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　　Have you ever noticed how your favorite music can make you feel better? Well, new research now shows how music can make you smarter too!

　　Scientists at Stanford University, in California, have recently found a basis for the “Mozart Effect”．Dr Rauscher and her colleague H．Li have also discovered that humans perform better on learning and memory tests after listening to a specific Mozart抯 sonata(奏鸣曲)．

　　For many years, the Center for New Discoveries in Learning has been working on the use of music both in the classroom and while students study．They have found that students hearing Mozart and certain Baroque(巴洛克风格的)pieces felt calmer．Students are able to study longer, have a longer attention span and get better grades according to their teachers．

　　These special music pieces, recorded at just the right beat, activate(激活)the brain for the maximum learning effect．The music works on the right side of the brain while the words work on the left side．This increases the learning effect five times at least according to the study．

　　When your body hears one of Mozart抯 pieces at one beat per second, your heart rate relaxes to the beat．When you are in this relaxed state, your mind is able to concentrate more easily．When doing heavy mental work, our blood pressure rises so it抯 usually more difficult to concentrate(集中，专注)in this state．The Baroque and Mozart pieces for sale on our site make the most of the “Mozart Effect” as they have been specifically selected for their beat pattern to reduce your blood pressure and increase your ability to learn at the same time．

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　　You speak, write a letter and make a telephone call．Your words carry a message．People communicate with words．

　　Do you think you can communicate without words? A smile on your face shows you are happy or friendly．Tears in your eyes probably tell others that you are sad．When you put up your hands in class, the teacher knows you want to say something or ask questions．In China you shake your head, and people know you are saying “No”．You nod and people know you are saying “Yes”．

　　Other things can also carry messages．For example, a sign at the bus helps you to know which bus to take．A sign on the door helps you where to go in or out．Have you ever thought that there are a lot of signs around you and that you receive messages from them all the time? People can communicate in many other ways．An artist can use his drawings to tell about beautiful mountains, blue seas and many other things．Books are written to tell about all the wonderful things in the world and also about people and their ideas．Books, magazines, TV, radio and films all help us communicate with others．They can help us to know what is going on in the world and what other people are thinking about．

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　　I know what you're thinking：pizza(比萨饼)? For breakfast？But the truth is that you can have last night's leftovers in the am if you want to．

　　I know lots of women who do not have breakfast, and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it．Some say they don't have time, others think they're “saving” calories(卡路里), still others just don't like breakfast food．

　　But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you're trying to lose weight．“Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all,” says Katherine Brooking, R．D．, who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year's “SELF CHALLENGE”．And even pizza can be healthy if it is with vegetables, and you stick to(坚持吃)one small piece．

　　Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories．Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day．Researchers at the University of Southern California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal．

　　So eat something in the morning, anything．I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice．I say, try heating up last night's leftovers－it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it！I find if I tell myself, “You can always eat it tomorrow, ”I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night．Try it! You may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories．And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects．

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　　What makes a boarding school(寄宿制)different from a normal school? The answer is simple：when in a boarding school you stay there instead of going home．This is something everyone knows．But what not everyone knows is that when you are in a boarding school, you make a lot of friends．You live together with your friends for a few years, which makes the friendship even more intense．

　　You are a lot closer to your teachers and other workers in your school．It most feels like you are in one big happy family．If boarding students have any problems, they can always go to one of the teachers or one of the workers, and they will be glad to be able to help．

　　Life in a girl boarding school or a boy boarding school differs a lot from life in a mixed one．Studies have shown that the social life and academic(学术的)results from students in a single sex boarding school are much better than those of a mixed one．One of the reasons for this is that with less pressure in the classes, the children can concentrate(全神贯注)much better when they are in separated classes．

　　Life in boarding schools for troubled teens differs from that of all the other boarding schools．Life in these schools is often much stricter because of the rules the students have to obey．These schools have strict rules to teach troubled teens respect．

　　Although some boarding schools have some different rules and different ways of teaching, life in schools is almost the same．Students attend classes, eat together, and sleep in dorms where they normally have to share their room with some other students．Attending a boarding school is a great experience and the values you learn there will help you in the rest of your life．

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　　Remembering names is an important social skill．Here are some ways to master it．

　　Recite and repeat in conversation．

　　When you hear a person's name, repeat it．Immediately say it to yourself several times without moving your lips．You could also repeat the name in a way that does not sound forced or artificial．

　　Ask the other person to recite and repeat．

　　You can let other people help you remember their names．After you've been introduced to someone, ask that person to spell the name and pronounce it correctly for you．Most people will be pleased by the effort you're making to learn their names．

　　Admit(承认)you don't know．

　　Admitting that you can't remember someone's name can actually make people relaxed．Most of them will feel sympathy if you say, “I'm working to remember names better．Yours is right on the tip of my tongue．What is it again？”

　　Use associations(关联)．

　　Link each person you meet with one thing you find interesting or unusual．For example, you could make a note：“Vicki Cheng－tall, black hair．” To reinforce(加强)your associations, write them on a small card as soon as possible．

　　Limit(限定)the number of new names you learn at one time．

　　When meeting a group of people, concentrate on remembering just two or three names．Free yourself from remembering every one．Few of the people in introductions expect you to remember their names．Another way is to limit yourself to learning just first names．Last names can come later．

