When people wanted to find their way to a place in the past,they used to have to buy a map.But they don't have to do that any more.Now they can either buy a GPS,or go online and find maps for just about anywhere.

Is this an improvement?Perhaps,but some people think some of the online companies are going too far,because they have been sending out cars with photographic equipment on their roofs,to photograph every street and house in the country.

One of these cars arrived on a Wednesday morning in the quiet English village of Broughton.The camera was on a meter-high stick an top of the car and could see over walls and into people's gardens.Some of the villagers came and stood around the car,and then asked the driver and photographer to go away.Reporters quickly arrived on the scene,and soon the event was news all over the country.

Of course,the online company in question says that it is simply collecting information that people on the Internet want.But the villagers feel differently."We used to have privacy in this country—now companies just come and take photographs of our home without even asking,"said one villager."It' not right.We mustn't let this happen.We mustn't lose our right to live privately."

There is,of course,no law to prevent people from taking photographs of houses,so the villagers cannot go to court.But many people are asking the question:"OK,it's legal,lout is rt right?"

HOW TO DO HARD THINGS

It’s an inconvenient truth that the road to success isn’t a secret. Most of us know exactly what we need to do to improve our lives. 【小题1】 We prefer things that feel good and avoid things that we know are hard but most effective. Follow these tips to get hard things done with less struggle.

First, you need to make sure you know what the hard, but effective thing is in the skill or job that you want to improve. 【小题2】 It’s usually the thing that creates the output. For writers, it’s writing. For musicians, it’s writing a song. For athletes, it’s doing a workout.

Figure out your why. Make sure you know why you want to do this hard thing. 【小题3】 So figure out your why and frequently remind yourself of it. Write it down and put it where you can see it. The stronger your why, the better.

【小题4】 Every day at a particular hour, you will do this hard thing. Pure focus, no multi-tasking. Take it easy at first and gradually lengthen the amount of time you spend on this. Enjoy it, too. You’re a winner and you can do it.

Leave the doubts behind. When you’re doing something hard, your brain will try to find ways to stop doing it. You’ll want to look things up or find easy ways of doing the hard thing. Don’t give in to these tempting arguments during your hard work sessions. 【小题5】

If you keep improving yourself by doing hard things, you’ll be getting better at your targeted skill. So don’t spend too much time working around the hard task. Just do the hard thing instead.