Will you be playing some music at work?

    Music is particularly popular in the medical profession, especially among surgeons（外科医生）. A recent survey shows that 90% of surgeons in the UK put music on the sound system in the theatre during operations. Plastic surgeons（整形外科医生）play the most music; it appears that ear, nose, and throat specialists the least.

    But it isn't only in surgeries(外科手术) where music is popular. In another recent survey, one-third of the 1,613 people said they listen to music while working. And 79% of them said that humming（哼歌）along improves their job satisfaction or productivity.

    Is listening to music at work a good idea? Yes, say the experts. Many surgeons say that music helps to create a “calm atmosphere”, and a third of them added that it avoids getting bored! Also, listening to music raises the levels of a brain chemical that can help people focus. Office workers say it improves job satisfaction. Several studies suggest that it's also good for hospital patients. Those listening to music through headphones during surgery require less anesthetic（麻醉剂）, up to 50% less in some cases, and recover more quickly afterwards. “Sure, music reduces anxiety before surgery,” says Zeev Kain, an anesthetist at Yale University.

    So, what type of music should we be listening to? Surgeons from the previous survey preferred rock, pop music and classical. And hip-hop is popular too. However, whatever the kind, it appears that self-selected music is the best choice. Pennsylvania State University research showed that when people chose their own music there was more stress reduction(下降). And other researchers found that when listening to self-selected music, surgeons did the maths faster and more accurately than when they were listening to music chosen for them.

    It all began with a stop at a red light.

    Kevin Salwen was driving his 14-year-old daughter,Hannah,back from a sleepover in 2006.While waiting at a traffic light,they saw a black Mercedes Coupe on one side and a homeless man begging for food on the other.

    "Dad,if that man had a less nice car,that man there could have a meal," Hannah protested.The light changed and they drove on,but Hannah was too young to be reasonable.She pestered（纠缠）her parents about inequity,insisting that she wanted to do something.

    "What do you want to do?" her mom responded. "Sell our house?"

    Warning!Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager.Hannah seized upon the idea of selling the luxurious family home and donating half the proceeds（收入）to charity,while using the other half to buy a more modest replacement home.

    Eventually,that's what the family did.The project—crazy,impetuous（鲁莽的）and absolutely inspiring—is written down in detail in a book by father and daughter scheduled to be published next month: The Power of Half.It's a book that,frankly,I'd be nervous about leaving around where my own teenage kids might find it.An impressionable child reads this,and the next thing you know your whole family is out on the street.

    At a time of enormous needs in Haiti and elsewhere,when so many Americans are trying to help Haitians by sending everything from text messages to shoes,the Salwens offer an example of a family that came together to make a difference—for themselves as much as the people they were trying to help.In a column a week ago,it described neurological（神经生物学的）evidence from brain scans that unselfishness lights up parts of the brain normally associated with more primary satisfaction.The Salwens' experience confirms the selfish pleasures of selflessness.

    Mr.Salwen and his wife,Joan,had always assumed that their kids would be better bigger house.But after they downsized,there was much less space to retreat to,so the family members spent more time around each other.A smaller house unexpectedly turned out to be a more family-friendly house.

    China plans to launch 156 small satellites by 2025 to provide Internet services in low signal areas and places with adverse natural environment, according to China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).

    Due to environmental conditions of deserts, mountains and seas, half of the world's population has no access to the Internet, and the information deficiency hampers local development.

    It will be China's first broadband Internet access system with small satellites hovering in low orbit, which will also help meet the needs of commercial space development.

    The project, named Hongyun, plans to send the first satellite by 2019, and launch four more by 2020. By the end of 2025, CASIC plans to have all of the 156 satellites in operation.

    The Hongyun Project, which focuses on communication, remote sensing and navigation, can offer communication and Internet services for China and less-developed 3 countries with reduced latency. Meanwhile, the project can also benefit emergency communication, sensor data collection and remote control of unmanned equipment.

    Currently, international maritime satellites are widely used in communications in mountainous areas and airplanes, but those satellites, 36, 000 kilometers above the Earth, have time and signal delay as well as high cost for providing services.

    The small satellites sent by the Hongyun Project will hover in low orbits only hundreds of kilometers to 1, 000 kilometers above the Earth, and thus could improve the Internet access. However, the low orbit satellites may face challenges in power supply, as they need more energy to reduce the influence of air-resistance compared to high orbit satellites. Experiments are needed to determine whether solar energy alone is enough.