　　Go early．

　　Consider going early to conferences, parties and classes．Sometimes just a few people show up on time．That's fewer names for you to remember．And as more people arrive, you can hear them being introduced to others－a review for you．

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　　There was a story many years ago of a school teacher－Mrs．Thompson．She told the children on the first day that she loved them all the same．But that was a lie．There in the front row was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard．He didn’t play well with the other children and he always needed a bath．She did not like him．

　　Then Mrs．Thompson got to know that Teddy was actually a very good boy before the death of his mother．Mrs．Thompson was ashamed(羞愧)of herself．She felt even worse when Teddy brought her a Christmas gift too．It was his mother’s perfume(香水)．

　　Teddy said, “Mrs．Thompson, today you smell just like my Mom used to．” After the children left she cried for at least an hour．On that very day, she stopped teaching reading, writing and math．Instead, she began to teach children．

　　Mrs．Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy．The boy’s mind seemed to come alive．The more she encouraged him, the faster he improved．By the end of the sixth grade, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class．

　　Six years went by before she got a note from Teddy．He wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life．He went to college．Mrs．Thompson got two more letters from him with the last one signed, Theodore F．Stoddard, M．D．(医学博士)．

　　The story doesn’t end there．On his wedding day, Dr．Stoddard said to Mrs．Thompson’s ear, “Thank you, Mrs．Thompson, for believing in me．You made me feel important and showed me that I could make a difference．”

　　Mrs．Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back, “Teddy, you have it all wrong．You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference．I didn’t know how to teach until I met you．”

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　　In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition．Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity．Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people．

　　I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills．For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs．In their single-minded pursuit of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten．

　　However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude．In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition．Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society．Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail．They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success．By not trying, they always have an excuse：“I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try．” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot．Such a loss would be a measure of their worth．Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves．Both are based on the mistaken belief that one's self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others．Both are afraid of not being valued．Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve can we discover a new meaning in competition．

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　　In 1901, H．G．Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon．When the explorers landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon was full of underground cities．They expressed their surprise to the “moon people” they met．In turn, the “moon people” expressed their surprise．“Why,” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don't even use your inner space?”

　　H．G．Wells could only imagine travel to the moon．In 1969, human beings really did land on the moon．People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon．However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one．A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it．

　　Underground systems are already in place．Many cities have underground car parks．In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas．The “Channel”, a tunnel connecting England and France, is now complete．

　　But what about underground cities? Japan's Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities”．The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on．A solar dome would cover the whole city．

　　Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth's space．The space, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness．H．G．Wells “moon people” would agree．Would you?

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　　Dogs can sniff out unfair situations and show a simple emotion similar to envy or jealous, Austrian researchers reported on Monday．

　　Dogs sulked and refused to “shake” paws if other dogs got treats for trick and they did not, said Friederike Range, an animal psychologist at the University of Vienna, who led the study into canine emotions．

　　“It is a more complex feeling or emotion than what we would normally attribute to(归因于)animals,” said Range．

　　The study, which was published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, also showed dogs licked and scratched themselves and acted stressed when they were denied rewards given to other dogs．

　　Other studies have shown monkeys often express angry behavior when a partner receives a greater reward for performing an identical task, or ignoring what they view as inferior compensation．

　　It turns out dogs are able to show a similar, if less sensitive, response, said Range in a telephone interview．

　　In a series of experiments using different breeds of dogs, the researchers looked at how two animals sitting next to each other reacted to unequal rewards after handing a paw to a researcher．

　　Dogs not given a treat licked their mouths, yawned, scratched and showed other signs of stress and stopped performing the task, Range said．

　　To show this was not just because the animals were not getting food, the researchers then tested the dogs alone and found that in this situation the envious canines cooperated longer before stopping．

　　“It is really about the unequal distribution of the reward,” Range said．“If it was only about frustration they would stop at the same time．”

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　　WASHINGTON(Reuters)－A US senator has asked Microsoft Corp about its plans to slash up to 5,000 jobs, urging the world's biggest software company to preserve the jobs of Americans ahead of foreigners working on visas．

　　“I am concerned that Microsoft will be retaining foreign guest workers rather than similarly qualified American employees when it carries out its layoff plan,” Sen．Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said in a January 22 letter．

　　Microsoft shocked investors on Thursday when it released quarterly results that missed Wall Street expectations, announced up to 5,000 layoffs and said it would no longer give forecasts for the rest of the financial year．

　　The company has been a champion of expanding the H-1B visa program, a temporary visa program that lets American companies and universities hire foreign workers in a category considered by the government to be a “specialty occupation”．

　　Microsoft employs thousands of workers through the program, according to Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee．

　　A spokeswoman for Microsoft said the company has not yet received the letter, but it would respond to Grassley directly．

　　The letter asked Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer to provide a breakdown of the jobs to be dismissed, and how many of those are individuals with H-1B visas and how many are Americans．Grassley also wants to know what the breakdown will be when the layoffs are complete．

　　“Microsoft has a moral obligation to protect these American workers by putting them first during these difficult economic times,” Grassley said in the letter, copies of which were provided by his office on Friday．