Shakespeare's Birthplace and Exhibition

    Henley Street, Strafford-Upon-Auon   Tel: 01789 204016

    Shakespeare's Birthplace Was the childhood home of William Shakespeare. Take a step back in time and see what life was like for the young Shakespeare growing up in Stratford-Upon-Avon. The house has been exactly furnished, and includes both original and copy items similar to those which would have been there in the house when Shakespeare was a boy. Beautiful painted cloths hang on the walls, brightly colored fabrics fill the rooms and his father's glove workshop has been recreated. At the back of the house is a beautiful garden containing many plants，herbs and flowers mentioned in Shakespeare's plays.

    The neighboring exhibition shows Shakespeare's life and focuses on many rare local items connected with him, as well as a copy of the first edition of his collected plays published in 1623.

    Limited disabled access

    Many restaurants close to Shakespeare's Birthplace

    Town center parking

    Gift shop

    Allow at least 45 minutes to visit the house and the exhibition

    Agatha Christie used to go out at night. She will never forget the night when she met a robber(盗贼) many years ago.

    That evening, she was invited to a birthday party which lasted till 2 o'clock in the morning. Without company, Agatha walked home along the quiet street. Suddenly from the shadow of a dark building, a tall man with a sharp knife in his right hand ran out at her. "Good morning, lady," the man said in a low voice, "I don't think you wish to die here!" "What do you want?" Agatha asked.

    "Your earrings (耳环). Take them off!" Agatha suddenly had a bright idea. She tried to cover her necklace with the collar (衣领) of her overcoat while she used the other hand to take off both of her earrings, and then she quickly threw them on the ground.

    "Take them and let me go." she said. The robber was uncertain. He saw that the girl didn't care for the earrings at all, only trying to protect the necklace. He realized the necklace would cost more, so he said, "Give me your necklace."

    "Oh, sir. It's not worth much. Please let me keep it."

    "Stop talking rubbish. Quick!"

    With shaky hands, Agatha took off her necklace. As soon as the robber disappeared, she picked up her earrings and ran as fast as she could to her home.

    The earrings cost 480 pounds and the necklace the robber had taken away cost only six pounds ten shillings (先令).

    Animals, including insects, do not have a language like ours. They do not talk to each other in words and sentences. But if we watch them, we can see that they do have ways of communicating with each other.

    Can you see the rabbits' tail? When rabbits see this white tail moving up and down, they run too. The rabbit has reminded them of potential dangers without making a sound. It has given them a signal.

    Many other animals use this kind of language. When a cobra(眼镜蛇) is angry, it raises its hood(兜帽) and makes itself look fierce. This warns other animals. When a bee has found some food, it goes back to its home. It cannot tell the other bees where the food is by speaking to them, but it does a little dance in the air. This tells the bees where the food is.

    Some animals say things by making sound. A dog barks, for example, when a stranger comes near. A cat purrs(猫的呜呜声) when pleased. Some birds make several different sounds, each with its own meaning. Sometimes we human beings speak in the same way. We make sounds like “Oh” or “Ah!” when we are frightened or pleased or when we drop something on our toes.

    But we have something that no animals have a large number of words which have the meanings of things, actions, feelings or ideas. We are able to give each other all kinds of different information in words and sentences, which no other animals can do. No other animals have so wonderful a language as we have.

Dear Miss Hanff,

    You will be glad to know that the two boxes of eggs and the tins of tongue have all arrived safely and once again we all wish to thank you most sincerely for your extreme generosity. Mr. Martin, one of the older members of our staff, has been on the sick list for some time and we therefore let him have the lion's share of the eggs, one whole boxful in fact, and of course he was delighted to get them. The tins of tongue look very inviting and will be a welcome addition to our larders (食物橱) and in my case will be put on one side for a special occasion.

    I enquired at all the local music shops but was unable to get the Messiah or Bach's St. Matthew Passion in stiff covers in clean, secondhand copies, and then I found they were available from the publisher in new editions. Their prices seemed a bit high, but I thought I had better get them and they have been sent by Book Post a few days ago, so should arrive any day now. Our invoice, total $4.20, is enclosed with the books.

    We are sending you a little gift for Christmas. We do hope you will not have to pay any duty on it. We will mark it "Christmas Gift" and keep our fingers crossed. Anyway, we hope you will like it and accept it with our sincere best wishes for Christmas and the coming year.

    My name is certainly not of Welsh origin. As it is pronounced to rhyme with the French word "Noel", I think there may be a possibility that it originated in France.

Yours sincerely,

Frank Doel

    The hemlock(铁杉) trees along the Wappinger Creek, New York, look healthy. However, scientist Gary Lovett says the white balls which provide protection for the bugs are created by a tiny insect. It's hard to believe the tiny bug could kill a tree. However, trees can end up with millions and millions of the pests. When there are that many, it ends up killing the tree.

    The bug from East Asia is slowly killing trees across the USA. The trouble-making bug is just one of many invasive(入侵的) pests that have slipped into the United States. They can hurt other living things in their new home.

    Many invasive pests arrive on wooden pallets(运货板) piled inside shipping containers. They support and separate goods, and keep them from sliding around. Invasive pests often tunnel into the pallets. How can we stop pests from riding on pallets? Lovett says new rules are needed. The companies that make pallets don't want more rules. Congress has added an amendment(修正案) in the 2018 Farm Bill to try and prevent this problem. However, Lovett is not hopeful it will make much of a difference. Pallets are checked by inspectors. Many are sprayed with bug-killing pesticide. "I believe in the system," said Brent McClendon, president of The National Wooden Pallet and Container Association. He also said shipping containers are checked very carefully.

    Still, each year 13 million containers are shipped to the U. S. Each is full of wooden pallets. Lovett says: "Inspectors can't possibly check everything. All it takes are a few bad pallets; we should get rid of wooden pallets." He believes pallets should be made of plastic or eco-composite wood. Eco-composite wood is a mix of wood fiber and plastic. Insects cannot hide into it. One problem is that these choices cost more. They may be worth the extra money, though. Invasive pests cost the U.S. $5 billion a year. Trees don't just die in forests. They also die in cities and our yards. Then, they need to be replaced. That costs money, too.

    Closeness and independence are both important in our life. Though all humans need both of them women tend to focus on the first and men on the second. It is as if their lifeblood ran in different directions.

    These differences can give women and men differing views of the same situation, as they did in the case of couple I will call Tracy and Brian. When Brian's old high school friend called him at work and announced he'd be in town on business the following month, Brian invited him to stay for the weekend. That evening he informed Tracy that they were going to have a houseguest, and that he and his friend would go out together the first night to chat like old times. Tracy was upset. She was going to be away on business the week before, and the Friday night when Brian would be out with his friend would be her first night home. But what upset her the most was that Brian had made these plans on his own and informed her of them, rather than discussing them with her before extending the invitation.

    Tracy would never make plans, for a weekend or an evening, without first checking with Brian. She can't understand why he doesn't show her the same courtesy and consideration that she shows him. But when she protests, Brian says, "I can't say to my friend, 'I have to ask my wife for permission'!"

    To Brian, checking with his wife means seeking permission, which implies that he is not independent, not free to act on his own. To Tracy, checking with her husband makes her feel good to know and show that she is involved with someone, that her life is bound up with someone else's.

    Tracy and Brian both felt upset by this incident because it cut to the core of their primary concerns. Tracy was hurt because she sensed a failure of closeness in their relationship: He didn't care about her as much as she cared about him. And he was hurt because he felt she was trying to control him and limit his freedom.