The TED speaker series features “ideas worth spreading”. With over 1,400 to choose from, we've selected a few that are perfect for students.

    Larry Smith: Why you will fail to have a great career

    We humans may have an unfavorable habit of making excuses for ourselves of or being too confident about ourselves. Accordingly, Larry Smith, a professor of economics at the University of Waterloo in Canada, tells us why most of us will fail to have a great career. Luckily, as he puts it, there is a way out-follow your heart, as long as it is good for your career.

    Andy Puddicombe: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes

Between dance team, volunteering and –oh, right—lectures, your life's crazy factor（因素）is about to go way up. In this entertaining and informative talk, Mindfulness, expert Andy Puddicombe teaches us how to be “more healthy, more mindful and less distracted” by taking just 10 minutes out of the day to be “more present”.

    Shane Koyczan: To this day…for the bullied（欺凌）and beautiful

    This talk is sure to stay with you. Shane Koyczan's “To This Day” is an affecting spoken-word poem about bullying and being different that gained over 10 million views on YouTube. In this talk, Koyczan gives a live reading of the poem, along with some stories about his background.

    Susan Cain: The power of introverts（性格内向者）

    Does a cup of tea and a good book sound like a perfect Friday night? In this personal talk, Susan Cain argues that introverts have talents and abilities. Our culture may value being outgoing, but the world needs all kinds.

    Two graduates from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom found themselves about to graduate, yet with loans to pay off. The pair decided to begin a strange, year-long project to battle their debt.

    The men, Ross Harper and Edward Moyse, set up the website BuyMyFace.com last October as a way to get rid of the £50,000 they shared as student loans. The idea behind the project was to earn money by selling their faces as advertising space every day for a year. Each day, they advertise a different business by painting the brand's name or logo onto their faces and upload the pictures to the homepage of BuyMyFace.com, adding a link to the advertiser's website and including a short piece of text about it. After they paint their faces and publish them on the website, Harper and Moyse go out to highly populated areas such as music festivals and theme parks to maximize their faces' exposure. They hope more people will pay attention to the advertisements on their faces.

    At this time, Harper and Moyse have advertised their faces for over four months without skipping a day and they're more than halfway to their goal. Though they first started charging a minimum of about £1.60 per company, the prices have risen as their popularity increases. For advertising space during the rest of April, they range between £250 and £750. Terri L. Rittenburg, associate professor of marketing at the University of Wyoming, said that she had heard of people tattooing (纹身) logos on themselves before, but this idea is much better. According to her, at first the idea would be new and unusual and attract attention. People are interested in this particular style of advertisement and would like to try what they advertise. But she is unsure how long it would last.

    At least for now, companies that have bought Harper and Moyse's faces have written positive comments on the pair's website. “We had a three percent increase in website traffic on the very day and for two days more afterwards,” said one of the companies.

    The associates I hired in my bicycle and lawn mower shop like myself were never perfect; however, they were excellent. Working with them as they improved taught me new ways to show forgiveness, understanding, and patience.

    One day the placement officer asked me to interview a young man who was having trouble finding a job. He told me that David was a little shy, did not talk much and was afraid to go on with interviews. He requested that I give David an interview just for practice. He plainly told David that I had no positions open at the time and the interview was just for practice.

    When David came in for the interview, he hardly said a word. I told him what we did at the bicycle shop and showed him around. I told David to keep showing up because the number one thing an employer wanted in an associate was dependability. David was very quiet (he was evaluated as a slow learner in school).Every ten days or so, for weeks after the interview, David walked into the bicycle shop and stood by the front door. He never said a word, just stood by the door.

    One day, shortly before Christmas, a large truck came to the shop, packed with 250 new bicycles. It had to be unloaded right away or the driver would leave. It was raining. Some of my workers (without physical limitations) chose not to brave the weather to get into work, so I was short-handed. It seemed everything was going wrong and on top of it, David came in the front door and just stood there. I looked at him and shouted,“Well, all right! Fill out a time card and help me unload this truck!”

