I call my story the story of a bad boy, partly to distinguish myself from those faultless young gentlemen, and partly because I really was not an angle. I may truthfully say I was a friendly, impulsive(易冲动的)teenager. I didn't want to be an angel. In short, I was a real human boy, such as you may meet anywhere in New England.

Whenever a new scholar came to our school, I used to ask him " My name's Tom Bailey; what's your name?" If the name struck me favorably, I shook hands with the new pupil cordially, but if it didn't, I would turn and walk away, for I was particular on this point.

I was born in Rivermouth almost fifty years ago, but, before I became very well acquainted with that pretty New England town, my parents moved to New Orleans. I was only eighteen months old at the time of the move, and it didn't make much difference to me where I was, because several years later, when my father proposed to take me North to be educated, I had my own view on the subject. I instantly kicked over the little boy, Sam, who happened to be standing by me at the moment, and declared that I would not be taken away to live among a lot of Yankees! You see I was what is called " a Northern man with Southern principles," I had no recollection of New England: my earliest memories were connected with the South. I knew I was born in the North, but hoped nobody would find it out. I never told my schoolmates I was a Yankee, because they talked about Yankees in a scornful way which made me feel that it was quite a shame not to be born in the South.

And this impression was strengthened by Aunt Chloe, who said, "There wasn't no gentlemen in the North no way."

    With this picture of Northern civilization in my eye, the readers will easily understand my terror at the bare thought of being transported to Rivermouth to school, and possibly will forgive me for kicking over little Sam, when my father announced this to me. As for kicking little Sam, I always did that, more or less gently, when anything went wrong with me.

    My father was greatly troubled by this violent behavior. As little Sam picked himself up, my father took my hand in his and led me thoughtfully to the library. He appeared strangely puzzled on learning the nature of my objections to going North.

"Who on earth, Tom, has filled your brain with those silly stories?" asked my father calmly.

"Aunt Chloe, sir, she told me."

My father devoted that evening and several evenings to giving me a clear account of New England: its early struggles, its progress, and its present condition. I was no longer unwilling to go North; on the contrary, the proposed journey to a new world full of wonders kept me awake nights. Long before the moving day arrived I was eager to be off. My impatience was increased by the fact that my father had purchased for me a fine little Mustang pony, and shipped it to Rivermouth two weeks before the date set for our own journey. The pony completely resigned me to the situation. The pony's name was Gitana, which is the Spanish for "gypsy", so I always called her Gypsy.

    Finally the time came to leave the vine-covered mansion among the orange-trees, to say goodbye to little Sam(I am convince he was heartily glad to get rid of me), and to part with Aunt Chloe. I imagine them standing by the open garden gate; the tears are rolling down Aunt Chloe's cheeks; they and the old home fade away. I am never to see them again!

What Cocktail Parties Teach Us

    You're at a party. Music is playing. Glasses are clinking. Dozens of conversations are driving up the decibel (分贝) level. Yet among all those distractions, you can tune your attention to just one voice from many. This ability is what researchers call the “cocktail-party effect”.

    Scientists at the University of California in San Francisco have found where that sound-editing process occurs in the brain — in the auditory cortex (听觉皮层) just behind the ear, not in areas of higher thought. The auditory cortex boosts some sounds and turns down others so that when the signal reaches the higher brain, “it's as if only one person was speaking alone,” says investigator Edward Chang.

    These findings, published in the journal Nature last week, explain why people aren't very good at multitasking — our brains are wired for “selective attention” and can focus on only one thing at a time. That inborn ability has helped humans survive in a world buzzing with visual and auditory stimulation (刺激). But we keep trying to push the limits with multitasking, sometimes with tragic (悲剧的) consequences. Drivers talking on cellphones, for example, are four times as likely to get into traffic accidents as those who aren't.

    Many of those accidents are due to “inattentional blindness”, in which people can, in effect, turn a blind eye to things they aren't focusing on. The more attention a task demands, the less attention we can pay to other things in our field of vision. Images land on our retinas (视网膜) and are either boosted or played down in the visual cortex before being passed to the brain, just as the auditory cortex filters sounds, as shown in the Nature study last week. “It's a push-pull relationship — the more we focus on one thing, the less we can focus on others,” says Diane M. Beck, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Illinois.

    Studies over the past decade at the University of Utah show that drivers talking on hands-free cellphones are just as influenced as those on hands-held phones because it is the conversation, not the device, that is distracting their attention. Those talking on any kind of cellphone react more slowly and miss more traffic signals than other motorists.

    Some people can train themselves to pay extra attention to things that are important — like police officers learn to scan crowds for faces and conductors can listen for individual instruments within the orchestra as a whole. Many more think they can effectively multitask, but are actually shifting their attention rapidly between two things and not getting the full effect of either, experts say.

    It's apparently become a trend in schools around the world to ban students from using the term, “best friends,” according to psychologist Dr. Barbara Greenberg. The movement, which is believed to have started in Prince George's school in South London, isn't intended to discourage close friendships, but rather encourage a wider friend group, Greenberg says.

    “Let's face it. You can't ban somebody from having a close relationship, and you can't really ban somebody from having a best friend but what the schools are trying to do is foster the idea of kids having more than a single friend,” Greenberg said.

