You might have noticed that the ringing sound of basketballs was almost like the beat to a song. But did you know that it could be taken seriously as music?

    The music group STOMP has taken everyday objects and turned them into instruments. The music it has created is a hit all over the world.

STOMP was formed by British musicians Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas. They met in the early 1980s when they were both working as buskers, the British term for street performers. Cresswell and McNicholas were part of a busking group called Pookiesnackenburger that became very popular throughout Britain.

    Cresswell was a drummer (鼓手) for the group. Because they performed on the street, he could not set up a traditional drum set. Instead, he wore one drum that hung around his shoulders. To be able to make different sounds, Cresswell began beating on everyday objects that he could find during performances. This creative drumming led to the idea for STOMP.

    STOMP made its first public appearance at London's Bloomsbury Theatre in 1991. The performers used one­of­a­kind instruments, such as empty water bottles, basketballs, and matchboxes to create music. Wearing overalls and T-shirts, they danced around on a stage made to look like a closed warehouse (仓库). STOMP was a great success, winning many theater awards  and drawing huge crowds (人群).

In 1994, STOMP came to the United States and played at the Orpheum Theater in New York City. Years later it is still playing there! To celebrate its tenyear anniversary (周年纪念), the then New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg renamed the street outside the theater STOMP Avenue.

    STOMP has now toured all over the United States and most of the world. One reason STOMP is so popular is that anyone can enjoy it. There are no words or story. People from all cultures can understand it, no matter which language they speak.

    More Americans expect to work past their 65th birthdays and never retire, says a recent study. The Associated Press with the NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research questioned 1,075 people, who were aged 50 and older. One­fourth of them said they never planned to retire. That was even truer for low­income earners in that age group.

    In America, the age of 65 is the traditional age to retire. 60 percent of the people aged 50 to 64 said they expected to work past their 65th birthdays. More than half of those who were already older than 65 said they planned to keep working, too. They said they were working an average of 31 hours per week.

    Those 50 years of age or older said finances (财务) were the most important factor in the decision on when to retire. A majority (多数) of older workers－especially those who were 65 and older-planned to change employers or move into an entirely new job, as they headed into the later years.

    One­third of the people earning less than $50,000 a year said they would keep working. About 20 percent of those who earned more than $100,000 said they would never retire.

    As baby boomers-people born between 1946 and 1964-reach the age of 65, the United States will have more older people than ever before. The number of Americans who were 65 years old and older jumped 21 percent or to 35.5 million-between 2002 and 2012. That number is expected to reach 92 million by 2060.

    Fresh out of acting school, I got a job with a touring theater company. The terms were unreasonable: $300 for a month's work, to be 1 at the end of that month. Only one meal a day would be 2; for the rest, we were on our own.

    Our first venue (演出地点) was a holiday center. The waiters 3 us from the start. They refused to give us spoons and knives at dinner, while our meal cooled. It was 4.

    At the second venue, we 5 to make some changes to the show for the new stage. While we practiced, I saw a table being set. I felt 6. It was midday, which 7 that they were serving us lunch. Getting lunch would mean no hot dinner because of the "one meal a day" item. We 8depended on dinner being our hot meal of the day.

    We were called over to 9 .The table was beautifully set. The sandwiches were generous. Afterward, I told the headwaiter that we 10 our one meal to be dinner.

    Our dinner would be at six, the headwaiter said. He 11 that the "one meal a day" item in our contract (合同) was stupid and the venue would 12 us lunch and dinner daily.

    We returned at six, 13 and nervous because this seemed too good to be 14. We were served by a 15 waiter who sang to us. He refilled our water glasses and took orders for coffee. At the end, we tried to bus our dishes to the kitchen, 16 the headwaiter said that we didn't have to do that and explained, "It is only 17 for us if you let us do it right."

    That was 20 years ago, and I learned a 18 that I'II never forget: Take pleasure in 19. Be kind. Treat those who have 20 to give you as well as you would treat a paying customer.