Let's say that you are training for a certain race and your schedule calls for a 10 percent increase in mileage this week, yet you're feeling a little pain in your legs. How do you respond? Do you go ahead and follow the schedule, or do you change it? You know the right answer. Yet many runners insist on sticking to the printed training schedule, since they believe that any change will ruin their chances of running a good race. In fact, the opposite is true. You would benefit more by giving your body a chance to recover. Training schedules are built on the assumption that you aren't experiencing any unusual pains before, during, or after the run. If pain or fatigue does strike, don't hesitate to change your workouts.

To Whom It May Concern: I bought a rice cooker about six months ago at Mincefield's Department Store (Model 20-V, with a 1-year warranty). When I tried to use it last week, however, the power button would not work. I tried to return the item to the store, but Mincefield's would not honor the warranty, because it is going out of business. The manager suggested that I contact you, the manufacturer. So, I'm sending you the cooker with this letter. Please have the cooker repaired and return it to my work address: 2003 Mountainview, Houston, TX 79050. I use the cooker quite frequently so I would appreciate your promptness. Sincerely, Susan Tiffin

Most of us learn not to rely on giving information orally because of all the mistakes that occur. The result is that we memo everything. Just look at your desk. Couldn't some of that paperwork be eliminated by simply talking to another person? Yes, it could, if you could be sure that the other person knew how to listen. All of this unnecessary paperwork means that we need more word processors, use too much of our secretaries' time, and require extra file cabinets to store all the notes we write down and get from others. We're not going to magically eliminate the paperwork problem in organizations overnight. But we can improve the situation if we all work to become better listeners.

Some people are especially sensitive about being properly addressed; others are more tolerant. In our casual world, we often overlook the fact that people have last names and titles. We can never assume that a person wishes to be addressed by their first name; to do so implies familiarity, which is not always appreciated. You may not know the person well, you may be mistakenly shortening their name, or you may be calling them by the wrong name altogether. To be on the conservative side, address a person with a title of Mrs., Ms., or Mr. until you are advised otherwise. Errors in using people's names can spoil business dealings, particularly when working with individuals from cultural backgrounds with which you are not very familiar.

《MARATHON - Run for the Earth》 Green Marathon is an annual fundraising event held in Orange City. If you participate, you will contribute to preserving our environment. Get involved and run for charity ― here's how: Event Schedule ‧ Starts at 8 a.m. on Sunday, November 18th ‧ From Sports Complex to City Hall Entry Fee ‧ US $80 (non-refundable) ‧ The fee must be paid in advance when you register. With Your Entry You Get ‧ Running t-shirt ‧ Fully supported aid stations on the course (beverages, medical support) Awards ‧ All the finishers will receive medals. ‧ The top three finishers will be awarded a watch imprinted with the Green Marathon logo. Entry Application ‧ Please visit the website at www.runforgreen.com and apply for the race by Wednesday, November 14th.

《Awesome Rafting Adventure》 The Wild River is the place for the most famous rafting adventure in the world. You will have an action-packed experience filled with fun. Highlights ‧ Up to five hours of rafting through World Heritage rain forest ‧ A riverside BBQ lunch to recharge for the afternoon Additional Info ‧ Participants are picked up at their accommodation in our luxury air-conditioned buses. ‧ Action and adventure photographs will be on display for purchase at the end of every day. ‧ A life jacket and helmet will be provided for safety. What to Bring ‧ Proper footwear for comfort and safety ‧ A cap or sun visor to prevent sunburn ‧ Enthusiasm for an exciting day For more information or to make a reservation, please call (012) 3456-7890.

《2012 Student Council Campaign Guidelines》 Anyone not obeying these rules may be disqualified from the election. 1. You may display up to three campaign posters in the designated areas. When the election is over, you are responsible for removing them. 2. You may not do any favors for your fellow students during the campaign. You may, however, give your fellow students badges. 3. Rude behavior and inappropriate language toward other candidates are not allowed. 4. Parents are not allowed to participate in any part of the campaign. 5. All campaigning must be finished by May 9th and elections will be held on May 12th. Notes ‧ The candidates are required to attend the Election Info Meeting on Thursday, April 26th. ‧ Ms. Sewell's signature must be seen on all posters.

