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

    The Canadian red and white maple leaf (枫叶) flag is officially called the National Flag of Canada. The Canadian flag shows a stylized red maple leaf with 11 points on a white background, with red borders down each side. The Canadian flag is twice as long as it is wide. The white square containing the red maple leaf is the same width as the flag.

    The red and the white used in the National Flag of Canada were proclaimed the official colors of Canada in 1921 by King George Ⅴ. Although the maple leaf did not have its official status as a symbol of Canada until the announcement (宣告) of the national flag in 1965, it had historically been used as a Canadian symbol, and was used in 1860 in decorations for the visit of the Prince of Wales to Canada. The 11 points on the maple leaf have no special significance.

    In the early days，the Royal Union Flag，or the Union Jack, was still flown in British North America. In 1925 and again in 1946, the Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King tried to get a national flag of Canada adopted, but failed. In 1964，Prime Minister Lester Pearson appointed a 15-member, all-party committee to come up with a design for a new flag. The committee was given six weeks to complete its task.

    The committee studied 2,000 submitted(提交的) designs as well as 3,900 that had been gathered as a result of the 1946 committee's study. Those designs with a chance of being accepted were given to the full committee for further study.

    The suggestion of a red and white single maple leaf design for the Canadian flag came from George Stanley, a professor at the Royal Military College. After a heated discussion, they finally decided on his suggestion.

    We offer some kinds of courses. Each course has been designed to help students according to their needs.

    Course 1: High School ESL

    Why not make the most of your time studying in Australia with the help from TIES? We have High School ESL classes each week specifically designed for international students. Tuesday to Friday: 10:00 am to 12:00 am, $25 per hour.

    Course 2: One on One

    If you are interested in some One on One lessons with TIES teachers, we can design a course to meet your needs. One on One lessons can improve your English language skills more quickly and help students who want to take TOEFL. Tuesday to Friday: 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, $ 80 per hour.

    Course 3: General English

    General English is designed to develop students' basic communication skills in speaking and pronunciation, reading, listening, writing, grammar and vocabulary. Tuesday to Friday: 9:00 am to 11:00 am, $ 288 per week.

    Course 4: Night Classes

    Do you want to improve your English and get the best possible results in your GRE test? We have two night classes each week designed to meet your needs. Tuesday and Thursday evenings: 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm, $60 per day.

    A new study, conducted by British company Mindlab International, has found that listening to music at work increases accuracy (精确) and speed, The Telegraph reported.

    Perhaps, some parents disagree with this idea, saying, "Switch off the music and concentrate!" Well, if that's the case with your parents, you might now be able to convince them that you have science on your side.

    The company gave 26 participants （参与者）a series of different tasks for five days in a row, including spell checking, mathematical word problems, data entry, and abstract reasoning. The participants completed these tasks while listening to music or no music at all.

    The results showed that while music was playing, 88% of participants produced their most accurate test results and 81% completed their fastest work. David Lewis, chairman of Mindlab International, told The Telegraph, "Music is a very powerful management tool if you want to increase not only the efficiency of your workforce but also their emotional state, they are going to become more positive about the work."

    However, you may have a list of your favorite songs, but not all kinds of music match all homework. For maths or other subjects involving numbers or attention to detail, you should listen to classical music, the study found. In the study, pop music enabled participants to complete their tasks 58% faster than when listening to no music at all. If you are reviewing your English writing, pop music is the best choice, as it is the best kind for spell checking. It cut mistakes by 14%, compared to listening to no music. After finishing your homework, do you often take time to check your answers? Maybe, some dance music is suitable for you.

    One recent night, while I was leafing through its pages of an old journal, my eyes met a quote by the British writer Graham Greene that I had marked. “A prejudice had something in common with an ideal.” In other words, ideals general descriptions of people's expectations of themselves and others can often lead us to unreasonable ideas. It got me thinking about how we often allow ourselves to generalize about groups of people. We like to stereotype people by the color of their skin, the year of their birth or any other related factors.

    I grew up in a multi-racial corner of America. The different groups were often subject to narrow stereotypes: Jewish people were “greedy,” Mexicans were “poorly educated,” and Asians were “good at math.” These labels were taught to us from a young age. They wormed their way into our belief systems, harming how we came to see others. It made me sad growing up to see people repeat these stereotypes as if they were true. The rush-to-judgment of people breeds a culture of discrimination (歧视).

    You can also see these over-generalized description being made against today's Chinese people. Whether it be a lack of interest or worry among millennials (千禧一代) being described as “monkish,” or “dad-fashion (复古作风)” which has given the “greasy middle-aged men” tag, stereotypes always seem to gain a foothold in the consciousness of our society. But these generalizations do real harm as these myths may become part of the wider population.

    It's about time that we, as a society, walked away from generalizations and stereotypes. I leave you with the words of Martin Luther King Jr. from his famous “I Have a Dream” speech: “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” By reserving judgment and really getting to know the individual, you might just find your irrational ideas have no foundation.

As spring comes to half the world, many people can enjoy the new growth that comes with warmer weather. This is a great time to get outside and get dirty! {#blank#}1{#/blank#} This outdoor activity gives us beautiful plants, pleasant smelling flowers and fresh fruit and vegetables. Moreover, it also gives us many health benefits. 

Gardening reduces loneliness. It connects people. When you are gardening, you are outdoors. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Gardeners usually enjoy showing people what they are growing. And most enjoy sharing advice and stories about their gardens. 

Gardening is a great activity to do with children. It gets them outdoors and off computers, televisions and other electronics. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Gardening can teach a child about where food comes from and healthy eating. It can also help them to understand the limits of natural resources. 

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} This means you are getting Vitamin D, which helps your bodies take in calcium(钙). That is necessary to keep bones strong. When you garden you must move around. All the different movements needed for gardening—bending, stretching and lifting—work small muscles in the body. 

Gardening may help your brain stay young. In one study, researchers found that gardening could lower the risk of future dementia(痴呆) by 36 percent. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} A flower and herb garden can help feed bees and butterflies. Growing herbs and flowers connects you to nature and pleases all of your senses. 

A. Vitamin D also helps us fight diseases. 

B. They can learn about nature and wildlife. 

C. Gardening is popular in many parts of the world. 

D. So it is a perfect time to communicate with your neighbours. 

E. While in your garden, you might feel the sunshine on your skin. 

F. Some people may not have the resources to have their own garden. 

G. Gardening can also give you the feeling that you have done something good.