If you feel like you've been listening to the same three songs on a loop（循环地）, maybe it's time to discover some new songs. With these apps (almost all of which are free, by the way) and some patience, you might just find your new favorite songs:

Indie shuffle

    Allows you to browse through lesser-known artists' music based on genre（类型）, release date and various other categories（类别）. You can save songs or artists you like and find bands with similar sounds.

Rormix

    Rormix searches your music library to find out what genres and artists you already listen to. Based on its findings, the app suggests music videos you might like just as much. It's an easy way to find new artists without getting too far away from the genres you know and love.

Band of the day

    Provides you with new lesser-known artists and groups to listen to every single day! Download the app, turn on notifications, and you'll get a daily recommendation.

Bandsintown

    If you live for live music, Bandsintown will automatically download your library and suggest concerts you might like based on that list. If a new concert is announced in your area, you will get an automatic e-mail with the details. Basically, you will never miss another show. Here is the best part: You can buy tickets through the app.

Soundcloud

    It is the place to find up-and-coming musicians and remixed singles. Anyone can share and ad music, leading to endless possibilities. The app is a streaming（流媒体）service, online community, and creative outlet. For fans, it makes it possible to keep up with your favorite artists' latest releases.

    Imagine you are in a jumping contest. Animals and insects can also enter this contest. But they might just leave humans in the dust!

    The first event is the long jump. The human athlete is Mike Powell. In 1991, he jumped nearly 30 feet, which is the world record for the long jump. That is about five times his own height.

    His competitor in the long-jump contest is a frog named “Rosie the Ribbiter.” Rosie set the world record for frogs in 1986 by jumping more than 21 feet. Her record has never been broken by any other frog. Compared to Mike Powell, Rosie's jump is not that amazing. But wait! Rosie is only about 10 inches long when her legs are stretched to their full length. She can jump more than 25 times her size. Rosie, the frog, wins the long-jump event.

    The next event is the high jump. Javier Sotomayor, the world record holder, can jump a bar (横杆) 8 feet high. That is about as high as the ceiling in most homes.

    Looking around for someone to challenge his record, Javier might need a magnifying glass (放大镜). The next contestant is a tiny insect called the spittlebug (吹沫虫).

    The spittlebug can jump 28 inches into the air. It is only a quarter-inch long, less than the width of a pencil. If the spittlebug were the same size as Javier, it would be able to jump 600 feet into the air. That is like a human jumping over a building 55 stories high!

    Though the humans lose the “jumping contest,” their competitors would probably agree that Mike and Javier are still pretty excellent athletes. If only Rosie and the spittlebug could speak!

Make a five-minute film and win!

    Do you love the summer holidays but hate being bored? Then why don't you enter the Film Street Summer Shorts Competition by making a short film this summer with your family and friends?

What you have to do

    To enter the competition, you have to make a short film that around 5 minutes long (It can be shorter but not longer!) on a digital camera, or mobile phone.

Awards

    The best short film entered into our competition will be shown in Film Street's Cinema and you'll win a Cineworld Cinemas pass for yourself and there more for other members of your film crew. If you have a Cineworld Cinemas pass, you can watch as many films as you like for a year, for free, at any Cineworld Cinema!

Rules

.We can't show films that tell others about either your, or any other kids', name or address.

.We can't show films that hurt, harm or insult(侮辱） other people。

.We can't show films that have bad language.

Copyright Checklist

Getting permission to use someone else's work in your film can be expensive, so check your film to make sure that:

.Your film is original and you haven't copied someone else.

.There are no scenes of branding on shop signs, books, magazines or CDs.

.There are no scenes of someone else's artwork.

Address and Date

Post your finished film on tape, CD or DVD by Monday, October1st, 2007 to:

Unit 6,Third Floor, The Bond

180-182 Fazeley Street; Birmingham

    So what's stopping you? Start making your Film Street Summer Short now!

    There is a story about a man who lost his legs and left arm in an accident. After the accident, only a finger and thumb on his right hand remained.