The graph above shows the percentage of smartphone owners in the United States that reported doing the listed activities on their phone in January 2011 and January 2012. The primary use for over 70% of owners in both 2011 and 2012 was texting. The biggest gap in use between the two years, which comes to 7%, is seen in using apps. The percentages of users playing games in both years are the same, accounting for 49%. Except for using coupons, the percentages of all the listed activities are more than 40% in 2012. Using phones for coupons shows a decrease in activity from 14% in 2011 to 9% in 2012.

In the Paris subway system, users insert a paper card into a machine. The machine reads the card, leaves a record on the card that makes it used, and then spits it out from the machine. The card has a magnetic strip on one side. On Matthew's first visit to Paris, he was not sure how to use the system. So he tried putting the card in with the magnetic strip face up and was pleased to discover that it worked. He was careful thereafter to insert the card with the strip face up. During a later trip to Paris, he was proudly demonstrating to a friend the correct way to use the system when his wife started laughing. It turns out that it doesn't matter which way you put the card into the machine!

Mechanization was the key that unlocked the Industrial Revolution. In the pre-industrial period, manufacturing had been carried out by self-employed individuals in their homes, or in small workshops in which a craftsman oversaw the work of apprentices. Commonly, one person would undertake all the tasks involved in producing an item, from start to finish. However, the pioneering economist Adam Smith pointed out that this craft-based approach was inefficient. Taking the example of a pin factory, Smith said that one man working alone would struggle to complete one pin a day, whereas if ten different workers each undertook one stage in the process, the factory might produce 48,000 pins a day. Such a division of labour, Smith argued, also encouraged the development of new machinery.

Suddenly everyone was startled by the children running toward their grandmother, screaming and shouting in terror, A bear! A bear! The grandmother called to all the children to run as fast as possible for home. When the children had all started for home, the grandmother ran too. Shouting to the children not to stop running, she turned around and saw that the bear was very close to her. She soon realized that she could never outrun the animal. She must do something. Turning suddenly, she pointed an umbrella straight at the bear. To her surprise the bear stopped, though he still growled. The grandmother, seeing the bear's fright, held the umbrella aimed at him, and to her great relief he turned around in the path and fled out of sight.

Thinking is hard work. If you do not keep your working memory clear, then you are weakening your ability to think about what is going on in your class or meeting. This might seem obvious, but if you look around the room at many meetings, you will find yourself face-to-face with one of the true demons of modern life: multitasking. Sitting in a meeting, you will see that some people are taking care of work that is unrelated to the current meeting. Others are checking their e-mail. Still others are reading. Each of these activities takes up your working memory. You cannot maximize the quality of the new knowledge you are taking in if you do not give yourself every opportunity to pay attention.

In seeking goals, it is important to know about the eleventh hour. Have you ever noticed in life that things can look really gloomy just before a dramatic turn for the better? A successful businessman reports that just before he made his fortune, he was about to quit. He was up the creek without a paddle when, suddenly, everything began to fall into place. He held out to the end to get his payoff. Perhaps you have had this experience; when wondering if life was worth all the effort, you met somebody who made the dark clouds go away. Life is like that because there is a principle at work here - the eleventh hour principle. It is always darkest and coldest just before dawn. But if we hang on long enough, we will get our rewards.

Ideas sometimes occur unexpectedly in a flash of inspiration. This is how the idea for Harry Potter came to author J. K. Rowling. She was taking a long train journey from Manchester to London and the idea for Harry just fell into her head. Another recent example is Trevor Bayliss's human-powered windup radio. This idea suddenly hit him after he had been watching a television program about the alarming spread of AIDS in Africa. The program had mentioned the problem of providing education to prevent the disease in isolated regions without electrical power. In an instant he realized that a windup radio could help to solve the problem. Straight away he went into his workshop and began working on the idea.

