Monthly Talks at London Canal Museum

          Our monthly talks start at 19:30 on the first Thursday of each month except August. Admission is at normal charges and you don't need to book. They end around 21:00.

November 7^th

          The Canal Pioneers, by Chris Lewis. James Brindley is recognized as one of the leading early canal engineers. He was also a major player in training others in the art of canal planning and building. Chris Lewis will explain how Brindley made such a positive contribution to the education of that group of early “civil engineers”.

December 5^th

          Ice for the Metropolis, by Malcolm Tucker. Well before the arrival of freezers, there was a demand for ice for food preservation and catering, Malcolm will explain the history of importing natural ice and the technology of building ice wells, and how London's ice trade grew.

February 6^th

          An Update on the Cotsword Canals, by Liz Payne. The Stroudwater Canal is moving towards reopening. The Thames and Severn Canal will take a little longer. We will have a report on the present state of play.

March 6^th

          Eyots and Aits -Thames Islands, by Miranda Vickers. The Thames has many islands. Miranda has undertaken a review of all of them. She will tell us about those of greatest interest.

          Online bookings:www.canalmuseum.org.uk/book

          More info: www.canalmuseum.org.uk/whatson

          London Canal Museum

          12-13 New Wharf Road, London NI 9RT

          www.canalmuseum.org.ukwww.canalmuseum.mobi

                         Tel:020 77130836

      Both men and women are livinglonger these days in industrialized countries.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Ingeneral, they can expect to live six or seven years more than men. One reasonfor this is biological.

      One important biological factor thathelps women live longer is the difference in hormones between men and women.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Between the ages of about 12 and 50,women produce hormones that are involved in fertility(生育能力). These hormones also have a positive effect on the heartand blood flow. In fact, women are less likely to have high blood pressure orto die from heart attacks.

       {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Theyhelp the body defend itself against some kinds of infections. This means thatwomen generally ger sick less often and less seriously than men. The commoncold is a good example: women, on average, get fewer colds than men.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Scientists are still not exactly sure howinfluence aging, but they believe that they do. Some think that a woman's bodycells have a tendency(向) to age more slowly than a man's. Others think that a man's body cells have a tendency to age more quickly.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A．However,women, on average, live longer.

B .The biological factorplays an important part.

C. Women are also helped bytheir female genes.

D. The female hormones alsoprotect the body in another way.

E. Recent research seems tosupport both of these possibilities.

F. Therefore, women are morehealthy than men and can live a better life.

G. Hormones are chemicalswhich are produced by the body to control carious body functions.

    Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table, reading his book. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to copy him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa, I try to read the book just like you, but I don't understand it, and I forget what I understand as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the book do?"

The grandpa quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandpa laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned. Out of breath, he told his grandpa that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, so he went to get a bucket instead. The grandpa said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough." The boy again dipped the basket into the river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandpa the basket was empty again. Out of breath, he said, "Grandpa, it's useless!"

"So, you think it is useless?" the grandpa said, "Look at the basket."

    The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean.

"Grandson, that's what happens when you read the book. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you'll be changed, inside and out."

    Almost one in five drivers had dozed off behind the wheel, a shocking news report had showed. Of those who were dozing off, 29% have done so with their cars speeding at 70 miles per hour. The report also found a quarter of men have fallen asleep while driving, making it almost twice as many as women.

    The Safety on Wheel Report, by Post Office Insurance, also looked at how often tiredness or a lack of concentration caused accidents. Three in ten drivers have experienced an accident, from passing a walker crossing to hitting another vehicle, because of a lack of concentration. Meanwhile, almost half (49%) of UK drivers have driven when they do not concentrate.

    Paul Haven hand, head of insurance at Post Office, said, “ When tiredness strikes, drivers should avoid the roads.” There is no measurement for tired driving, unlike driving under the influence of alcohol, yet it could result in an equally dangerous accident.

    Drivers are advised to take a 15-minute break from driving every two hours. However, a third (36%) are so eager to reach their destination that they will ignore feelings of tiredness. What's more, almost one in five (18%) will drive for longer than four hours without a break, while 6% carry on for up to 6 hours. Just over a quarter (27%) choose a quick stop to buy a cup of coffee, which is a very popular way for drivers to get rid of tiredness, and only 17% stop to have a rest until they feel energetic again. Mr. Havenhand added, “Drivers should plan ahead and rest before starting a long journey; besides, they can take regular breaks to recharge their batteries while on road; in some cases, if they do feel too tired to concentrate on the roads, they could consider an alternative means of transport.”

    Helen Keller was one of America's best-known women. She was admired for her courage and achievements although she couldn't see or hear. She was also known throughout the world for herself-sacrificing work to improve the condition of the blind, the deaf and the speechless. When she died on June 1, 1968, the newspaper Washington Post wrote: "Her life was truly one of the most remark able phenomena of our time and her death just short of the age of 88 leaves the whole world poorer."

    Helen Keller was born on June 27th, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. For the first 19 months of her life, she was a pretty and happy baby, normal in every way. Then a sudden illness destroyed her sight and her hearing. Because she could not hear sounds to imitate(模仿), she could not speak. Helen used to say that her real birthday was not June 27th, 1880, but March 3rd, 1887—the day when Anne Sullivan entered her life. It was Anne Sullivan who taught Helen to spell certain words by a special system, Braille, and even to talk.

    Anne Sullivan could not teach Helen Keller to speak until some other important things had been learned. The little girl had to learn to control her actions and feelings. She had to learn that she could not always do what she wanted to do. She had always been able to get what she wanted by using force. The teacher had to change such habits without breaking the child's spirit.

    Miss Sullivan's battle began. Sometimes, there was real fighting between the wild child and the strong young teacher. At last, however, the battle was won by Miss Sullivan, who succeeded in showing Helen that she loved her and wanted to help her. The child and her teacher became friends. They continued to be friends until the teacher's death, fifty years later.

    The day on which Helen finally accepted Miss Sullivan as her friend and teacher was a great day in Helen's life. After that, the teacher could begin to teach the child language.