    David worked for my bicycle shop for eighteen years. He came to work every day thirty minutes early. He could talk; however, he rarely chose to. He drove my truck and made deliveries. The customers would praise David, saying,“He doesn't talk, but he really shows you how to operate a lawn mower!”

May's Midi Festival

    As a rock festival, the Midi Festival 2017 in Beijing presented a musical carnival for fans. It was the 13th year of the outdoor music feast. This year, about 100 rock bands from home and abroad performed on five stages. It was held at a suburban park known for its mountains and grasslands. With beautiful scenery and exciting music, it was a good opportunity to enjoy rock with friends and family.

    2：00—10：30 P. m. , from April 29 to May 1. China Music Valley Grassland Park, Pinggu District. 400-610-3721.

    Fans of Painting

Ancient Chinese calligraphers(书法家)and painters were fond of painting on the folds of fans. Their excellence has left a wealth of outstanding works. A fan painting show exhibited 990 Ming and Qing(1368—1911)dynasty calligraphy and painting works on folding fans. They were selected from the collection of the National Museum of China. The themes of these fan paintings fell into four categories：natural landscapes, flowers and birds, figures and calligraphy.

    10：00 a. m. —2：30 P. m. , from April 29 to May 29. National Museum of China, 16 East Chang'an Avenue. 010-651-6400.

    Poetic Portraits

    Two artists held a joint exhibition with paintings featuring portraits of Chinese women in poetic poses. Wang Xiaojin, who is from Shandong Province, has been exhibiting since 1993. The other artist, Xu Zhigang, is originally from Liaoning Province, but is now in Beijing.

    10：00 a. m. —8：00 P. m. , from April 28 to June 20. Rong Gallery, Sheraton Pudong Hotel, 38 Pujian Road, Pudong New Area. 0137-6408-7294.

    Group Show

    The artist group,“island6”, worked in new media and held a show titled     Body-City-Mechanism. Through interactive video, photography, oil on canvas and sculpture, the artists explore themes of man and cyberspace.

    10：00 a. m. —6：00 P. m. , from April 30 to June 28. Studio Rouge, 50, Moganshan Road, Putuo District. 021-5252-7856.

    A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men aboard were able to swim to a small, desert-like island. Not knowing what else to do, the two survivors agreed that they had no alternative than to pray to God.

    However, to find out whose prayers were more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

    The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the island, and he was able to eat its fruit. But the other man's parcel of land remained barren.

    After a week, the first man became lonely and decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the island. But on the other side of the island, there was nothing.

    Soon thereafter the first man prayed for a house, clothes and more food. The next day, like magic, all of these things were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.

    Finally, the first man prayed for a ship so that he and his wife could leave the island, and in the morning he found a ship docked at his side of the island.

    The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island, considering the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings since none of his prayers had been answered.

    As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from Heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"

    "My blessings are mine alone since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he doesn't deserve anything."

    "You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."

    "Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

    "He prayed that all your prayers would be answered."

    For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us. So what you do for others is more important than what you do for yourself.

    Chester is one of the best cities in the UK. As soon as you arrive in Chester you will appreciate the city's unique atmosphere and sense of history. Founded by the Romans over 2,000 years ago, much of the Roman influence remains and Chester's city walls are the most complete in Britain. Combined with history and heritage(遗产), Chester is a dynamic city full of bars, pubs, clubs, hotels and restaurants for you to discover, tempting you to visit again and again.

    Travelling to Chester?

    Chester is easily accessible by many means of transport — whether you are travelling by rail, car, bus or plane. Please check our route planner below to help you plan your journey to Chester. Once you arrive in the city there are numerous car parks; however, during rush hours the easiest way to travel in Chester city centre is via park and ride facilities, which are parking lots with public transportation.

    Hotels?

    From bed & breakfasts to the luxury of Chester's only five star hotel, Chester has all covered. Whether your trip is for business or pleasure your room is just a click away!

    Sightseeing and Tours?

    One of the best ways to see Chester is by a guided tour and you have a variety to choose from. Whether you choose the traditional guided walk, to be guided around Chester's historical landmarks by bus or to take a boat down the River Dee, you will sure enjoy the delights of Chester.