If you can find a pattern, rule, or underlying principle in the material, you will likely be able to learn it more easily. For example, if you arrange the number 376315374264 in four groups of three, it is easier to remember (376-315-374 -264). The task is even easier if you can see some patterns or relationships among the four groups. The first three groups all start with 3, and the first and third groups both have a 7 next; the second digits in the last two groups are only one digit apart (7 and 6), and the last digit is the same (4). Noticing such patterns helps make the number more meaningful. Similarly, looking for patterns in phone numbers, addresses, dates, or any other numbers will help you remember them.

Our ability to recognize and respond to discomfort is critical for preventing physical damage to the body. Consider how often you shift position in your chair when you are studying or sitting in a lecture. If you were unable to receive signals of discomfort from your body, you would not move to relieve pressure on your skin. The parts of your skin under continuous pressure would develop sores or bruises. Since many everyday experiences would be damaging to our bodies if we were not able to detect discomfort, a lack of ability to detect pain could cause serious problems.

Even when the father of seven children had been injured and was in the hospital, the children were sure that Santa Claus would fill their stockings. To the mother, the situation was desperate, because the family needed food and clothing, and there were long weeks ahead before her husband could leave the hospital. While the children talked about roller skates, dolls and Christmas trees, she was trying to figure out how to keep the home going. Then there came a knock at the door and, Santa Claus! shouted the children. It was not Santa Claus, but Mr. Adams, who lived next door, with a smile extending clear across his face. He carried a bag filled with toys in his arms. Behind him stood the whole neighborhood, bringing toys and food and clothing; enough to carry the family through the weeks ahead.

Ingredients : flour, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs, salt, oil, etc. Directions: Preheat your waffle iron to its hottest setting. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. In another bowl, beat together the eggs and milk in the oil. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Brush oil on both the top and bottom plates of the waffle iron. For deep, Belgian-style waffles, fill each space with a 1/2 cup of batter and cook seven to eight minutes until golden brown. Remove the waffles out of the iron. If you want to serve them with different toppings, slice some of your favorite fruit to put on top of the warm waffles. Enjoy your tasty, homemade treat!

Every weekend Billy's parents give him $100 to spend. It all started when Billy wanted a really cool CD player. He asked his parents if they would buy it for him and they said no. But it's only $100! he complained. An hour later, his parents announced there would be a family meeting the next night at dinner. They'd never had a family meeting before, so Billy and his brother Gabe were worried. This must be really serious, Gabe said when he was alone with Billy in the living room. Billy said, They're going to make us do chores. The next night, their parents opened the family meeting with the words, We've been thinking about how to give you more say in our family. They brought up a number of new ways his brother and Billy could get involved. For Billy, one of those ways was to allow him to shop for the family. Each Saturday, Billy was to be given $100 - along with a shopping list of groceries for the family. It was up to him to buy everything on the list. Whatever money was left over, whether two dollars or thirty, was Billy's to keep and spend on what he wanted - whether for going to the movies, or for buying books. Billy has been having more say in the family now for nearly two months, and his parents' $100-a-week plan gives him real incentive to shop for the best bargains. Practically his whole lifestyle depends on it! Billy has learned to look for the best prices. Billy is still saving for his CD player - and he is also taking his cue from his parents and working on creative ways to get what he wants.

A general sales manager, recently promoted, no longer took a regular lunch time off. He felt that since his job involved more responsibility, he should be available all the time, and so he just grabbed a quick sandwich on the run. After several weeks of this, he found himself irritable in the afternoon, arguing with his colleagues, and having difficulty concentrating on important matters. One of these colleagues convinced him that he needed a sit-down lunch to restore his energy and inner calm. So he began having a more leisurely lunch and made certain that nothing interfered with this midday break. He developed the practice of going to lunch with a different person each day. Some were friends with whom he enjoyed a social occasion. Gradually he also lunched with all his coworkers and got to know them better. When he had to ask them to do something for him or when they were asking him for help, he had the benefit of personal relationships to support those quick back-and-forth requests. He was careful, even though he took a long lunch time, not to eat too much, as he found it made him sleepy in the afternoon. But as this executive found out, what you eat might not be nearly as important as who you eat with and what you talk about.