    UK education is all about giving you inspiration to develop your knowledge and skills, freedom to be creative, and support to help you achieve your best.

    On a UK course you will benefit from excellent teaching and facilities. In order to accept students, UK education centres must meet strict quality standards set by the UK government and education bodies.

    With such a good reputation for research and education, universities and colleges in the UK attract some of the world's leading academics and professionals. You will be encouraged to express your own ideas and think for yourself.

    The attention to quality is reflected in the UK's excellent results:

    Four of the top six universities in the world are in the UK.

    The UK is a world-leading research nation. 54% of the research conducted by UK universities and colleges is classed as either "world-leading" or "internationally excellent".

    At the most recent inspection, 97% of further education colleges were judged satisfactory or better, for their overall effectiveness.

    In the recent BIS Tracking International Graduate Outcomes survey, more than 88% of international higher education graduates said they were satisfied with their UK learning experience.

    Likewise, in the Higher Education Academy Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey of UK postgraduate students, 93% rated the quality of teaching positively.

    For English language students, you'll find the UK has long been at the forefront of language teaching, and pioneered many of the techniques now used around the world. The emphasis is on learning the language through fun and participation: Instead of just listening to your teacher, your classes will involve games, problem-solving and discussions. You might also listen to songs, watch television or read magazines to practise your comprehension skills.

    The UK's boarding schools also offer excellent teaching, facilities and support. At UK independent schools (most boarding schools are independent), a teacher has just 9.4 pupils on average, so teachers have more time to give you individual support. This is reflected in the results: 91% of students from UK independent schools go on to higher education.

    Three important changes that will affect people's everyday life in the future.

    The cashless society

    Cash and bank notes will disappear almost completely. They will be replaced by smart cards with microchip (微芯片) "loaded" with some money. When we pay for goods, we will put our smart cards into a payment terminal (终端) and money will be transferred (转) from our cards to the retailer's (零售商的) card. When all the money is used up, we will be able to "reload" it by inserting it into a telephone, dialing our bank account and putting money to the card from the account. If we want to transfer money from our cards to a bank account, we will use the same method. Smart cards will be able to hold several different currencies at the same time. So if we go abroad, we will be able to use our smart cards in the same way.

    Interactive telephones

    Human telephones will be replaced by talking computers. These computers will recognize speech, ask us what information we need, find the information and change it to speech. If we want to book a flight or pay a bill by phone, we will ask a talking computer to do it. Of course, this won't happen until all the technology is in place, but when it is we will soon get used to using computers in this way.

    ________________

    Traffic congestion (拥挤) in cities will be reduced because drivers will use electronic maps to find the quickest way to their destinations and avoid traffic jams. Because people have to pay to drive in cities, they will stop using their cars and use public transport instead. Speed control systems will be built into cars. These systems will control the speed of the car according to the traffic and weather conditions and prevent accidents.

    The Secretary-General of the U.N. has always been chosen in private meetings. But for the first time in its 70-year history, part of the selection process is taking place in public.

    At least eight countries have announced their candidates (候选人) for the position, among whom are women, including Irina Bukova from Bulgaria, Susana Malcorra from Argentina and Helen Clark from New Zealand. 56 countries says the next U.N. chief should be a woman. There have been eight U.N. chiefs, none of whom was a woman.

    All member states were permitted to ask the candidates questions during two hour-long meetings last week in the U.N. General Assembly (联合国大会). The candidates were also asked some of the 1,000 questions written by people on social media.

    They were asked questions about development, how they would improve efforts to create peace and how they would protect human rights.

    The U.N. Security Council will examine the candidates' backgrounds. Then the 15 members will vote secretly until one person is chosen. The General Assembly will then vote on whether to accept the choice.

    Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States are the five permanent members of the Security Council. Experts say they are likely to have more influence on who will be the new secretary-general than the 10 non-permanent nations on the council.

    The Security Council will begin to discuss who will be named the next secretary-general in July. A new secretary-general may not be confirmed until as late as November.

    The U.N. has a tradition of choosing its new leader from a part of the world different from its current leader. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is from Asia. The previous U.N. chief was Kofi Annan, who was from Africa.

    Dan Thomas is a spokesman for the president of the General Assembly. He says there is no rule that says where a new secretary-general must come from. But most observers say the new U.N. chief will not be from Asia or Africa.