1 . Utah is the second most wasteful states in the US. Everyone always complains about how much construction there is all the time— on campus you can’t walk ten steps without running into another pit— but no one seems to be doing anything about it. Every year the city has a surplus of money and they spent it on unneeded road construction. Instead, this money should be spent on developing Utah’s solar energy capabilities (能力).

People may think that solar power technology isn’t advanced enough to sustain (维持) an entire state year-round. However, Utah is one of the six states in the country getting more than enough sunlight to run completely on solar power every year according to Solar Nation. For reference, one might look at places similar to the Hotel at Oberlin in Ohio, a hotel remodeled in the summer of 2016 to run completely on solar power. Anywhere west of Ohio has no excuse for not using solar energy.

Many think it would be bad for the economy to switch to solar power because electrical workers would lose their jobs. But this isn’t necessarily true. They could transfer to solar companies. Considering how many panels (电池板，面板) would need to be built and installed (安装) and maintained, there’s plenty of work for electrical workers. Solar panel installation may be expensive at first, but as it stands currently, solar panels are expected to pay for themselves within 11 years of installation, saving solar panel owners up to $700 in electric bills per house in the first year.

Moreover, we, the humans of planet Earth, would never run out of solar energy. The sun will exist long after humanity goes. And while solar panels may be expensive, they cost the Earth much less than using coal and natural gas.

It’s bad enough that Utah is the most wasteful when it comes to the use of water. And the city is killing its citizens with air pollution. But when we have the physical capability of making changes that will ultimately save the environment and deepen our pocketbooks (财力、钱袋子), and we don’t make those changes, we’re actually lazy rather than being cautious.

2 . On one day my grandma died, I went for a walk to clear my mind. The small purse I carried with me was a gift from her. The bag only weighted several pounds but it felt like I was dragging heavy luggage.

As I was walking, I spotted Mary who gave me an excited hug. She asked how I was. “How are you” is a question that can turn meaningless or meaningful, depending on how you answer it. I considered going the meaningless route. Then I remembered that she is a friend from church. We once celebrated an activity together. Maybe I could lean on her for some comfort. I explained that my grandma died and I was feeling in bad shape emotionally.

Mary expressed kind regards. Then she asked the question everyone asks when you tell them someone died, “Were you two close?” It’s the main standard that determines the appropriate size someone’s sadness can take. The answer to this question depends on how someone defines closeness. I tend to feel close to people I can have heart-to-heart with. I nodded to Mary and said, “Yeah, we were.”

She nodded back, playing her role in the cultural script (剧本)we all know. Mary gathered information about the funeral arrangements, and then we parted. Seeing her was a catalyst (催化剂) to my quickly getting in touch with my sorrow. I cried loudly on the street directly.

Later that night I texted my friend Roger to tell him what had happened. I expected a text back with sympathy. Instead, the phone rang. Soon he was asking me what my favorite song was. While I hesitated, he started singing the hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.” He finished it and prayed for me over the phone. It really made me exhilarated. I felt that a heavy burden was removed. But I cried again because of the spiritual synchronization(同步). I didn’t share stories of my grandmother or try to explain my complicated emotions over the phone.

Then I realized that courtesy (客套话) is generally good practice, but it can’t compare to personalized, thoughtful communication. And that kind of pat statement really has no place if you want to make a real connection.

3 . I do think that a book can inspire ideas and ways of thinking that have the power to transform our lives. Here are some books to serve the purpose.

Thinking, Fast and slow

Daniel Kahneman is a Nobel Prize winner who has written an amazing book that dives into the mysterious world of our conscious and unconscious thinking patterns. By reading this book, you’ll gain a deeper understanding about how to make decisions and react to certain things in your life. Yes, this is a super thick book that seems challenging, but somehow the author makes it accessible and really fun to read.

The Power of Habit

Written by award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg, this book is an awesome mix of research, stories, and revelations(启示) about habits: how we form them, how we can change them, and how knowledge about human habits is transforming everything.

The Road Less Traveled

The first words in this classic and powerful book are: Life is difficult. Without hiding the true realities of life which is filled with conflicts, difficulties, and challenging decisions, M. Scott Peck guides us to a deeper level of self-understanding and creates a path we can follow to a fuller, more peaceful life.

The Power of Now

The key message of the book is simple and powerful: The way to true happiness is through learning to live in the now, without reliving the past or racing to the future. Eckhart Tolle helps us understand how our thoughts and emotions get in the way and what to do about it.

