【推荐2】Happiness can be described as a positive mood and a pleasant state of mind. According to recent polls (民意调查), sixty to seventy percent of Americans consider themselves to be moderately happy and one in twenty persons feels very unhappy. Psychologists have been studying the factors that contribute to happiness. It is not predictable, nor is a person in an apparently ideal situation necessarily happy. The ideal situation may have little to do with his actual feelings.

A good education and income are usually considered necessary for happiness. Though both may contribute, they are only chief factors if the person is seriously under-educated or actually suffering from lack of physical needs.

The rich are not likely to be happier than the middle-income group or even those with very low incomes. People with college educations arc somewhat happier than those who did not graduate from high school, and it is believed that this is mainly because they have more opportunities to control their lives. Yet people with a high income and a college education may be less happy than those with the same income and no college education.

Poor health does not rule out happiness except for the severely disabled or those in pain. Learning to cope with a health problem can contribute to happiness. Those who have good relationship with other family members are happier than those who live alone. Love has a higher correlation with happiness than any other factors.

It should be noted that people quickly get used to what they have, and they are happiest when they feel they are increasing their level no matter where it stands at a given time.

Children whose parents where happily married have happier childhoods, but are not necessarily happier adult.

The best formula (准则) for happiness is to be able to develop AQ (Adversity Quotient that can be of great benefit when running into trouble), to have a personal involvement and commitment, and to develop self-confidence and self-esteem.

【推荐3】Richard is a very a successful businessman. It is common for him to work hard with a non-stop. He wasn’t aware that he might wear himself out or die an early death until he overslept one morning, which was a sort of alarm. And then what happened? He had a week’s leave during which time he read novels, listened to music and walked with his wife on a beach, which has enabled Richard to return to work again.

In our modern life, we have lost the rhythm between action and rest. Amazingly, within this world there is a universal but silly saying: “I am so busy.”

We say this to one another as if our tireless efforts, were a talent by nature and an ability to successfully deal with stress. The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others. To be unavailable to our friends and family, and to be unable to find time to relax — this has become the model of a successful life.

Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the guide telling us where to go, the food providing us with strength, the quiet giving us wisdom.

How have we allowed this to happen? I believe it is this: we have forgotten the Sabbath, the day of the week — for followers of some religions — for rest and praying. It is a day when we are not supposed to work, a time when we devote ourselves to enjoying and celebrating what is beautiful. It is a good time to bless our children and loved ones, give thanks, share meals, walk and sleep. It is a time for us to take a rest, to put our work aside, trusting that there are larger forces at work taking care of the world.

Rest is a spiritual and biological need; however, in our strong ambition to be successful and care for our many responsibilities, we may feel terribly guilty when we take time to rest. The Sabbath gives us permission to stop work. In fact, “Remember the Sabbath” is more than simply permission to rest; it is a rule to obey and a principle to follow.

【推荐1】Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family, and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck. I’m not going to say luck, talent, and circumstances don’t come into play because they do. Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence, and that’s just the reality of how life is.

However, to succeed in life, one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical. And, in addition to that, in order to get really good at something, one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practicing. To become great at certain things, it’ll require even more time, time that most people won’t put in.

This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don’t enjoy what you do, it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.

When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success, you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost. It’s sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent, but thinking that way does you no good, and there’s a huge chance that you’re wrong anyway.

Whatever you do, if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out, almost to the point of addiction, and over a long period of time. If you’re not willing to put in the time and work, don’t expect to receive any rewards. Consistent, hard work won’t guarantee you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.

【推荐2】Running is one of the most popular sports in the UK. But for many runners, the real reason we head out to beat the roads until our legs hurt is more intangible (无形的) than weight loss or fitness.

Many runners become interested in times. They try to break the 40-minute barrier for the 10K, or run under four hours for the marathon. Yet, really, these times are almost meaningless. And as soon as they are achieved, another target is thrown out almost immediately.

The times are only the carrots we put in front of ourselves. But why do we put them there in the first place? Nobody ever gives a wise answer. Deep down, we all know the answer. Running brings us joy. Watch small children when they are excited, at play, and mostly they can’t stop running.

As we run, we begin to sense that childish joy, which is born to live a wilder existence. As we run, the layers of responsibility and identity we have gathered in our lives, father, mother, lawyer, teacher, all fall away, leaving us with the raw human being.

If we push on, running harder, deeper into the loneliness, further away from the world and the structure of our lives, we begin to feel strangely excited, separated yet at the same time connected, to ourselves. With nothing but our own two legs moving us, we begin to get a sense of who, or what, we really are. After a long run, everything seems right in the world. Everything is at peace. To experience this is a powerful feeling, strong enough to have us coming back, again and again, for more.

【推荐3】Some people say that city living in the 21st century is stressful and offers no advantages, but I don’t agree with them completely.

With the development of high-tech and the improvement of living qualities, more and more people crowded into the city, which leads to the uncontrollable urbanization(城市化). Because of this, some of the largest cities must be fairly oppressive(压抑的) places in which to live if you are short of money or unemployed. However, for those with much income, a city provides colourful environment which enables people to enjoy their modern life. In that case, I believe the advantages of urban living far outweigh its shortcomings.

Regarding shopping, as for me, rather than click on the Internet to get what I want, I prefer to window-shop. All kinds of shopping malls and supermarkets located in the city centre really content me. What’s more, a large city’s service even covers numbers of the surrounding towns and benefits many people.

In terms of entertainment, city residents are usually spoiled for choice, from amusement park to sport stadium, whoever you are will find exactly what you need. Maybe going to a concert tonight and visiting museums tomorrow. The city always contains various activities and full of energy.

The city also provides better opportunities with so many choices and challenges. Cities with universities offer high-standard education so that graduates from these places always get ideal jobs with considerable salary. Every day in the business district, you can see a fierce competition among those large companies, while there are exactly places that may give birth to talents.

Many people may complain about the traffic jam or pollution in the city, but I think with some useful measures to take, our city will be more habitable rather than stressful.