If you are looking for a creative solution to a piece of work or a school assignment, don’t lock yourself up in a quiet room.

A new study shows that moderate background noise is a better motivation to creative thinking than the sound of silence, a well-known magazine reported.

A paper published in the Journal of Consumer Research says that the perfect working environment should buzz (嗡嗡作响)   with a little noise.

Researchers found that test subjects were at their most creative state when background noise was measured a 70 decibels, the level one might find in a busy coffee shop.

A nearly silent environment (50 decibels)   was too quiet. Turning up the volume to 85 decibels   (a jackhammer tearing up the pavement outside your building)   had an opposite effect—the noise became a distraction (分散注意力) .

The researchers asked 65 students at the University of British Columbia, Canada, to perform various creative tasks while noises recorded at a roadside restaurant were played in the background.

In one experiment, scientists asked participants to brainstorm ideas for a new type of mattress (气垫). Test subjects had the most successful discussions when the noise in the background was noticeable but not too loud.

While a quiet environment may make it easier to read a book, the authors of the study say that moderate background noise creates just enough of a distraction to force people to think more imaginatively without breaking their focus so completely that they can’t think at all.

Should we all head for Starbucks to get creative? Not necessarily.

Researchers found limited work time surrounded by the low-level noise of a coffeehouse is what really stimulates creativity.

Equally, working in a café environment isn’t good for everybody. The productivity boost (提高) was most obvious among those who were naturally creative to begin with.

It is hard to know what babies want. They can’t talk， walk or even point at what they are thinking about.

However, new-born babies begin to develop language skills long before they begin speaking. And compared to adults，they develop these skills more quickly. People have a hard time learning new languages as they grow older, but babies have the ability to learn any language easily.

For a long time，scientists have tried to explain how such young children can learn difficult grammatical rules and sounds of a language. Now, researchers are getting a better idea of what is happening in the brains the young language learners.The new information might help kids with learning problems as well as adults who want to learn new languages. It might even help scientists who are trying to design computers that can communicate as humans do.

Most babies say “goo goo” and “ma ma” by 6 months of age, and most children speak in full sentences by age 3. For years, scientists have wondered how the brains of young children find out how to communicate by using languages .With help from new technologies，scientists are now discovering that babies begin life with the ability to learn any language. They get into touch with other people，listen to what they say and watch their movements very closely. That is why they quickly master the languages they hear the most often.

Studies show that ,up to about 6 months of age，babies can learn all the sounds that make up all the languages in the world. Starting at around 6 months, a baby’s brain focuses on the most common sounds it hears. Then，children begin to reply only to the sounds of the languages they hear the most.

In a similar way older people recognize the patterns that make up the rules of their native language. In English，for example，children who are about 18 months old start that words which end up with “-ing” or“-ed” are usually verbs and that verbs are action words.

Every time you turn on the television or take a ride in a car, you could be adding to a problem called acid rain(酸雨). In this article, you’ll learn how acid is created, and how it affects us, and more importantly, what we all can do to prevent it.

How is acid rain created?

When people use fuels(燃料), such as coal and gasoline, poisonous gases are give off. When these gases mix with rain, acid rain forms. Many power stations burn fuels in order to creat the electricity(电) that we use in our homes and offices every day. Cars and trucks also send these gases into the air when they burn gasoline .When rain mixes with these gases, harmful things called acids form. This is acid rain.

How does acid rain affect us?

Acid rain damages(毁坏)everything that it touches. It poisons our rivers, ponds, lakes, and oceans along with all the life in them. It pollutes our soil and crops, harms trees, and can even kill fish and plants. Acid rain also eats away at buildings.

How can we prevent acid rain?

We need to cut down on the pollution that gets into our air. Turn off lights, television, and other electrical appliances if you are not using them, Walk or take a bike whenever possible. If you are travelling a long distance, take a bus or train to save fuel.

As research shows, acid rain harms our environment. But people everywhere can take small steps now to help protect our environment for future generations.