When John was growing up, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him weeding the garden, carrying out the garbage and delivering newspapers. But when John reached adulthood, he was better off than his childhood playmates. He had more job satisfaction, a better marriage and was healthier. Most of all, he was happier. Far happier.

These are the findings of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 teenage boys from Boston. The study showed that those who had worked as boys enjoyed happier and more productive lives than those who had not. “Boys who worked in the home or community gained competence (能力) and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society,” said George Vaillant, the psychologist (心理学家) who made the discovery. “And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them.”

Vaillant's study followed these males in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Vaillant, the researchers compared the men's mental-health scores with their boyhood-activity scores with their boyhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.

The link between what the men had done as boys and how they turned out as adults was surprisingly sharp. Those who had done the most boyhood activities were twice as likely to have warm relations with a wide variety of people, five times as likely to be well paid and 16 times less likely to have been unemployed. The researchers also found that IQ and family social and economic class made no real difference in how the boys turned out.

Working—at any age—is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence—the underpinnings (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this. Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, “One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work.”

    The number of accidents involving pedestrians (行人) wearing headphones is on the rise, a report suggests, causing fresh warning from road safety groups in Britain.

    A US-based study found a total of 116 reports of death or injury to pedestrians wearing headphones between 2004 and 2011, jumping from 16 in 2005 to 47 in 2011.

    Most victims were men (68%) and under the age of 30 (67%), with around one in ten of all cases (9%) under the age of 18.Some 89% of the cases occurred in urban areas and more than half (55%) of the victims were struck by trains .

Eighty-one of the 116 accidents (70%) resulted in the person's death—even though a warning was sounded in around a third of the cases.

    The study concluded, “The use of headphone may be a safety risk to pedestrians , especially in environments with moving vehicles（cars）. Further research is needed to determine if and how headphone use threatens pedestrian safety.” British road safety groups warned pedestrians to be careful.

    Floor Lieshout, director of Youth For Road Safety, said,“ This study shows once more the importance of using all of our senses while we are near traffic. It is important that we find an attractive way to make youth learn about the risks of wearing headphones in traffic.”

    Andrew Howard, who is the head of road safety at the Automobile Association, added that some pedestrians can be “so focused in their own little world they forget the world going on around them”. That can include headphone wearers, Howard said, but also people talking on phones.

    However, Howard said that more researches needed to be done.

    Earlier studies have shown that people wearing headphones or talking on phones can suffer “inattentional blindness” which makes them isolated (孤立) from the world around them .

    Ian Harvey, at the charity Civic Voice, said that “ to defeat isolation and to help build a civic(文明的) society, people need to interact(交往) with each other .

    He said,“ A basis for any civilized society is communication—Surfing the web, listening to MP3s, reading blogs or sending e-mail is not interacting with a person; it's interacting with a machine.

    “If people feel socially isolated, they need to have more face-to-face interactions with other human beings and in time, will begin to feel happier and more connected to the world and place they live in.”

    Welcome to Amazon. Here are some top films to recommend this week.

    Magellan

    Scores 5.5

    101 min 2017

    When NASA picks up three outer space signals coming from within our own solar system, the space agency speeds a mission to investigate the sources. As Earth's lone messenger, they send Commander Roger Nelson, the test pilot for an experimental spacecraft called the Magellan, assisted by an on board A. I. named Ferdinand.

    Rent Movie HD $3.99

    Buy Movie HD $9.99

    The Lost City of Z

    Scores 6.6

    141 min 2016

    The Lost City of Z tells the unbelievable true story of British explorer Percy Fawcett, who journeys into the Amazon at the beginning of the 20th century and discovers evidence of a formerly unkown and advanced civilization that may have once ruled the region.

    Rent Movie HD $6.99

    Buy Movie HD $19.99

    The Post

    Scores 7.2

    115 min 2017

    Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep team for the first time in this exciting true story about how the Washington Post uncovered a huge cover-up of government secrets that lasted three decades. It made Richard Milhous Nixon, the president of the United States of the time, lose his power in the end.

    Rent Movie HD $5.99.

    Buy Movie HD $19.99

    Room

    Scores 8.2

    117 min 2015

    Both highly suspenseful and deeply emotional, Room is a unique and unexpectedly gentle exploration of the endless love between a mother and her child. After 5-year-old Jack and his Ma escape from the closed surroundings that Jack has known in his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery: the outside world.

    Rent Movie HD $3.99

    Buy Movie HD $12.99

    A telescope, called Gaia, is being designed by astronomers in Europe, and it couldn't be more different from Pan-STARRS, which is another telescope being designed. While Pan-STARRS will be looking for asteroids (小行星) and comets headed for Earth, Gaia will be looking at our entire galaxy (银河系).

    Gaia is designed to draw a map of the Milky Way, our home galaxy. Just as a map of your town gives you a picture of where things are located, Gaia's map of the galaxy will tell astronomers where the stars are. Over five years, Gaia will observe (观察) about a billion stars and other objects in our galaxy. Each object will be observed about 70 times.

    Gaia will be sent into space connected to a rocket. It contains two telescopes, each focused at a different angle (角度). These two telescopes act like Gaia's “eyes”. The reason why humans can see things in 3D is that we have two eyes focused on the same object, at slightly different angles. By using two telescopes like eyes, Gaia can produce the first 3D map of the positions of the stars it views.

    Gaia, which is to be sent into space, will be a powerful telescope. If you were to use it on Earth, for example, you could stand 600 miles away from your best friends and still get a clear picture of their hair.

    Gaia is one of more than a dozen telescopes being designed by scientists right now. The next generation of telescopes will reveal new parts of our universe that will seem surprising. The universe, with all its planets, stars and other strange objects, is a puzzle with pieces that we can see by using powerful telescopes.

During one of the earliest performances of "Peter Pan," the much-loved fantasy play for children, a small boy was invited to watch the production from the balcony. Afterwards he was asked what he liked best about the play. The pirates? The crocodile? Peter Pan flying through the air? The child's response was surprising: "What I think I liked best was tearing up the program and dropping the bits on people's heads".

The audience who left the theater with bits of paper in their hair probably wouldn't agree with the boy on the best part of the play. Neither would the caretakers in charge of cleaning the theater afterward. But when J. M. Barrie, the creator of "Peter Pan," heard the boy's comment, he was delighted. He wasn't offended that the boy hadn't paid closer attention to the play. Instead, he considered it one of his favorite reactions to his work.

All of us have to deal with decisions made by others – their words, actions and attitudes – that could be considered offensive. This can be particularly difficult when we feel that the values and traditions we hold dear are being rejected or even laughed at.

But just as someone might choose whether or not to do something offensive, we can choose whether or not to be insulted (侮辱). We can choose to give others the benefit of the doubt and not assume mean intent behind their actions. We can love people even if we do not love their choices. After all, isn't it more important – though perhaps more challenging – to love a person than to love words or actions?

Accepting people does not mean approving of or forgiving their decisions. It does not mean giving up our own rights to think and act differently. Nor does it mean we will never feel sad or hurt or disappointed. But at a deeper level, we can be at peace if we focus on love – for love has the power to overcome our disappointment, frustration and pain. And who knows? Our love may even soften a heart. But even if it doesn't, the best approach is still to let love, peace, patience and kindness rule the day.