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He is to be2 for these exercises, but what really delights him is that this money will fund his3 in Break The Rules Day.

We first became4 of this fundraising event for his school when he started talking about it last week. This, in itself, was extremely5, since my son usually refuses to reveal anything that6 between 9 and 3:30 unless medically necessary.

Break The Rules Day was clearly,7, something worth getting excited about. When the letter from school arrived, we8 why. It read like a menu, itemising all the rules he and his classmates would be9 to break, 11 in all, each priced at 50p.

Some of the10 items were so specific that they cast a strange new11 on the usual do's and don'ts of classroom life, like "Choose where you sit" or "Wear a cap in class". My son had ticked every single12 once — some with such13 that he'd very nearly torn through the paper with his pen. This makes his sudden willingness to do chores immediately14.

As my son busies himself, I remind him to15 his uniform in the laundry basket (洗衣篮). "What's the laundry basket?" comes his cheerful, and definitive, reply.

In times gone by, soundscapes would' ve consisted of the sounds of nature, such as birdcalls and the sound of crashing waves. . With rapid urbanisation, air travel, construction, and traffic noises are now in the mix, and agricultural noise means that not even rural life is safe.Noise pollution can lead to heightened stress levels and a higher risk of disease in humans. Not only that, it can affect the behaviour and life cycles of species which rely on sound.

So, what can be done? In Barcelona, Spain, city planners built"superblocks",where traffic goes around big groups of buildings and the inner streets are pedestrianised. A 2025BMC Public Health article reported that people in these areas experienced improved well-being,better sleep quality, and reduced noise.

Other techniques include tree buffers, where trees are planted in urban areas to absorb sound energy. . England has a vast network of hedgerows(树篱). And it turns out they make excellent sound barriers.

. But cutting noise pollution is just as important, helping to create a soundscape that works for everyone. A better world isn't just cleaner, but it should sound better too.

A. Urban design is one trick.

B. Sadly, that's no longer the case in the 21st century.

C. Personal mindfulness may silence the chaos outside.

D. This combination of sounds is referred to as a soundscape.

E. Improving our environment often starts with reducing litter.

F. In Germany, they have created earth banks next to the airport.

G. Noise is an essential part of the soundscape in most environments.

Ethan Bernstein and Stephen Turban, two Harvard Business School professors, studied two Fortune 500 companies that made the shift to an open office environment from one where workers had more privacy. Using "sociometric" electronic badges (徽章) and microphones, as well as data on email and instant messenger use by employees, the researchers found in the first study that after the organization made the move to open-plan offices, workers spent 73% less time in face-to-face interaction. Meanwhile, email use rose 67% and IM use went up 75%.

The participants wore the badges and microphones for several weeks before the office was redesigned and for several after, and the company gave the researchers access to their electronic communications. The results were astonishing. "We were surprised by the degree to which we found the effect," Bernstein said. The badges could tell that two people had a face-to-face interaction without recording actual spoken words. The researchers were careful to make sure other factors weren't in question—the business cycle was similar, for instance, and the group of employees were the same.

In a second study, the researchers looked at the changes in interaction between specific pairs of colleagues, finding a similar drop in face-to-face communication and a smaller but still significant increase in electronic correspondence.

Another wrinkle in their research, Bernstein said, is that not only did workers shift the way of communication they used, but they also tended to interact with different groups of people online than they did in person. Moving from one kind of communication to another may not be all bad—"maybe email is just more efficient," he said—but if managers want certain teams of people to be interacting, that may be lost more than they think. The shift in office space could "have strong effects on productivity and the quality of work".

Bernstein hopes the research will offer evidence that will help managers consider the possible trade-offs of moving to an open office plan. In seeking a lower cost per square foot, they buy into the idea that it will also lead to more cooperation, even if it's not clear that's true. "I don't blame the architects," he said. "But I do think we spend more of our time thinking about how to design workplaces based on the observer's angle"—the manager—"rather than the observed."

We all probably have a lot of T-shirts, but do you ever stop and think about the influence of a T-shirt on the planet? You'd probably be surprised to learn what's involved in the lifecycle of just one T-shirt.

There are 5 major stages: material, production, shipping, use and disposal   The material stage involves farming, irrigating, fertilizing, harvesting and ginning（轧花）. While cotton is a natural fiber (纤维）and not as harmful to the environment as manmade fibers, it still takes a toll in the material and production stages. Commercial cotton farming uses a large amount of water, and the use of pesticides (杀虫剂）is widespread across the globe, especially in cotton farming. Studies have shown that farmers spend around $4.1 billion on pesticides annually, of which 25% was spent on cotton crops in the US.

Once the cotton is grown and harvested, so begins the production stage: spinning, knitting（编织）, bleaching, dyeing, cutting, sewing, etc.——these processes also use a great deal of water and energy. Commercial dyes and bleaches are harmful pollutants and can eventually pollute groundwater.

After the T-shirt is produced, it enters the transportation stage. This often involves overseas shipping. Take a look in your closet. Chances are that most of your cotton garments (衣服）are made in China or India. Garments can be shipped via plane, ship or truck…，all of which spill CO₂ into the atmosphere. Calculations show that CO₂ emissions from light trucks alone amount to 1.15 pounds per mile.

Once the T-shirt reaches the retail market, it is purchased. This stage may seem like the least environmentally damaging part. But consider the number of times you've washed and dried your favorite T-shirt. Washing machines are certainly becoming more efficient. However, the average American household does 400 loads of laundry per year, using about 40 gallons of water per load. Such excessive water use is combined with the large amount of energy used by dryers.

The final stage of life is disposal. This releases harmful emissions, or involves a landfill where cotton takes years to break down. Current US records show that an estimated 15% of clothes and shoes are recycled, which means that consumers send a shocking 85% of these materials to landfills.

We all need new clothes every once in a while, but let's all try to keep in mind what goes into the production of clothing... It has a real impact on the planet.

There are a lot of things you can do to help reduce your impact. Reuse and recycle clothes. If they're too worn out to wear, cut them up and use them as cleaning rags. Donate them to charity or another organization that recycles textiles. When possible, make an effort to buy organic cotton. Turn down the thermostat(恒温器) on your washer, and line dry your clothes when the weather will allow it.

College fly-in programs are opportunities for high school students to visit colleges over the course of a few days and meet students from all around the world with various interests. The visit is at no cost to the student.

You should apply if you really want to go to that college or if you' re not quite sure what living there would be like. Applying takes time, so don't do it unless you' re seriously considering the school — that time could be better spent on your college applications and internships (实习).

Timeline and Tips:

1. Do your research early. Make a list of your target colleges. Do they have a fly-in program? When is the application due?

2. Write and edit essays. By doing so, you're taking baby steps toward the process of submitting the demanding college essays.

3. Submit! (Preferably a couple of days before the deadline, just in case.)

4. Wait. Generally, students will receive results at least two weeks before the event.

Results Day:

Read the email carefully.

Waitlisted? If you wish to remain on the list, you may have to email back within a certain time frame (it' ll say in the email) to keep your spot.

ACCEPTED! Congratulations! Make sure you do the following:

1. Submit permission forms on time. Do not lose your spot by forgetting to do so.

2. Pack at least two days before! Last-minute packing leads to forgotten items.

3. Join a group chat. Tapping"add" on group chats is easier and faster than swapping phone numbers. Plus, you will probably only get the numbers of the handful of students you' ll actually keep in touch with. Who knows, you might end up at the same college!