【推荐1】"The music will not vanish," said Zhang Yadong，a famous Chinese music producer, in an interview with CGTN，expressing his strong belief in the power of today’s young musicians.

China’s new popular variety show "The Big Band，"debuted (首演）in May, is bringing some incredibly talented Chinese rock bands into the mainstream. As one of the judges, or "Super Fans"， Zhang has grabbed the spotlight for his professional remarks on the show. Zhang, who started his career as a music producer in the early 1990s, has composed, recorded and produced several hit songs and albums for notable Chinese singers and bands.

Although Zhang admitted the importance of having a unique style and innovative (创新的）music， he emphasized the necessity of hard work. He said he respects talent，but he doesn’t think it is reliable. "Music is my profession，which cannot just rely on talent,"he said, "I have to work hard to keep myself sharp all the time."

According to a 2018 report by the Communication University of China, nearly 30 percent of Chinese musicians earn nothing from their music and 70 percent have to find part-time jobs. "The cost is quite high for today’s music producers, who need the support of expensive equipment," said Zhang. "It is convenient for users to download unauthorized content，but musicians may lose their motivation to create new content because their efforts seem to have gone in vain. Luckily, music copyrights have been strengthened as numerous policies to crack down on (打击）pirated music on the Internet have come into effect." Zhang agrees that these measures are helpful, and that record companies should not sign unequal contracts with musicians by taking advantage of their desire to be famous.

Decades have passed since Zhang came to Beijing to pursue his dream. Chinese popular music, meanwhile，has continued to transform and develop. Zhang said today’s young musicians are more stressed due to fiercer competition. However, he thinks they are hopeful and should not be underestimated. "I believe the changes are from quantity to quality," said Zhang. "I hope more people can write songs and fall in love with music." For more: click here.

【推荐3】It is difficult for a teacher to decide whether to allow students to listen to music in the classroom. Every time students need to write an essay or work on a problem, they say, “Can I put my headphones on? I think better that way. ” But is that really true? Does music help concentrate?

Research offers little to back up the idea that listening to music improves concentration. In one small study, 133 students performed reading asks while listening to either light music, hip bop, or no music at all. Students who performed the reading tasks in silence scored the highest. Music with a higher intensity (强度) like hip hop distracted the students from their reading tasks mere greatly and had a greater negative effect on task performance and concentration.

Volume (音量) plays a more important role than the type of music. The study found that the louder the music, the worse the performance in concentration. The type of music didn’t matter. Data from the study showed once again that silence was the best environment to improve concentration.

However, music has a positive effect on work performance, Studies have showed that listening to music leads to positive changes in mood, as well as creativity. In fact, in music-listening cultures, which students are certainly part of, there’s actually a change in mood when the music is taken away.

It’s hard to convince my students that music doesn’t help with their concentration.Taj, a senior told me, “I wouldn’t be able to concentrate if I were listening to music and trying to read. However,when I write, I feel like music helps me concentrate deeply. I don’t have writer’s block. It’s easy for me to pat my words on paper.”

“Maybe not with reading, but when it comes to math, listening to music certainly helps,” Danela told me. “You could actually be singing along with what you’re listening to and doing well in math.”

【推荐1】Las Vegas city in Nevada is built in a desert. The city may be known to the outside world for its partying. But officials have found that there are 21 square kilometers of useless grass. The grass is never laid on, played on or even stepped on. The grass is only there to look nice.

Now, the city is asking the Nevada state legislature (立法机构) to ban useless grass. It is trying to become the first place in America to ban that kind of grass often seen between streets, in housing developments and in office parks.

It is estimated (估计) that useless grass makes up 40% of all the grass in Las Vegas and it needs a lot of water to survive. Grass needs four times more water than dry climate plants like cactus. By tearing out the grass, the city could reduce yearly water usage by 15%.

In 2003, the Southern Nevada Water Authority banned developers from planting grass in front of new homes. It also offered homeowners $30 for each square meter of grass they tear out. But fewer people are now using the program. Water usage has increased in southern Nevada by 9% since 2019. And last year, Las Vegas set a record of 240 days without major rainfall. The Colorado River provides much of Nevada’s drinking water. The river could lose more water as climate change affects it.

Water officials (官员) in other dry cities said water usage needs to be reduced. But they fear the reaction to reforms like the ones in Las Vegas if their communities do not accept them. Cynthia Campbell is the water resources adviser for the city of Phoenix in Arizona. “There might come a point whencity restrictions(限制) get too severe (苛刻的) for some residents (居民). They’ll say that is the point of no return for them,” Campbell said. “For some people, it’s a pool. For some people, it’s grass.”