Perhaps your childhood piano lessons made you never want to play the piano again. Perhaps a piano is too expensive for you to afford. Now, thanks to a program in Sydney called “Play me, I'm yours”, people are able to play the piano in public places for free. They share beautiful music, and the program also helps them communicate with each other.

    Thirty pianos have been placed in different parts of the city, such as in several parks, at a bus stop and on some streets. The pianos have the logo “Play me, I'm yours” on them. People are invited to play music or sing songs with the pianos, no matter what level of ability they have. Lots of people have been attracted to the program and stopped to watch or play the pianos.

    “Play me, I'm yours” is a part of the Sydney Festival. It is a project of the British artist, Luck Jerram. He wants to help people in the city connect with each other. He thinks that so many people are sitting in front of computers and busy with their work all hours, and they almost have no chance to enjoy music. So the purpose of the project is to help them relax and make new friends.

    The program “Play me, I'm yours” has also reached England and Brazil (巴西) before. It was warmly welcomed there. But its greatest success seems to come at the Sydney Festival. “It's a chance for people to be creative, connect with strangers and just have some fun,” Jerram said.

    We know music is very important in our daily life.Do you notice music playing at any of those places when you go somewhere?Today most stores,stations,restaurants and other places play music.You might even hear music in an office or on a farm.

    Scientists believe that music influences the way people behave.They think that the sound of Western classical(古典的)music makes people feel richer.When a restaurant plays classical music,people spend more money on food and drinks.When the restaurant plays modern music,people spend less money. Without music,people spend even less.

    Scientists also believe that loud,fast music makes people eat faster.Some restaurants play fast music during their busy hours.This makes people eat faster and leave quickly.Restaurants can make more money in this way.

    Some scientists think that music makes you think and learn better.They say that music helps students to be more active.It is true that people learn better when they are relaxed.And listening to music can help you relax.

    The next time you hear music somewhere,be careful.It might influence the way you do things.

—Yes，I do.

    Music touches our hearts and shortens (缩短) the distance between people of different countries. The super star Jay Chou has cooperated with the American NBA star Kobe Bryant to create a song named TheHeavenandEarthChallenge. That's a song written by Jay Chou whose favorite sport is basketball. It expresses the love for basketball. And it encourages young people to be more confident. Jay Chou has learned much from Kobe's sports spirit. In the song, Jay Chou does most of the singing part while Kobe plays a part of a rapper (说唱者). People can download the ring tone(铃声) of the song from the Internet. All the money from the downloads will go to Project Hope, which aims to improve the educational environment in poor areas in China.