4 . Originally, I don’t think about getting older. Perhaps it’s because I like to keep busy and just don’t think about it. ________, sometimes something happens that makes me ________ my death and what lies ahead.

I used to be a radio broadcaster and recently I was ________ by the activity director at a senior citizen’s home near where I live. She told me there are a couple of former broadcasters who live in the home and they would really ________ a visit from someone with a ________ background who can trade stories with them about the good old days. I’m retired, and I have some free time so I said, “sure, I’d come for a visit or two.” That has developed a ________ in which I spend an afternoon each week ________ the old boys and helping them to ________ their happier and busier times.

One of them, it turns out, is ________ tied to an oxygen generating machine, can only ________ in a wheel-chair, and ________, has dementia(痴呆) and knows he is ________ losing his memory and ability to think clearly. My other new friend in the home is about ten years than I. He has cerebral palsy (大脑瘫痪) and is also ________ to a wheel-chair. Neither man can live ________ any more: they can’t drive a car, can’t prepare their own meals, and can’t plant a garden. But they’re being well ________ and they have television, people to serve their daily needs and workers at the home who try their best to keep them comfortable. They have family members who visit them ________ and now I guess they have me. It makes me consider what lies ahead, perhaps not for a number of years, perhaps tomorrow, I have no way of ________.

The thought of being dead doesn’t ________ me, for I’m in absolutely no hurry to get there. What worries me is the process of dying. I’m getting older but I’m still going strong and feeling ________. I go to visit the men in the senior’s home and sometimes I look ahead into the unknown. Life gets ________ in unexpected ways as one gets older.

6 . Readers have never had it so good. But publishers need to adapt better to the digital world.

During the next few weeks publishers will release a great number of books, pile them onto delivery lorries and fight to get them on the display tables of bookshops in the run-up to Christmas. It is an impressive display of competitive commercial activity. It is also increasingly pointless.

More quickly than almost anyone predicted, e-books are becoming popular quickly. Amazon, the biggest e-book retailer( 零售商), has lowered the price of its Kindle — e-readers to the point where people do not fear to take them to the beach. In America, the most advanced market, about one-fifth of the largest publishers’ sales are of e-books.

For readers, this is excellent. Amazon has successfully shortened distance by bringing a huge range of books to out-of-the-way places, and it is now fighting against time, by enabling readers to download books instantly. Moreover, huge choice and low prices are helping books hold their own on digital devices. For publishers, though, it is a dangerous time. Some of the publishers’ functions—packaging books and promoting them to shops—are becoming out of date.

Yet there are still important jobs for publishers.

The music and film industries have started to pack electronic with physical versions of their products—by, for instance, providing those who buy a DVD of a movie with a code to download it from the Internet. Publishers, similarly, should combine e-books with paper books.

They also need to become more efficient. In the digital age it is stupid to take months or even years to get a book to market. And if they are to distinguish their products from self-published dross( 糟粕), they must get better at choosing books, sharpening ideas and polishing copy. If publishers are to hold readers’ attention, they must tell a better story—and edit out all the spelling mistakes as well.

9 . I got addicted to cigarettes about 11 years ago. As a smoker, I certainly realizes the _________ the cigarettes are causing to my body. I used to be good at running and other sports, but smoking made my physical activity a great _________. It was not that I never thought of quitting but just the _________ of a cigarette would make me go weak at once. Then I _________ another cigarette and started my day.

For so many years I always felt unrested after a night’s _________. The cough was making my life _________. Over and over again, I was _________ asking myself about my own condition: the nicotine in cigarettes not only made my teeth brown, but also _________ my fingers and nails as well. I _________ myself, “Is all this worth it?” I didn’t get an answer.

It was my birthday’s eve and I was back home by 10 pm. Usual birthday calls from friends made me __________ till 1 am. Throughout the day I was thinking of giving myself something as a __________, but I couldn’t think of anything. Suddenly an idea __________ me. I came up with the plan of quitting smoking. This time the __________ was much stronger. I wanted to quit smoking so I can run and __________ my son during soccer practice and have more energy. Habitually I turned to the cigarette pack and it was __________, which was probably a hint(暗示). Quitting smoking is a long and painful process, but I worked hard to fight the __________ to smoke again.

Today it’s exactly 526 days__________ I gave up smoking. I feel much more energetic and I am regaining my __________ which I lost in the past 11 years. All I want to say is that strong willpower and determination really __________ a great difference. Quitting smoking is the best birthday gift I __________ for myself and it makes me feel happy and proud.