    He was a brilliant, creative, and educated man. He had gained a lot of experience while traveling around the world, so he became very depressed after his accident. He was afraid that he would spend the rest of his life suffering and would no longer be able to spend his life in a meaningful way. Then, he realized that he still had partial function of his right hand and could still write even though it was very difficult. An idea occurred to him. “Why not write to other people who need encouragement?”

    He wrote to the prison ministry about sending letters to the prisoners. The prison minister replied, “Writing to the prisoners is acceptable, but your letters will not be answered.”

    Filled with excitement, the man knew he could write his letters. He began sending one-way messages of God's love, hope, strength, and encouragement. He wrote twice a week, testing his strength and ability to the limit. He poured his heart and soul into his words and shared his experience, sense of humor, optimism, and faith.

    It was difficult to write those letters, especially without hope of a reply. One day he received a letter from the prison ministry. It was a short note from the officer who monitored and checked the prison mail.

    The letter said, “Please write on the best paper you can afford. Your letters are passed from cell (囚房) to cell until they literally (逐字地) fall to pieces!”

    No matter what circumstances life may present, we all have unique experiences, abilities, and God-given talents. We can discover ways to reach others who desperately need messages of encouragement and strength.

Dogs are man's best friends—they are very good for children's health. Researchers found that family pets helped to protect babies against breathing problems and infections (感染).

    A team from Kuopio University Hospital in Finland studied 397 babies born at their hospital between September 2012 and May 2015 for their first year. They found that babies who lived with a dog or a cat spent fewer weeks with ear infections, coughs or runny noses. They were also less likely to need antibiotics (抗生素) than babies in homes without a pet.

    Study author, Dr. Eija Bergroth, said dogs brought dirt and bacteria (细菌) into the home, which helped children's immune system (免疫系统) to be strong. This improved their defenses against bacteria.

    As part of the study, parents filled out weekly diaries starting when the children were nine weeks old, recording information on babies' health as well as their contact with cats and dogs. They recorded if they had fever, ear infections, coughs or running noses. They also put down whether they needed antibiotics.

    Based on those diaries, the researchers found that about a third of the children spent most of their first year with a pet dog and 24 percent in a home with a cat. And children with no dog contact at home were healthy for 65 percent of the time, compared to between 72 and 76 percent for those who did have a pet.

    The researchers also found that contact with dogs, more than cats, was tied to fewer weeks of sickness for babies.

    However, the researchers said they couldn't rule out the possibility that people who own dogs are less likely to get sick for another reason, not due to any protection offered by pets.

    When the company was small, Google cared a lot about getting kids from Harvard, Stanford, and MIT. But Laszlo Bock, Google's former Senior Vice President of People Operations, said it was the "wrong" hiring strategy. Experience has taught him that there are exceptional kids at many other places, from state schools in California to those in New York. "What we find is that the best people from places like these are just as good if not better as anybody you can get from any Ivy League school," said Bock, who authored a book titled "Work Rules!"

    So what else does Google not care about:

    Grades: Google's data shows that grades predict performance for the first two years of a career, but do not matter after that.

    Brain-teasers: Gone are interview questions such as: Why are manhole covers (井盖) round? How many golf balls can fit in a school bus? "Our research tells us those questions are a waste of time," Bock said. "They're a really coachable skill. The more you practice, the better you get at it."

    Here's what Google does care about:

    Problem solvers: Your cognitive (认知的) ability, or how well you solve problems.

    Leaders: The idea is not whether you were president of the student body or vice president of a bank, but rather "When you see a problem, do you step in and help solve it?" and then critically, "Are you willing to let somebody else take over, and make room for somebody else? Are you willing to give up power?"

    Googleyness: That's what Google calls its cultural fit. It's not "Are you like us?" Bock said. "We actually look for people who are different, because diversity gives us great ideas."

    "What's most important is that people are intellectually humble, willing to admit when they're wrong, and care about the environment around them ...because we want people who think like owners not employees," Bock said.