燕山大学 刘立军 编写

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle report.

If you are like millions of people around the world, the New Year brings with it new goals.

Perhaps you want to save money, lose weight or learn a new skill. You tell yourself, "This is the year I'm going to ... (fill in the blank)."

But then you get busy.

Your daily life - as wonderful as it can be - takes up all of your time. Before you know it, weeks, then months have gone by, and you are no closer to your goal.

Time, as they say, waits for no one.

Yet your goal remains important. And achieving a goal, no matter how small, feels good. In addition, when we do not work on our goals, we may end up feeling guilty or not successful.

So, how can we find time to work on these larger life goals?

Well, many websites address this issue, and they offer some of the same advice: If you want to achieve something, clearly identify it and write it down.

As you identify your goals, be specific. If a goal is too general, it may be hard to pursue, let alone achieve it.

Let's say your goal is to get in better physical shape. That's a fine idea - but psychologists might say as a goal, it is too general. To make the goal more specific, you could sign up for a regular exercise class. So, whether you are dancing, doing yoga or kickboxing, you have a regular commitment every week. You could also say your goal is to lose a certain amount of weight in a certain amount of time.

Experts say writing down your goal is a very important step. It gets the goal out of your brain and into the real world.

Some psychologists suggest that writing a goal on paper is better than typing it on a device or saying it into your phone. Your brain receives information differently when it comes from handwriting. Writing things down seems to say to the brain, "I am important! Remember me!" Writing has another benefit: You can post your goal somewhere as a reminder. As you sit down at your computer or pour your morning coffee, your goal stares you in the face and asks, "What are you going to do about me today?"

Telling someone your goal is also helpful.

If someone else knows about your goals, you are held accountable for any progress or lack of progress. Your friend might ask, "So, how many pages of your novel have you written?" If you keep saying "none," you might feel badly. Now you feel a pressure to do it - the pressure of your friend's opinion of you. And that can be a big pressure! Many people do not want to let others down, especially friends and family.

Not all goals are created equal. Some can be quite big. And for those bigger goals, experts suggest breaking them down into smaller ones.

So, let's say you want to work for yourself. You love cooking. So, you decide to start your own company that supplies food for special events. Now, that is a very big goal. But it is made up of many smaller goals. So, identify them, write them down and set for yourself time limits.

These suggestions all help to make your goals real. If you simply think about your goals, they can easily get lost in your brain - which, after all, has a lot to do in a day.

Other experts remind us of another detail as we set our goals for the New Year: The goals may change. Or your life situation may change. Or you may change. So, it is a good idea to check in with yourself. Is this goal still what you want? Is your approach still working? If things are not proceeding forward, perhaps you need to change something.

One expert, Ryder Carroll, helps people organize their life's goals by using a simple notebook. He suggests thinking about your goals not as a final destination, but rather as lighthouses guiding you along.

It is the pursuit of your goals - not the reaching of them - that makes up the weeks, days and hours of our lives. So make sure to have fun along the way!

And that's the Health and Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo. And I'm Bryan Lynn.

Adapted from http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/201901/577782.shtml

1. end up: to find yourself in a place or situation that you did not intend or expect to be in 最终成为；最后处于。例如：If you go on like this you'll end up in prison. 如果你继续这样，早晚得进监狱。用法：

I ended up doing all the work myself. 结果所有的活儿都是我一个人干了。

If he carries on driving like that, he'll end up dead. 如果他继续这样开车，总有一天会把命都丢掉。

2. address v. (formal) to think about a problem or a situation and decide how you are going to deal 

with it 设法解决；处理；对付。例如：

Your essay does not address the real issues. 你的论文没有论证实质问题。

We must address ourselves to the problem of traffic pollution. 我们必须设法解决交通污染问题。

3. identify v. to find or discover sb. /sth. 找到；发现。用法：

例如：

Scientists have identified a link between diet and cancer. 科学家发现了饮食与癌症之间的关联。

As yet they have not identified a buyer for the company. 迄今为止他们还没有为公司找到买主。

例如：

They are trying to identify what is wrong with the present system. 他们正试图弄清现行制度的弊端所在。

~ sb. /sth. (as sb./sth.) to make it possible to recognize who or what sb. / sth. is 显示；说明身份。例如：

In many cases, the clothes people wear identify them as belonging to a particular social class. 很多情况下，人们的穿着显示出他们的社会阶级。

4. kickboxing n. 跆拳道

5. commitment n. ~ (of sth.) (to sth.) agreeing to use money, time or people in order to achieve sth.（资金、时间、人力的）花费，使用。例如：

the commitment of resources to education对教育的资源投入

Achieving success at this level requires a commitment of time and energy. 取得这种水平的成就需要花费时间和精力。

6. let sb. down: to fail to help or support sb. as they had hoped or expected 不能帮助，不能支持 （某人）；使失望。例如：

I'm afraid she let us down badly. 很遗憾，她让我们大失所望。

This machine won't let you down. 你尽管放心，这台机器不会出毛病。

He trudged home feeling lonely and let down. 他步履艰难地往家走，感到孤独而沮丧。

 1. If a goal is too general, it may be easy to pursue.

 2. Experts say writing down your goal is a very important step. 

 3. Some psychologists suggest that writing a goal on paper is not necessarily better than typing it on a device or saying it into your phone. 

 4. Telling someone your goal is also helpful.

 5. For those bigger goals, experts suggest breaking them down into smaller ones.

 6. Other experts remind us that the goals may change as we set our goals for the New Year.  

 7. Ryder Carroll helps people organize their life's goals by using a simple notebook. 

 8. Ryder Carroll suggests thinking about your goals not as a final destination, but rather as lighthouses guiding you along.

 9. It is the reaching of your goals that makes up the weeks, days and hours of our lives.

û 1. If a goal is too general, it may be easy to pursue. 正确表达：If a goal is too general, it may be hard to pursue, let alone achieve it.

ü 2. Experts say writing down your goal is a very important step. 

û 3. Some psychologists suggest that writing a goal on paper is not necessarily better than typing it on a device or saying it into your phone. 正确表达：Some psychologists suggest that writing a goal on paper is better than typing it on a device or saying it into your phone. 

ü 4. Telling someone your goal is also helpful.

ü 5. For those bigger goals, experts suggest breaking them down into smaller ones.

ü 6. Other experts remind us that the goals may change as we set our goals for the New Year. 

ü 7. Ryder Carroll helps people organize their life's goals by using a simple notebook. 

ü 8. Ryder Carroll suggests thinking about your goals not as a final destination, but rather as lighthouses guiding you along.

û 9. It is the reaching of your goals that makes up the weeks, days and hours of our lives. 正确表达：It is the pursuit of your goals - not the reaching of them - that makes up the weeks, days and hours of our lives.