For more than twenty years scientists have been searching for signs of life on other planets. Most of these searches have been done over the radio. The hope is that someone in outer space may be trying to get in touch with us. Scientists also have sent radio and television messages on spaceships traveling through space, on the chance that someone may be receptive （善于接受的） to such messages.

    Scientists are using powerful radio telescope to listen to signals from about 1,000 stars, all within 100 light years of earth. In addition, they will scan (扫视) the entire sky to “listen” for radio messages from more distant stars. Using a computer, they will be able to monitor more than eight channels at one time. Scientists are looking for any signal that stands out from the background noise.

    Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy （银河星系）, scientists find that five percent are like our sun. Perhaps half of them have a planet like earth. Such a planet would be a reasonable distance from the star for temperatures to be right for the evolution of life. Based on the inhabitable (that can be lived in) planets in our galaxy, most scientists agree that chances are likely that one or more of these planets support some life.

    However, many scientists wonder whether intelligent （有智力的） life exists on other planets. Some believe that twenty years of searching without any intelligible （可理解的） messages shows that no one is out there. They say that the evolution of intelligence comparable to ours is unlikely.

    Other scientists believe that our search hasn't been long enough to rule out the possibility that intelligent life exists in our galaxy. Although our sun family in only about five billion years old,  our galaxy is about 20 billions years old. In that time, some scientists think it is likely that civilizations are much more advanced than ours. Perhaps these civilizations send us no signals; perhaps we have not recognized the signals they have sent us. If we hope to find intelligent life, these scientists believe that we have to keep looking.

    Liverpool, my hometown, is a special city. It is so unique that in 2004 it became a World Heritage（遗产）Site.

    I recently returned to my home city and my first stop was at a museum on the River Mersey. Blanketed in mist（薄雾），Victorian architecture rose from the banks of the river, responded to the sounds of sea-birds, and appeared unbelievably charming. When I headed toward the centre, I found myself surrounded by buildings that mirror the best palaces of Europe. It is not hard to imagine why, on first seeing the city, most visitors would be overpowered by the beauty of the noble buildings, which are solid signs of Liverpool's history.

    As if to stress its cultural role, Liverpool has more museums and galleries than most cities in Britain. At Walker Art Gallery, I was told that it has the best collections of Victorian paintings in the world, and is the home of modern art in the north of England. However, culture is more than galleries. Liverpool offers many music events. As Britain's No. 1 music city, it has the biggest city music festival in Europe, and its musicians are famous all over the world. Liverpool is also well-known for its football and other sports events. Every year, the Mersey River Festival attracts thousands of visitors, making the city a place of wonder.

    As you would expect from such a city, there are restaurants serving food from around the world. When my trip was about to complete, I chose to rest my legs in Liverpool's famous Philharmonic pub（酒馆）. It is a monument to perfection, and a heritage attraction itself.

    Being a World Heritage Site, my home city is certainly a place of “outstanding universal value”. It is a treasure house with plenty of secrets for the world to explore.

    Gus Wenner runs Rollingstone.com; his father gave him the job. But Jann Wenner, the magazine's co­founder and publisher, was quick to assure critics of the appointment process that his son is terribly talented and had to prove himself before being given the post. Apparently Gus worked his way up from more junior positions with the company, and demonstrated, according to his father, the “drive and discipline and charm, and all the things that show leadership.” Gus Wenner is 22 years old.

    He is certainly not the only kid out of college, or even out of high school, working at daddy's firm. Family contacts are a common way of finding both temporary internships and longtime careers. Opportunities for the children of top 1 percent are not the same as they are for the 99 percent.

    This is hardly a shock, but it is precisely the type of inequality that reveals the hard­ to­ define promise of the “Just Do It” version of the American dream and deepens our cynicism(愤世嫉俗) about how people get ahead. As a consequence, it weakens support for public policies that could address the lack of upward mobility among children born at the bottom, who ought to be given priority. A strong tie between adult outcomes and family background annoys Americans. When an organization conducted a nationally representative survey asking about the meaning of “the American dream”， some typical answers included: “Being free to say or do what you want” and “Being free to accomplish almost anything you want with hard work.” but also “Being able to succeed regardless of the economic circumctances in which you were born.”

    This is exactly the reason that “the American dream” is not only a defining metaphor for the country, but also why Americans have long been willing to tolerate a good deal more economic inequality than citizens of many other rich countries. A belief in the possibility of upward mobility not only morally justifies inequality as the expression of talents and energies, but also extends a promise to those with lower incomes. After all, why would you be a strong advocate for reducing inequality if you believe that you, or eventually your children, were likely to climb the income ladder?

    Hard work and perseverance(毅力) will always be ingredients for success, but higher inequality has made having successful parents, if not essential, certainly a central part of the recipe.