    The idea is to increase the number of interactions a student may have with different members of his or her peer group. “I see kids come in all week long who are feeling awful because they are either nobody's best friend or their best friend has moved on,” Greenberg says.

    Jay Jacobs, who operates Timber Lake Camp in New York, stresses the downside of not fostering multiple relationships at a young age, for exactly that reason. “I think that there are problems in just having one friend,” Jacobs says. “Remember as you grow up, interests change, and children go in different directions.” Jacobs adds that teachers at Timber Lake, which changes positions between Glen Cove in winter and Shandake in summer, have made it a point to promote a more inclusive environment for years.

    Jacobs reminds people that, “As you grow up, interests change, and children go in different directions,” so having only one friend can be risky. He holds the belief that children will be better set up for success later in life if they get used to having a wider friend group at a young age. “It's about promoting kindness, looking to children to be kind to one another and to be aware of what it looks like when you're not,” Jacobs says.

    Researchers are looking into new ways to generate efficient photovoltaic energy (光伏能源) and for this they have been inspired by the v-shaped posture of the Cabbage White butterfly(菜粉蝶).

    Photovoltaic energy is the science behind solar power, where light is turned into electricity. It is a two-set process. Step one is a photoelectric effect, caused by sunlight. The second step is an electrochemical process, which generates an electric current.

    To improve the collection of sunlight, a research group has been inspired by the resting posture of the Cabbage White butterfly. The species has a natural range across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. To many farmers, the butterflies are regarded as a pest; to others, they are pretty to look at. To one research group the butterflies are an inspiration.

    The butterfly adopts a v-shape in order to heat up its flight muscles before taking off. By creating solar panels(太阳能电池板)in this formation，scientists think that the quantity of power that a solar panel can produce can be increased by around 50 percent.

    The Cabbage White butterfly is different to many other butterflies in using the v-formation. On cloudy days butterflies need to wait to receive enough sunlight in order to fly. However  by using the v-posture, the Cabbage White butterfly is able to take in more energy more quickly than other butterflies. In addition, the butterfly can reflect sunlight from its wings, which allows its flight muscles to be warmed to an ideal temperature.

    The new research was conducted at the University of Exeter's Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) and the Centre for Ecology and Conservation. Discussing the findings with Laboratory Manager magazine, lead researcher Professor Tapas Mallick stated :"Biomimicry(仿生学)in engineering is not new. However, this research shows pathways to develop low cost solar power that have not been done before. "

    More primary care doctors in a community (社区)appear to lead to improved life expectancy for people living there, though a lack of such physicians across U.S. could be a cause of concern for overall population health in years to come.

    For the study, researchers looked at physician counts per 100,000 people in a range covering 2005 to 2015 in the U. S., along with life expectancy and specific causes of death. They found that an increase of 10 primary care physicians per 100,000 population was associated with a 51. 5-day increase in life expectancy, while an increase of 10 specialty physicians per 100, 000 population increased life expectancy by 19. 2 days. An increase in primary care physicians also was associated with reductions of many deaths including heart diseases and cancers.

    Along with those findings, though, the study said many communities did not have primary care physicians in 2015, with the decline in supply more prominent in rural areas than their urban areas. Many believe that a well-functioning health care system requires a solid foundation of primary care, however, payment difference between primary care and technical specialties continue to dispirit the U. S. primary care physician workforce.

    "Higher pay and lifestyle preferences lead most students to choose non-primary care fields, even when their hearts say primary care," the study said. "We must turn this trend around with practical changes in physician payment policy; no amount of superb primary care training or creative practice reform will prevent further declines in primary care physician, which will lead to worsening health for the United States."

    The study's researchers conclude that future research should focus on the "quality and cover of primary care, types of primary care physician training and service offerings, and effective access rather than just supply".

A recent story on TikTok showed how two neighbors found companionship (陪伴) and a new spirit in life during COVID-19, thanks to a shared love of the piano.

The heartbreaking story started when Giorgio Lo Porto heard his neighbor playing the piano through their dividing wall. Lo Porto is an Italian living in London. He reached out to his neighbor and left a note, saying if he or she could play My Heart Will Go On. The mystery neighbor agreed, suggesting they play together. Over time the music between two complete strangers became a regular weekend engagement(约会).

A week later, the pair finally met and "it was better than expected," shared Lo Porto. The mystery pianist happened to be a78-year-old Polish man named Emil. "He lost his wife in December due to COVID-19 and all he has been left is the piano. And he plays at 2 p.m. every weekend because his wife loved it," shared Lo Porto.

While Emil didn't want to appear on any of the videos, he did share his thankfulness to Lo Porto for keeping him motivated during a most emotional and lonely time.When the pair offered each other company, Emil also inspired Lo Porto to continue writing his own song. And Emil reported being happier after playing music with Lo Porto and was thankful to those who watched their performance.

The bittersweet story shows the unbelievable influence two complete strangers can have on each other. Emil moved out at the end of February. Lo Porto wrote, "Dear Emil, you changed my life. You gave me back my passion (激情)，and we shared that with the world. You'll be in my heart. I'll keep playing, thinking of how powerful music can be. You said I was your light, but you've been mine too. Bye, Emil."