Four years ago, Chris Nagele did what many other technology CEO have done before—he moved his team into an open concept office.

    His staff had been working from home, but he wanted everyone to be together. It quickly became clear, though, that Nagele had made a huge mistake. Everyone was distracted, productivity(生产率) suffered and the nine employees were unhappy, not to mention Nagele himself.

    In April 2015, about three years after moving into the open office, Nagele moved the company into a 10,000-square-foot office where everyone now has their own space — complete with closing doors.

    Numerous companies have accepted the open office. But we're 15% less productive, we have great trouble concentrating.

    Since moving, Nagele himself has heard from others in technology who say they long for the closed office lifestyle. It's unlikely that the open office concept will go away anytime soon, but some companies are following Nagele's example and making a return to private spaces.

    There's one big reason we'd all love a space with four walls and a door that shuts: focus. The truth is, we can't multitask(多任务化) and small distractions can cause us to lose focus for upwards of 20 minutes.

    What's more, certain open spaces can negatively impact our memory. We retain(保留) more information when we sit in one spot, says Sally Augustin, an environmental and design psychologist in La Grange Park, Illinois. It's not so obvious to us each day, but we offload(卸下) memories — often little details — into our surroundings, she says.

    Beside the cheaper cost, one main argument for the open workspace is that it increases teamwork. However, it's well documented(记载) that we rarely brainstorm brilliant ideas when we're just talk casually in a crowd.

    How to keep a good figure may be important to you. In fact, your house may have an effect on your figure. Experts say the way you design your home could play a role in whether you pack on the pounds or keep them off. You can make your environment work for you instead of against you. Here are some ways to turn your home into part of your diet plan.

    Open the curtains and turn up the lights. Dark environments are more likely to encourage overeating, for people are often less self-conscious when they're in poorly lit places—and so more likely to eat lots of food. If your home doesn't have enough window light, get more lamps and flood the place with brightness.

    Mind the colors. Research suggests warm colors fuel our appetites. In one study, people who ate meals in a blue room consumed 33 percent less than those in a yellow or red room. Warm colors like yellow make food appear more appetizing, while cold colors make us feel less hungry. So when it's time to repaint, go blue.

    Don't forget the clock—or the radio. People who eat slowly tend to consume about 70 fewer calories per meal than those who rush through their meals. Begin keeping track of the time, and try to make dinner last at least 30 minutes. And while you're at it, actually sit down to eat. If you need some help slowing down, turn on relaxing music. It makes you less likely to rush through a meal.

    Downsize the dishes. Big serving bowls and plates can easily make us fat. We eat about 22 percent more when using a 12-inch plate instead of a 10-inch plate. When we choose a large spoon over a smaller one, total intake jumps by 14 percent. And we'll pour about 30 percent more liquid into a short, wide glass than a tall, skinny glass.

    Computer programmer David Jones earns £35,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank ready to let him have a credit card(信用卡). Instead, he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18.

    The 16-year-old works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David's firm releases(推出) two new games for the fast throwing computer market each month.

    But David's biggest headache is what to do with his money. Even though he earns a lot, he cannot drive a car, take out a mortgage(抵押贷款), or get credit cards. David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. "I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs," he said. David spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother 50 pounds a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.

    "Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school," he said. "But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway." David added: "I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement(退休) is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear."

    Oct.15th was International White Cane Safety Day. You may have never heard of it, but it was a day to remember for Peng Baier, 17, of Nanjing Foreign Language School. After school that day, he visited his local Disabled Persons' Federation (残疾人联合会). He wanted to know about the sales and feedback (反馈) of his newly published book, How to Help a Disabled Person.

    Since he lives with his disabled grandparents, he understands that life can be hard for this group of people. Peng decided to write the book because he wanted to create a better life for disabled people in China.

    “Crossing the street is a big problem for them,” Peng said. “Speeding cars, people walking in a hurry, bikes on the sidewalk for the blind - accidents can happen everywhere. That's why we hardly ever see disabled people on the street, even though there are millions of disabled people in China.”

    Peng's book with pictures is easy to understand. It is a guide to the right and wrong ways to treat disabled people. The left-hand pages show the reader the right way; the right-hand pages point out mistakes that are commonly made.

    The teenager had 2,000 copies of his book printed. With the help of the Disabled Persons' Federation, he gave them to the disabled community.

    “The book is bilingual, so foreigners can also use it,” said Peng.

    Peng put great effort into the book. For example, he interviewed many disabled people to get first hand materials. He also studied textbooks from different schools for the disabled. Peng finally completed his handbook, but he still had the problem of getting it printed.

    How does a high school student raise money needed for that?

    With a smile, Peng said how he went about it. “I visited three local companies, dressed up in a suit and tie. I was lucky. The companies were warm-hearted and willing to give me a hand.”

    I believe in the power of science fiction, not just for its capacity to transform dreams into reality, but also for its power to bond together those who share a common vision of the future. For me, that's true for my relationship with my dad. Some fathers and sons bond over sports, fishing or hunting, but my dad and I bond over Star Trek. We tried a trip to Disney World, but one of my earliest memories wasn't Mickey, but a Klingon battle cruiser(巡洋) on the screen.

    Over the years, nearly every setting and situation has become far away for my dad and me. When it's warm at night, we're not driving along some dark streets in Indiana, but going at a slow speed with stars dimly shining. Both of us are thinking of them, without needing to say a word. All these visions of other universes have together created a private universe for my dad and me.

    Gene Rodenberry, creator of Star Trek, once said, " Science fiction is a way of thinking, a way of logic that bypasses(绕过)a lot of nonsense. It allows people to look directly at important subjects. "A lifetime of science fiction has influenced more than just my relationship with my dad, but has also helped me shape my own hopes for the future. I'm now a science writer.

    Yes, science fiction has made me into a "nerd"(书呆子), and it also has been a source of joy for my family, making me an optimist while enabling me to think critically about the danger of technology. Thank those authors who have shared their visions; the world and my family are better for it. Thank my dad, who is both the best storyteller and the best man I have ever known because he helped me realize the truth of Tennyson's words," Since I dipped into the future, I saw the vision of the world, and all the wonders that would be."

    There is some unwelcome news for students preparing for exams and officers putting in long hours—you don't need that "refreshment (提神) break" as much as you may think.

    Scientists believed it was not easy for people to continue their work if they felt the need to have a snack or a rest to make them feel better. They argued that the only way to regain willpower is by supplying more energy to our bodies with rest, food or entertainment.

    But psychologists have challenged this theory, saying weak willpower is in your head. They found that a person's mindset (理念) and belief about willpower determine how long and how well they'll be able to work on a tough mental exercise. "If you think of willpower as something that's limited, you're more likely to be tired when you perform a difficult task," said Professor Veronika Job. "But if you think of willpower as something that is not easily depleted, you can go on and on."

    The researchers led by Mr. Job designed an experiment to test the students' beliefs about willpower. After a tiring task those who believed or were led to believe that willpower was a limited resource performed worse on standard concentration tests than those who thought of willpower as something they had more control over.

    Mr. Job said, "Students who may already have trouble studying are being told that their powers of concentration are limited, and they need to take frequent breaks. But a belief in willpower as a non-limited resource makes people stronger in their ability to work through challenges."

    The findings could help people who are battling with temptation (诱惑): people following strict diets and doing exercise regularly to lose weight, people trying to overcome addictions, employees facing a tight deadline. Willpower isn't driven by a biologically based process as much as we used to think.