Traditionally, across the world, boys and girls attend a mixed school, where they study together. But boys' schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions (情感) and encourage them to take part in activities such as art, dance and music.

    Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to take part in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather than feeling they had to correspond to(和…相符) the "boy code" of hiding their emotions to be a "real man".

    The findings of the study go against accepted wisdom that boys do better when taught together with girls.

    Tony Little, head master of Eton, warned that boys were being failed by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls.

    The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when girls do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.

    But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor (量身定做) lessons to boys' learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study's author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia.

    Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with "boy-focused" approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have more acute vision, learn best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given "hands-on" lessons where they are allowed to walk around. "Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine（女性的） and prefer the modern genre （类型） in which violence and sexism are major themes," James wrote.

    Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel that they had to be "masterful and in charge" in relationships. "In mixed schools, boys feel forced to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means," the study reported.

    Do you drink water that's been left sitting out overnight or even for another day? Have you noticed it tastes different?

    Tap water that has been left to sit out slowly begins to acquire(获得) off taste. Many people think that this is because of microorganisms. But that's not what makes old water taste not fresh. For that we can thank carbon dioxide. After about 12 hours, tap water starts to go flat as carbon dioxide in the air starts to mix with the water in the glass, lowering its pH and giving it an off taste. But it's most likely safe to drink.

    However, back to those microorganisms. If you use a dirty glass day after day, there is more of a chance of bacteria making themselves known; a risk that increases if you share the glass with another mouth as well. But assuming(假设) you use a fresh glass every few days, you probably won't have a problem unless the glass has been touched by dirty fingers, and especially if those dirty fingers went unwashed after using the bathroom.

    As for plastic water bottles that have been left out in the sun or in the car, step away from the bottle, warns Dr. Kellogg Schwab, director of the Johns Hopkins University Water Institute. "A chemical called biphenyl-A, or BPA, along with other things used to make plastic can leach(过滤) into your water if the bottle heats up or sits in the sun," he explains. BPA, as you probably know, has been linked to everything from heart disease to cancer. Schwab also adds that plastic used for commercial bottled water isn't meant to be washed or refilled, so use only one time and recycle. Or don't buy them at all; use refillable water bottles instead.

    Almost everyone wants to be happy, but not all know how to find happiness. Money and success alone do not bring lasting happiness. Aristotle, a Greek thinker, said, “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” In other words, we make our own happiness. Here are a few suggestions to help you be happier.

    The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. Too often, we spend so much time thinking about the future that we fail to enjoy the present, for example, getting into college or getting a good job. You should enjoy life's simple pleasures, such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, or spending time with close friends. People who have several close friends often live happier and healthier lives.

    Another secret to living a happy life is to be active, and have hobbies where you forget your problems and time. Many people experience dancing, or playing a sport, such as swimming. You can forget about your problems and only think about the activity.

    Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. Studies show that people feel good when they spend their time helping others. If you want to feel happier, do good things for someone. You can help a friend with his or her studies, go shopping to buy food for an elderly person, or simply help out around the house by washing the dishes.

Happy birthday

    The China National Opera (CNO) will give a concert to celebrate its 50th birthday.

Different generations of CNO vocalists, like Li Guangxi, Yao Hong and Ma Mei, will present the concert which will feature both songs from famous Chinese operas like “The White-haired Girl” and “The Hundredth Bride”, as well as, arias of such Western opera classics as “Madame Butterfly”, “La Traviata” and “Rigoletto”.

Time/ date: 7:30 p.m., September 7th, 8^th

Location: Tianqiao Theatre

Tel: 6551-4787, 8315-6170

Tickets: 60-500 yuan (U.S. $7.2- 60.2)

Folk music

    A concert will be held to feature some recently composed traditional Chinese music works. The concert, given by the Folk Orchestra of the China Opera and Ballet Theatre, will include such pieces as “Memory of Childhood”, “Memorial Ceremony for God” and “Wine Song”.

Time/date: 7:30pm, September 13th

Location: Concert hall at the National Library of China

Tel: 6848 –5462, 6841-9220

Tickets: 30-200 yuan (U.S. $3.6-24.1)

Moon music

    A concert of traditional Chinese music will be given on the eve of the Moon Festival which falls on September 21^st this year. The concert will feature a number of famous pieces centered on the theme of the moon, such as “Moonlight”, “Spring night on a Moonlit River” and “Lofty Mountain and Flowing River.”

A number of established traditional Chinese music performers like Zhou Yaokun and Fan Weiqing, will play solos as well as collaborate with the folk music orchestra.

Time / date: 7:30 pm, September 21^st

Location: Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities

Tel: 6606-8888, 6606-9999

Ticket: 40-240 yuan (U.S. $4.8-27)

    Diet pills, diet Coke, diet Pepsi, no-fat diet, vegetable diet… We are surrounded by the word "diet" everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically.

    Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing  our brains to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high-calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale (秤) instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word "diet" in food labels.

    On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero-calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don't have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.

    The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients. Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemicals that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.

    Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals. Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological and physical harm that comes from using them.

    Unemployment in the United States is still high at 6.7％. But for job seekers, especially those with college educations, researchers say finding a job can be as easy as logging(登录)on to a computer. It used to be that looking for a job meant hurrying around, knocking on doors and turning to ads. But that's changing, thanks to the Internet. A new report says, for college graduates, looking for a job is getting easier. More than 80 percent of the jobs are available online.

    At the height of the depression(萧条), in the U. S. the highest unemployment rate was 10％, just a little more than two million jobs were being posted each month. But as the recovery takes hold, the job picture looks increasingly bright.

    That's great news for Hamilton. Only once has he ever applied in person for a job at a shopping mall. He said, "I think my generation—the idea of going door to door, out knocking and saying, hey are you hiring? —like that—doesn't exist anymore…those days are gone. Just go online.''

Kim Dancy recently graduated with a master's degree in Public Policy. She found her dream job as an education policy researcher. But she says finding the perfect job online takes a lot of perseverance. She said, "It can be really frustrating and it takes a long time, but if you applied for enough positions and really do your homework you will get somewhere.

    The report's findings suggest careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math provide the greatest opportunities, with salaries that range between $30 to $45 an hour. But for maximum income and satisfaction, workers must be prepared to move and change jobs at least every five years.