British Women Writers in different periods of time

The English Renaissance

    The English Renaissance began in the later part of the fifteenth century and lasted until the 1660s. Among the most famous women writers of this period is Aphra Behn, who is seen as the first professional woman writer in English. She wrote a number of plays that dealt with topics such as racism and slavery. A good example is Oroonoko published in 1688. Aphra Behn's works include also the plays The Amourous Prince, The Town Fop, The Dutch Lover and her only tragedy, Abdelazer.

The neoclassical period

    Among the well-known women in Bristish literature during the neoclassical period, from 1660 to the end of the eighteenth century, is Anne Finch. She wrote poetry and tried to express all that she saw and experienced. Two other women are recognized for their contribution to neoclassical British literature: Mary Astell and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Mary Astell was a philosopher and a feminist writer. She is best known now for her theories on the education of women.

The Romantic period

    Jane Austen is one of the most famous women writers that worked during the Romantic period (1798-1832). Her works include several novels, most of which focus on marriage as a way for young women to secure social standing and economic security. Her most famous novels are Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma. Another famous woman writer from the English Romanticism is Mary Shelley. She is the author of Frankenstein, History of Six Weeks Tour and The Last Man.

The Victorian period

    The Victorian period, between the 1830s and 1900, was the time when the Bronte sisters, George Eliot and Elizabeth Gaskell lived and wrote. Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte and Anne Bronte produced many British literary classics. Charlotte's novels include Jane Eyre, Shirley, Villette and The Professor. Mary Anne Evans adopted the male pen name George as she wanted to set herself apart from the feminine genre of cookbooks and domestic moral tales. Her most famous novel is The Mill on the Floss published in 1860.

    New research, attempting to throw light upon how male and female brains differ, has found that timing is everything. American Vanderbilt University researchers Stephen Camarata and Richard Woodcock discovered that females have a significant advantage over males in timed tests and tasks. The study involved more than 8,000 males and females ranging in age from 2 to 90 from across the US.

    “We found hardly any differences in overall intelligence. But we discovered that females performed better than men in time limited situations,” Camarata said, “It is very important for teachers to understand this difference in males and females when it comes to assigning work and tests.”

    Many males can do a better job without strict time limits, added Camarata.

    “Consider that many classroom activities, including testing, are directly or indirectly related to processing speed,” the researchers wrote in their report. “The higher performance in females may contribute to a classroom culture that favors females, not because of teacher bias(偏见)but because of inherent(与生俱来的)differences in gender processing speeds.”

    The researchers found that males scored lower than females in all age groups in tests measuring processing speed. However, the study also found that males consistently outperformed females in some language abilities, such as identifying objects and knowing antonyms(反义词)and synonyms(同义词). The research contradicts the popular belief that girls develop all communication skills earlier than boys.

    The researchers found no significant overall intelligence differences between males and females in any age groups.

    “We believe there are fundamental differences in how male and female brains end up getting organized,” Camarata said, “Our next studies will give us some insight into where these processing differences are occurring.”

    While Black Friday and Cyber Monday help start the holiday shopping season, Giving Tuesday, which will be observed on November 28, attempts to inspire the season of giving. Now in its sixth year, the charitable(慈善的)day uses the power of social media to encourage organizations and individuals to donate funds or resources to worthy causes. Its mission is to bring positive change to communities through giving.

    Though devoting just one day to a worthy cause may not seem much, Giving Tuesday makes a surprisingly significant impact. In 2015,ORGANIZE,an online organ donor program asked people to “Give with your Heart”,by becoming registered donors. Thousands of Americans listen to the cry for help, resulting in one of the largest digital donor drives in US history.

    That same year, the Cleveland Library and the Pratt Library in Baltimore competed to see who could encourage more donations. While the Pratt Library won with a $41,000 acquisition, the Cleveland Library was able to raise a fairly large amount for its programs as well. In 2016, the University of Michigan encouraged students and friends to donate to hourly challenges. They raised an amazing $5.5 million! The university hopes to recreate the magic this year, with a virtual celebration to mark the institution's 200th anniversary.

    Giving Tuesday is not just a US phenomenon, but a global movement. In 2016, 98 countries participated in the event, raising $177 million, a 44% increase over 2015, when 71 nations collected $116.7 million. These numbers can only increase as the day gains further recognition.

