1 . Problem-solving skills

We face problems in our everyday life.     1     Don’t worry. The following tips may help you to solve problems.

First of all, it is important to know and understand the problem clearly. Knowing the problem means solving half the problem itself. Questions like why, what, how, when, where and who will take you to the root cause of the problem.

Analyzing the problem will give you time to think of a proper solution. You can use various tools to analyze the problem.     2    

Planning a strategy will help you waste less energy and time in trying all the solutions.

    3     In this way you can rule out the strategy that you don’t find worthy to apply.

Leave out the information that is not required for the solving of the problem. You need to be accurate with the details. Keeping the irrelevant (不相关的) information usually won’t simplify the problem as we tend to overlook the relevant information.

Carrying out the solution in a correct way to get the expected result is important while solving a problem. You need to be creative while carrying out a solution just in case some other problem arises while applying the solution.     5    

Solving a problem is easy if you understand the problem in the first place. By analyzing the problem, planning a strategy, using the best solution, and carrying out the solution in the best method, you will solve your problem smoothly.

2 . Ma Long, born in Anshan, Liaoning, the “home of table tennis”, was sent by his father to practise table tennis when he was 5 years old, and he went to Shenyang at the age of 11. At 15, Ma Long joined the national team. Although he was the least talkative boy of the players, his perseverance (坚持不懈) was as great as his overall strength in table tennis. In 2006, at 18, Ma Long, together with his teammates, won a team world championship.

His daily routine was a two-point line between the dormitory and the training hall, and he was the first to arrive and the last to leave on a daily basis. He had been doing so for ten years. His coach Liu Guoliang once said, “I went to the table tennis hall on a Sunday morning for an unannounced inspection (突击检查) to see how many players were training on Sunday. Only one person in the men’s first team was there. A genius (天才) is not your fear, but your fear is that a genius works harder than you do.” Such a genius is Ma Long.

However, after joining the team for nearly a decade, he suffered various types of failure. At that time, Zhang Jike, another top player, returned to the national team. From then on, Zhang was so invincible that he achieved the personal Grand Slam (大满贯) within only 445 days. Seeing Zhang’s achievements, Ma Long, at the lowest point, had the idea of retiring. But he was unwilling to just “disappear”.

Then came the Suzhou 2015 World Championship, Ma Long crowned his career, winning the singles champion.

3 . I love travelling, but it hasn’t always been my passion. In my first year of university, I started to travel during the holiday. During the Christmas holiday I went to Paris, and during the spring vacation, I visited Athens and various cities in Italy. I was very excited because this was the first time I had travelled abroad with just my friends. This desire to travel started off simply as a way to have something to look forward to after exams, but I soon discovered how important it is to travel.

On my travels I have had the opportunity where I not only experience new and exciting cultures through the art, history, language and food, but also communicate with people who have different views on life. Travelling is a learning experience for both yourself and the people you meet. Some people I met during my travels had never heard of Gambia and it was very delightful to share my African roots with them. When you travel you will meet people who have different cultural backgrounds and as a result, sometimes your own ideas and opinions might be challenged. It’s important to learn to see things from other people’s perspectives (视角) and challenge your own.

This is how I realized that travelling is the realization of home. When you travel you can see a different setting, a different language and a different way of living.

Travelling is truly an enriching experience and I am always excited about the discoveries that wait for me in my next adventure!

4 . Working on your adventure list? These national park treasures which turn favorites during the harvest time should be on it.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

33, 000 acres of forests wait between Cleveland and Akron, all along the snaking Cuyahoga River. The park will delight you with plenty of outdoor activities suiting every interest, but do not climb over the fenced areas, rocks, or Brandywine Falls. Now the red maple trees will be visually on fire, which you can enjoy from the comfort of the tourist railway—Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Extending some 160 miles along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, this series of parks includes a historic building, untouched barrier islands, and sugar-white beaches. Don’t miss the Fort Pickens area, which is a perfect spot to observe wild animals living in the scenic natural environment. With an average high of 79°F and a low of 60°F, the fall weather here is exceptional.

Voyageurs National Park

Yellow and red leaves in fall will catch your eyes, contrasting with this parks’ glassy waters. In the Land of 10, 000 Lakes, there are no roads in the park, so visitors use boats to cross this remote 218, 000-acre park. Some 100+ bird species, even the rare ones, pass through the park, so keep an eye out for them.

6 . J.K. Rowling, the Harry Potter’s author, has signed a deal with Little Brown Company to publish her first ever novel for adults, which is set to become one of the most anticipated (被期待的) books in years.

The deal means that Rowling’s long-standing relationship with Bloomsbury, the London-based publisher that launched (发行) the Harry Potter books, has come to an end, at least in terms of new works by the author.

Rowling is keeping her fans guessing about the characters and plot of her new book. She only said that the new novel will be nothing like the Harry Potter series, which was sold over 30 million copies in the UK alone. She thought that with the move from children’s to adult fiction, a switch to a new publisher seemed like a natural and reasonable step.

