterns of words, much as a pedometer-wearing couch potato might try to reach 10,000 steps a day. Plus, parents are taught to make the words they speak to their children more enriching. In this way parents can make sure of an enough input.

【推荐2】Shanghai, the first Chinese mainland city to carry out a compulsory garbage classification regulation in July, is using intellectual platforms that can count the amount of garbage residents dump（倒）to promote recycling.

A residential area in Shanghai's Baoshan district is using 10 sets of such smart bins. Through data shown on the screen, staff of the platform will know the amount of garbage collected and when and who dumped them. The smart bin can also help social workers. For example, for elderly people living alone, a social worker will go to their home to check if the elderly people failed to dump garbage.

The "green fortune can!'' issued in 2016 by Shanghai environmental authorities is the base of the big data platform. The card is meant to encourage daily garbage sorting and to build an eco-friendly way of life in the city, according to the city government's website. Residents can swipe （刷）the card after selecting the waste type on a screen above the smart bins, and the bin will open automatically. After the trash is dumped, residents will receive corresponding points which they could exchange for small gifts.

The city government said more than 7.28 million Shanghai families have joined the project, and 6.31 million cards have been distributed.   Residents and experts welcomed the use of high-tech equipment in garbage recycling, saying it is more convenient than expected.

But proper garbage handling and necessary construction should catch up to avoid such a good idea from becoming a formalism project, Luo Yameng, a Beijing-based urban-planning and eco-city expert, told the Global Times on Thursday.

In the future, the community's management company would also issue garbage bags attached with QR codes, which would make it convenient for management departments to track residents who break garbage recycling regulations.

The Global Times reporter found that similar measures have been applied in some areas in Beijing, which is drafting its own garbage recycling regulations.

【推荐3】The Internet has completely changed the workplace over the past three decades. Artificial Intelligence is now all set to do the same, and businesses that don't take advantage of the technology risk being left behind.

Global tech giants (巨头) like Amazon have been leading the change, and businesses of all sizes are now using the technology for employing and managing their staff.

Among them is L'Oreal. With about a million applicants for roughly 15,000 new positions each year, the company is using AI to hire.

“We really wanted to save time and focus more on quality, diversity and candidate experience. And AI solutions were the best way to go faster on these challenges, said Eva Azoulay, global vice-president of L'Oreal's Human Resources Department.

The company uses Mya, a chatbot, to save employers' time during the first stage of the process. It handles routine questions from candidates, and checks details such as availability and visa requirements. Should candidates make it to the next round, they’ll run into Seedlink, an AI software that scores applicants based on their answers to open-ended interview questions. These scores don't replace human judgment, said Azoulay, but they do pick out candidates who might not seem like obvious choices.

Early results have been promising. For one internship program, where 12,000 people apply for about 80 spots, employers claim they saved 200 hours of time while hiring the most diverse group to date.

Other businesses have gone beyond employment and are using AI to help manage employees. Some UK firms have started using Isaak, a system designed by the London-based company StatusToday, to track how many hours staff spend online and the number of emails they receive. London real estate agent JBrown has been using this system since March. CEO James Brown said it helps the firm understand employees' habits and prevent them from overworking. “It enables us to solve bottleneck problems and relieve overburdened employees,” he said.

Despite these examples of good practice, there is still a long way for AI to reach its full potential (潜力), and the technology comes with risks. Another AI danger could be its impact on jobs through automation (自动化). McKinsey predicts AI could add $13 trillion to the global economy by 2030, with early adopters doubling their cash flow over that period. But the demand for repetitive (重复的) or digitally-unskilled jobs could drop by around 10%, the consulting firm said in a 2018 report.

【推荐1】Layton Guenther recently took a break from work to talk about moving from a wealthy neighborhood near New York City to a farm on Long Island. “Farming----where I grew up----was a very unusual career choice，” said the 32-year -old American.”But everybody belongs to the land in their own way. None of us should feel separated from it.”

Guenther was brought up in a rich town outside New York， where most people never think about working on a farm. Today Guenther grows potatoes， pumpkins，wheat and other crops at Quail Hill， New York. She is one of a growing number of college-educated Americans in their 20s and 30s who are changing the face of organic farming.

In the United States organic farming is a growing industry. Some of the best-known organic farms on Long Island are operated by women. Women make up a little more than 37 percent of all organic farmers nationwide. They represent 36 percent of all commercial farmers. Experts predict women’s share in farming is likely to increase. One reason organic farmers are more popular is that their smaller size means less money is needed to support them. The average organic farm is around 141 hectares， compared to 178 hectares for a commercial farm.

These new young farmers chose organic farming because of their desire to have an influence on society.

Guenther said that the farmers meant to protect natural resources for future generation， to fight against climate change and to feed their community good and healthy food.

Although organic farming is growing quickly， it comes with high labor costs and at times smaller harvests than commercial farming. So it can be a difficult business for new farmers. “When I look now at the starting of the farm， it seems really audacious，”Guenther said.”But in that environment ，in2008， everyone had lost their jobs and there was no work. So it didn’t feel strange to start something new，” she said.

【推荐2】Raised in a motherless home, my father was extremely hard on us children. His attitude didn't soften as I grew into adulthood and went to college. I had to ride the bus whenever I came home. Though the bus stopped about two miles from home, Dad never met me, even in severe weather. If I grumbled, he'd say in his loudest father-voice, "That's what your legs are for!"

The walk didn't bother me as much as the fear of walking alone along the highway and country roads. I also felt less valued because my father didn't seem concerned about my safety. But that feeling was canceled one spring evening.

It had been a particularly difficult week at college after long hours in labs. I was eager for home. When the bus reached the stop, I stepped off and dragged my suitcase to begin the long journey home.

A row of hedge edged the driveway that climbed the hill to our house. Once I had turned off the highway to start the last lap of my journey, I always had a sense of relief to see the hedge because it meant that I was almost home. On that particular evening, the hedge had just come into view when I saw something gray moving along the top of the hedge, moving toward the house. Upon closer observation, I realized it was the top of my father's head. Then I knew, each time I came home, he had stood behind the hedge, watching, until he knew I had arrived safely. I swallowed hard against the tears. He did care, after all.

On later visits, that spot of gray became my watchtower. I could hardly wait until I was close enough to watch for its secret movement above the greenery. On reaching home, I would find my father sitting innocently in his chair. "So! My son, it's you!" he'd say, his face lengthening into pretended surprise.

I replied, "Yes, Dad, it's me. I'm home. "

【推荐3】For the past 40 years I’ve done the same thing-teaching. We know why kids drop out from school. It’s poverty, low attendance, or bad classmate influences. But above all is the value and importance of human connection, relationships.

A colleague said to me one time, “They don’t pay me to like the kids. They pay me to teach a lesson. That’s all Well, I said to her, “You know, kids don’t learn from people they don’t like. Your year is going to be long and boring, dear.”

I have had classes that were so low that I cried. I wondered, “how am I going to take this group in nine months from where they are to where they need to be?”And it was difficult. And so — I gave a quiz, 20 questions. A student missed 18. I put a “+2”on his paper and a big smiley face. He said, “Ms. Pierson, is this an F?” I said, “Because you got two right. You didn’t miss them all. And when we review this, won’t you do better?” He said, “Yes, madam, I can do better.”

You see, “-18” sucks (抽取) all the life out of you, “+2” said, “I am not all bad. ”

Can we stand to have more relationships? Of course not. And you know your toughest kids are never absent.

Teaching and learning should bring joy. Every child deserves a champion, and an adult who will never give up on them should believe they become the best that they can possibly be.