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Have you got some paper, a pair of scissors and, above all, a desire to decorate your house? Then, we have the perfect holiday artwork for you: Make Star Wars snowflakes (雪花). Remembered as a cherished form of work in classrooms before the holidays, paper snowflakes have drawn many people's attention again.

The designer, Anthony Herrera, just recently released his 2013 collection. "The Star Wars snowflake designs began as just doing designs of characters that I and my daughter wanted to make three years ago," Herrera told us in an email. "The second year I introduced vehicles, and this year I decided to push further by designing battle scenes."

Sometimes, he feels a bit bored with his job. With each year, the designs have got more detailed and various, but the process of creating them remained the same: sketching (画) figures on paper with a pencil until a symmetrical (对称）pattern comes out, then scanning the designs and cut them with scissors. However, he says he has plenty of ideas for new flakes next year, so no two will ever be the same. Hopefully with Star Wars: Episode VII coming in 2015 he'll have even more work in the future.

    Check out your favorite finished versions of Herrera's flakes (from both 2013 and previous years) and download the pictures beneath them and then get down to creating your own work. A warning: Most designs aren't for the casual flake-maker, so patience you must have.

    The Museum: The Charles Dickens Museum in London is the world's most important collection of material relating to the great Victorian novelist and social commentator(时事评论员). The only surviving London home of Dickens (from 1837 until 1839) was opened as a museum in 1925 and is still welcoming visitors from all over the world . On four floors, visitors can see paintings, rare editions, manuscripts(手稿),original furniture and many items relating to the life of one of the most popular and beloved personalities of the Victorian age.

Opening Hours

The Museum is open from Mondays to Saturdays 10:00—17:00; Sundays 11:00—17:00.

Last admission is 30 minutes before closing time.

Special opening times can be arranged for groups , who may wish to book a private view.

    Admission Charges: Adults: £5.00; Students: £4.00; Seniors: £4.00; Children: £3.00; Families: £14.00 ( 2 adults & up to five children)

    Group Rates: For a group of 10 or more, a special group rate of £4.00 each applies. Children will still be admitted for £3.00 each.

    Access: We are constantly working to improve access to the Muse um and its collection. Our current projects involve the fitting of a wheelchair ramp（波道）for better access, a customer care kit and an audio tour for visitors with impaired(受损的)vision. Our Handling Sessions are also suitable for the visually（视觉上地）impaired. The Museum has developed an online virtual（虚拟的）tour through the Museum. Click here to visit all the rooms in the Museum online.

    Hire the Museum: The Museum can be hired for private functions, performances soirees(社交晚会)and many other social occasions.

    Find Us: The Museum may be reached by using the following buses:7,17, 19, 38, 45, 46, 55, 243. And by these underground services: Piccadilly Line; Central Line. For a map, please click here. T he British Museum and the Foundling Museum are within walking distance.

    This player is neither the answer to Bafana Bafana's goal-scoring problem, nor holds any hope of being in the national team for the World Cup. But Mmane Koko trains every morning and is now used to playing soccer. She said, 'Before I can do my domestic(家庭的) jobs, I go to train every morning. This helps me keep my body healthy. I started exercising after my doctor told me that exercising can keep my body healthy.'

    Mmane Koko, aged 66, said if she had been exposed to soccer at an earlier age, she would have become a top South African striker and could have stolen the limelight from Noko Matlou, who helped South Africa achieve its best ever result in the African women's soccer cup. She encourages young people to start playing sports early and to continue into their old age as it helps to lower blood pressure and prevent obesity(肥胖症).

    She added that because soccer is not only about exercising, but also helps one to put bread on the table, it could make a difference socially. She also says soccer is a business and that clubs these days pay generously. Therefore if the young take sports seriously, they can make a living out of it. But this can only happen if our government participate in developing sports and building stadiums for future generations.

    Exercise does us a lot of good as Mmane Koko says. We can live longer and feel better through exercise. It gives us energy surprisingly enough! Regular exercise reduces our risk of all kinds of disease. It can help us relieve stress and anxiety, increase our endurance(耐力) and sleep better. Exercise can contribute to our mental well-being and helps treat depression. So if you want to stay fit, keep on exercising to keep your body healthy.

    If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven't you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?

    According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes(处理) information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles(肌肉).

    The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals(双语使用者) ” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners. Scans(扫描) showed that grey matter density(密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals who learnt a second language at an early age. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference. “Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.

    It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn. Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible(灵活的),” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”

    The findings had the same result in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and thirty-four. Reading, wiring, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they stared to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.

Welcome to Reading Museum's Hands­on Learning Service

    During the past 100 years, Reading Museum has always been offering learning opportunities to schools, and we hope to continue this tradition for the next 100 years with your support.

    Victorian Schoolroom

    The session takes place in a grand reconstruction of a schoolroom in a late nineteenth century Board School. The children will experience a wide range of Victorian style lessons and use slate boards and dip pens. The session leader will play the role of a Victorian teacher but will come out of the role during the session to comfort the children. We provide costume for all children.

    Victorian Toys

    Our Victorian nanny delivers this interesting session. The nanny will help children to explore the differences between rich and poor children's toys from the past. During the session the children have the opportunity to make a toy to take home.

    Victorian Christmas

    In a specially decorated room the children will find out how the Victorians introduced many of our Christmas customs. They will make a simple card or present to take home.

    For up­to­date prices and session details, please visit our website www.. Reading museum, org. For all session bookings please phone us on 01189373400. Reservation at least 4 weeks in advance is advised. Please be ready to tell us when you wish to come, the session(s) you wish to book and the year group of pupils. Our sessions take place between 10:00 and 12: 00 or 12: 30 and 14: 30. The maximum group size is 35 pupils. We recommend that you bring 5 adults for each group.

The reopening of an Asian American-owned bookstore in Manhattan's Chinatown following a January fire has received a warm welcome back from its supporters.

Yu &. Me Books, which is regarded as the first female-owned Asian American bookshop in New York City, has raised more than $369,000 for repairs since a tragic fire on January 4. It reopened on Wednesday. "We are so excited to welcome you all back to our Yu &. Me Books home," the store announced on Instagram. "We can't wait to shed tears, laugh loudly and open our hearts with all of you who have made us feel at home."

The fire in an apartment above the bookstore on Mulberry Street killed one of the building's residents. Smoke and water damage also devastated Yu & Me Books, destroying almost all its inventory and equipment, according to a GoFundMe campaign that store owner Lucy Yu set up to make up for the costs.

During the restoration and renovation (翻新) of the original bookstore, the business operated from a location within The Market Line, an underground marketplace on the Lower East Side, and several pop-up shops (临时店铺) in the city.

"It was a bookstore I always wanted to visit, and I'm so happy that they were able to reopen," Charlotte Leinbach, a teacher for New York City's Education Department said. Leinbach hadn't been to the bookstore before the fire, but she had heard quite a bit about its fate. She bought two books, the second and third in the series Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

"It's hard to find a lot of books written in Japanese, and then translated into English," she said. "The design of the bookstore is really nice, and the layout is great. I am glad that they also sell used books. I love buying new books because it's fresh and it's nice, but it's always nice to see people in the community giving their books back and reselling and just passing them on." She said she will continue to support the women-run small businesses that focus on people and authors of color.

"I actually came on the day of the opening, but there were too many people, and it was too crowded, so I just haven't had a chance to look at it," Liam Li, another Asian American, said. "This place is unique. It's in Chinatown. As Asians live in New York City, I feel this offers the most space for the community. I understand like a minority in this society, it is not easy to have a store like this," she added.