She said, “Although I’ve enjoyed writing it every bit as much, this book will be very different from the Harry Potter series. The freedom to explore a new field is a gift that Harry’s success has brought me.”

Ian Rankin, the Edinburgh-based author whose highly-successful detective novels are also set in the city, suggested Rowling’s book will be a crime novel.

“Wouldn’t it be funny if J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults turned out to be a crime story set in Edinburgh?” he said. Industry insiders guessed that the deal is worth more than £5 million and the new book is expected to come out later this year.

A spokesman said, “J.K. Rowling’s audience is vast and her position is unique. Harry Potter books were a global success and her fans are very loyal. Children that were eight, nine, or ten when the books first came out in the 1990s are now in their 20s. Plenty of adults, loved the books regardless of whether they had children, so the potential market for her is huge.”

7 . Special Museums You May Like

Momofuku first created ins tant noodles in 1958. In 1971, after a visit to America, he went a step further and created Cup Noodles. When he opened his museum in 1999, he filled it with over 800 cups of noodles, as well as fun noodle activities and a kitchen. Here you can also see a cool model of the work shed (工棚) where Chicken Ramen, Momo’s first ins tant noodle dish was invented.

Located beneath the water’s surface in the Canun National Marine Park, this museum became an instant hit with tourists and divers when it opened in 2010. To get a good look at the 500 sculptures in the museum, you have to first get into your swimming suits and bring a diving kit with you!

If you love the world of secrets, spies, missions and mystery, then get yourself over to this Washington museum fast. Opened in 2022, this museum has displays ranging from amazing tools to hidden cameras. Here you can also hear of real-life spies. And the museum’s Operation Secret Sleepover even allows groups of kids to stay the night and receive top-secret spy training.

This museum was opened in 1992. Here visitors are treated to a historical tour of toilets, of all things! Taking in versions of the toilet from ancient, medieval and modern times, you get to see how things have progressed from holes in the ground to tech-toilets of the future!

9 . Millions of people pass through the gates of Disney’s entertainment parks in California, Florida and Japan each year. What makes these places an almost universal attraction? What makes foreign kings and queens and other important people want to visit these Disney parks? Well, one reason is the way they’re treated once they get there. The people at Disney go out of their way to serve their “guests” as they prefer to call them and to see that they enjoy themselves.

All new employees, from vice presidents to part-time workers, begin their employment by attending Disney University and taking “Traditions I”. Here, they learn about the company’s history, how it is managed and why it is successful. They are shown how each department relates to the whole. All employees are shown how their part is important in making the park a success.

After passing “Traditions I”, the employees go on to more specialised training for their specific jobs. No detail is missed. A simple job like taking tickets requires four to eight hours of training a day. When one ticket taker was asked why it took so much training for such a simple, ordinary job, he replied, “What happens if someone wants to know where the restrooms are, when the parade starts or what bus to take back to the campgrounds? We need to know the answers or where to get them quickly. Our constant aim is to help our guests enjoy the party.” Even Disney’s managers get involved in the daily management of the park. Every year, the managers leave their desks and business suits and put on special service clothes. For a full week, the bosses sell hot dogs or ice cream, take tickets or drive the monorail and take up any of the 100 jobs that make the entertainment park come alive. The managers agree that this week helps them to see the company’s goals more clearly.

All these efforts to serve the public well have made Walt Disney Productions famous. Disney is considered by many as the best mass service provider in America or the world. As one long time business observer once said, “How Disney treats people,communicates with them, rewards them, is in my view the very reason for its success. I have watched, very carefully and with great respect and admiration, the theory and practice of selling satisfaction and serving millions of people on a daily basis, successfully. It is what Disney does best.”

10 . Boston University was always my dream，but when it came to making the decision，I had to be sure that I was confident in my choice. Boston University drew me in for several reasons—its perfect location in the heart of Boston，its strong education programs，and the comfortable community. One special thing that set Boston University apart from my other college options was that I could be placed in the classroom to experience teaching in my freshman year. I had wanted to be a teacher for as long as I could remember，after all.

After just six short weeks,I was absolutely confident that I made the right choice to attend Boston University. At Boston University,I attended an education program—ED 100. Each Wednesday，I went to Bowman Elementary School to help in a fifth grade classroom.

Although I was a secondary education major,working with fifth graders was very memorable. One of my weekly tasks was to lead a reading group of about five students. It was tiring，but I fully enjoyed getting to know their strengths (长处) and a little bit about each student apart from their studies.

As the weeks went on，I found myself further involved in (参与) more classroom activities，often helping students one by one or in small groups. The students never stopped amazing me—they were always ready to take part in class activities and share their ideas. For each class，I usually spent a long time preparing it. I also loved learning from other teachers，and taking note of their excellent teaching skills，some of which I hoped to use in my own classroom.

The program—ED 100 has even further confirmed (确认) my desire to become an educator. I have passion to work with children. I can’t wait to have my own classroom of students. I’m so happy that I’ve made the right decision to choose Boston University.