    Though donating funds is a great way to help, there are numerous other ways to support your local community. You can give back by volunteering at a nearby nonprofit or food bank. Social media experts can do their share by spreading the information and inspiring their colleagues to get involved. Another great way to celebrate Giving Tuesday is by helping those closest to you, whether that's assisting a family member with chores or helping a neighbor with yard work.

    In Africa, Christmas Day begins with groups of carolers (欢唱颂歌的人) walking to and from through the village, along the roadway, by the houses of the missionaries (传教士), singing the lovely carols known to the world around. Often people may be awakened by a group of carolers beginning to gather at the house of worship(敬神活动). They return home to make final preparations as to the clothes one must wear and also as to their offering for the Christmas service.

    The most important part of their Christmas worship service is the love offering. This is the gift in honor of Jesus. At about 8 or 9 o'clock everyone goes to the celebration of the birthday of Jesus. Everyone who attends the service goes forward to lay down their gift upon the raised platform near the Communion table. No one will attend the service without giving a gift.

    Christmas in South Africa is a summer holiday. There is no snow, but it has many flowers, many beautiful varieties of wild flowers being in their full pride.

    In Ghana, most churches show the coming of Christmas by decorating the church and homes beginning with the first week in Advent, four weeks before Christmas. This season happens to be the time of cocoa harvest, so it is a time of wealth. Everyone returns home from wherever they might be such as farms or mines.

    In Africa, it is the traditional dinner of turkey, roast beef, mince pies, or suckling pig, yellow rice with raisins, vegetables, and plum pudding, crackers. In the afternoon, families go out into the country and usually there are games or bathing in the warm sunshine, and then home in the cool of the evening. Boxing Day is also a proclaimed (正式宣布的) public holiday usually spent in the open air. It falls on December 26 and is a day of real relaxation.

    Did you ever have to say "no" to somebody? Such as a classmate who asks to go to lunch with you? New research suggests that, at least socially, a rejection (拒绝) should not include an apology. In other words, saying you are sorry does not make the person being rejected feel any better. In fact, it might make the rejected person feel worse. That is surprising. Many people consider it to be good manners to say they are sorry when they turn down a request.

    Gili Freedman is doing some related research at Dartmouth College. For her research, she asked over 1,000 people to respond to different examples of social rejection. In one example, the researchers asked people for their reaction (反应）after a person named Taylor asked to join a co-worker who went out to lunch every Friday. And Taylor was told "no". But in some cases, the person rejecting Taylor offered an apology. In other cases, the people doing the rejection did not say they were sorry. People were asked how they would feel if they were being turned down, just as Taylor was. Most said they would be more hurt by a rejection with an apology than a rejection without an apology.

    Freedman said the reason is that apologies make people feel like they need to say that the rejection was okay— even when they felt like it was not okay. Rejection without an apology lets them express their feelings of disappointment, hurt or anger more easily. Freedman also said that an apology often makes the person doing the rejection feel better—even as it makes the person being rejected feel worse.

    Her research deals only with social communication. A business situation might be very different. "If a manager rejects a job interviewee or a boss must tell an employee that he or she is being fired from a job," Freedman said, "reactions to apologies may be different."

Body language can reflect our confidence level. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} and another way when we're nervous. At a glance （看一眼）, most people can tell if we're confident or not. So we should learn some tips to show confidence through body language so that we always appear confident and ready.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} The first tip to show confidence with body language is to keep your hands out of your pockets. We often put our hands in our pockets when we're unsure of ourselves. And that's how other people will view us.

Keep your eyes forward

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}, it often feels natural to lower your head slightly and watch your step. However, this gesture communicates to others that you don't want to interact. And if you're not careful. you might get into the habit of doing it all the time. So keep your head up and your eyes forward. even when you're walking down the street by yourself.

Smile

Try this as an experiment: Smile at someone as you pass by them on the street or walk around the office. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Now wouldn't you like to have that effect on people all the time?

Firm handshakes

There are few things worse than reaching out your hand during an introduction and getting a handshake which is not firm enough. Don't be that guy. Instead, hold the other person's hand firmly and confidently. Of course, a handshake is not a contest. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A．Take wide steps

B．Avoid your pockets

C．It's very likely that they'll smile back

D．When you're walking anywhere by yourself

E．Don't try to hold the other person's hand too long

F．If you want to show confidence with body language

G．We stand and walk a certain way when we're confident