    The belief that talent is something you are born with, and that opportunities are open to anyone with ambition and energy, also has a dangerous consequence. When the public policy is focused on the difficult situation of the poor, this belief can help the concept resurface that the poor are “undeserving” and are the authors of their own situation. Yet we actually know a good deal about why children of the poor have a higher chance of being stuck on poverty as adults.

    The recipes for breaking this intergenerational trap are clear: a nurturing(培养) environment in the early years combined with accessible and high­quality health care and education promote the capacities of young children, heighten the development of their skills as they grow older, and eventually raise their chances of upward mobility.

    Talent is nurtured and developed, and even genes are expressed differently depending upon environmental influences.

    The 1 percent are the goal for these upper­middle­class families, who after all have also experienced significant growth in their relative standing. The graduate and other higher degrees that they hold, for which they put in considerable effort, have put them on the upside of the wave of globalization and technical change that has transformed the American job market.

    An age of higher inequality gives them both more resources to promote the capacities of their children, and more encouragement to make these investments since their children now have all the more to gain.

    For them, an American dream based on effort and talent still lives, and as a result they are less likely, with their considerable cultural and political influence, to support the reshaping of American public policy to meet its most pressing need: the future of those at the bottom.

    Something's happening at the lowest point on our planet, some 1,388 feet below sea level. The Dead Sea, a salt lake close to Israel, Jordan and the West Bank, is shrinking at an alarming rate—about 3.3 feet per year, according to the environmentalist group EcoPeace Middle East.

    “It's not just like one country is punishing the Dead Sea; it's more like the whole region,” said photographer Moritz Küstner, who visited the area in February to work on his series “The Dying Dead Sea”.

    The Dead Sea needs water from the other natural sources surrounding it, such as the Jordan River basin. But around the 1960s, the courses of some water sources it relied upon were diverted. Israel, for instance, built a pipeline during that time so it could supply water throughout the country.

    Mineral extraction(提取)industries are another main reason why the water levels are declining, experts say. The Dead Sea's minerals have been popular for their medical power and can often be found in cosmetics(化妆品)and other consumer products.

    And then, of course, there's the Middle East's hot, dry climate, which makes it difficult for the lake to refill itself. Last year, Israel and Jordan signed a $ 900 million deal in an effort to stabilize the Dead Sea's water levels. It involves building a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea which would be able to not only supply water to Israel and Jordan but also to pump much needed water—some 300 million cubic meters annually—into the Dead Sea.

    “This is the most important and significant agreement since the peace treaty with Jordan (in 1994),” said Silvan Shalom, Israel's energy and water resources minister at the time. Whether the canal—estimated to take three years to complete—will work out positively and as planned remains to be seen.

    For now, Küstner shows us that the Dead Sea remains very much a place of interest, with people from all over the world going there to swim in its salty waters.

    Anyone wanting to throw away their mobile phone can do it in style（时尚地）and may even win a medal－at the Mobile Phone Throwing World Championship.

    Originally a local event in a small town close to the Russian border, the fifteenth annual contest drew many throwers from as far as Canada, Russia and Belgium.

    Founder Christine Lund describes the event as a good source of light exercise with an environmentally-friendly activity. "There are a lot of mobile phones on the second-hand market, and we are recycling them（before they become poisonous waste）," she said.

    The inventive Finns had already given the world the Sauna World Championships and the Wife Carrying Competition before coming up with a new way to make mobile phones even more mobile.

    This year's gold medal went to Finland's Lassi Etelatalo, who threw a waste Nokia unit a forceful 89.00 meters. "I prepared by javelin（标枪）throwing, I haven't really practiced throwing mobile phones,"Etelatalo said.

    Lund says competitors all have their favorite throwing brand. "People choose by size, by color or by how it fits in the hand……Some believe a heavy model will ensure a long throw, some want a light one."

    Assistant Professor of Chemistry

    The University of Chicago: Physical Sciences Division: Department of Chemistry

    Location

    Chicago, Illinois

    Description

    The Department of Chemistry at The University of Chicago invites applications for the position of Assistant Professor of Chemistry in all areas of chemistry.

    Applicants must apply online at apply.interfolio.com/66199 and upload a cover letter, a curriculum vitae with a list of publications, a brief outline of research plans and a one－page teaching statement. In your cover letter, please specify(注明) one sub－discipline that best represents your research interests (inorganic, materials, organic, physical, theoretical or chemical biology). In addition, three reference letters are required.

    Qualifications

    At the time of hire the successful candidate must have completed all requirements for a PhD in Chemistry or a related field. Joint appointments with other departments are possible.

    Application Instructions

    Review of applications will begin on October 7, 2020 and will continue until all positions are filled.

    Apply to: apply.interfolio.com/66199

    Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

    The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

    Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 7737021032 or e-mail equalopportunity@uchicago.edu with their request.