Dickens House Museum

Type: Historic House / Palace

Address: 2 Victoria Parade, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 1QS

About

Dickens House Museum, Broadstairs celebrates Charles Dickens' long connection with Broadstairs from 1837 to 1851, through personal items and letters. Guided tours available.

The museum is housed in the cottage that was Charles Dickens' inspiration for the home of Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield. David's description of Betsey's cottage with its square gravelled garden full of flowers, and a parlour of old fashioned furniture still fits today.

The character Betsy Trotwood is based on Miss Mary Pearson Strong who lived in the cottage that is now the museum. According to the reminiscences of Charles Dickens' son Charley, he and his father regularly had tea and cakes in the parlour (会客室) with the kindly and charming Miss Mary Pearson Strong. He also remembers that Miss Pearson Strong was completely convinced of her right to stop the passage of donkeys along the cliff top in front of her cottage. This belief became the donkey incident for the character of Betsy Trotwood, with the famous quote: "Janet! Donkeys!"

Spread over four floors, the Charles Dickens Museum holds the world's most important collection of paintings, rare editions, manuscripts, original furniture and other items relating to the life and work of Dickens. Perhaps the best-known exhibit is the portrait of Dickens known as Dickens' Dream by R. W. Buss, an original illustrator of The Pickwick Papers. This unfinished portrait shows Dickens in his study at Gads Hill Place surrounded by many of the characters he had created.

What's Nearby

For hundreds of years, Africans have preserved their history through storytelling. But some Africans worry that oral traditions will be lost to the Internet connections and social media.

This has led a Nigerian woman named Elizabeth Kperrun to create a mobile phone application as a way to preserve African folk stories. She calls her mobile app AfroTalez, which tells children's stories that teach moral lessons.

"We can't teach kids something by telling them, 'Don't do this'. I think kids need context to understand. In a story somebody stole something and then something bad happened to them. Alternatively, somebody else did something good and they ended up happy or rich."

"Hello children. My name is Liz and I'd like to tell you a story about tortoises, elephants, and ..." The voice of "Aunt Liz" narrates the story, while a full-screen animation appears. An arrow signals when it's time to move on. There are also quizzes on object recognition and counting throughout.

Kperrun asks her older relatives to help her collect stories for the application. The stories come from an ethnic group living in southeast Nigeria and northwest Cameroon. "I want to keep it centered on folk stories, not the ones that Walt Disney has made really popular... It's fair and respectful to keep certain cultures alive because folk stories are part of the tapestry that keeps cultures together." Kperrun once said.

Kperrun writes and reads the stories. Her business partner and husband Idamiebi Ilamina-Eremie does the animation (动画).

AfroTalez is available for Android users and can be downloaded for free. So far, AfroTalez has more than 50,000 users. Funding for the app has been a major challenge. Kperrun hopes to use a crowdfunding campaign to help fund the next version of AfroTalez to be released soon.

Kperrun believes technology doesn't have to destroy or replace traditions. Her goal is to combine them to keep African culture alive. She says "Africa is our home, but we are so eager to become Western that we are forgetting things that are really important and should be passed on of who we are, and I don't think that's right."

When we are kids, we are constantly being compared to others. Our parents may compare us to our siblings (兄弟姐妹). Our teachers probably compared us to other students. Kids compared us to other kids.

Those comparisons created either a sense of humiliation or a sense of pride. Either way, it has become second-nature. Everything we'd done has been followed by looking around and seeking validation (确认感).

Midway through my psychology PhD program at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, I felt that I lacked whatever magical ability is required to finish and publish a project. It seemed as though other graduate students were authoring several papers in the time it took me to complete a single experiment. I worked as hard as I could, but my progress seemed to be incremental (渐进式增加的) compared with theirs. When I shared these concerns with my adviser, she had a different take on the situation. "You're not doing anything wrong," she assured me, "you're just pursuing a different kind of research."

Comparing yourself to others is not necessarily a bad thing.

When you catch yourself comparing yourself to others, get curious about the feeling that is being triggered (引起). Is it jealousy? Is it obsession? Is it admiration? Is it love? Is it inspiration? Your triggered feelings will give you a clue as to what is going on within you.

Most likely, you are jealous because you wish you had what it takes to achieve what the other has achieved or to have what they have. Get curious and figure out why you still don't have it and what would it take to get there. It is never a good idea to make yourself wrong for comparing yourself to others or to make yourself wrong for not getting where you wish to be.

But if all this comparison mounts to is bitter jealousy, then your problem is bigger than a simple comparison. Always bear in mind that your only competition is the one in the mirror and—believe me—it is the toughest competition of all.

Babies are surrounded by human language, always listening and processing. Eventually, they put sounds together to produce a "Daddy" or a "Mama". But what still confuses neuroscientists is exactly how the brain works to put it all together.

To figure it out, a team of researchers turned to a frequent stand-in (代替) for babies when it comes to language learning: the song-learning zebra finch. "We've known songbirds learn their song by first forming a memory of their father's song or another adult's song. Then they use that memory to guide their song learning," said Neuroscientist Todd Roberts. "It's been a long-term goal of the field to figure out how or where in the brain this memory is. This type of imitative learning that birds do is very similar to the type of learning that we engage in regularly—particularly when we're young, we use it to guide our speech learning."

Roberts and his team had a feeling that the interface (交叉区域) between sensory areas and motor areas in the brain was critical for this process, and they focused on a group of brain cells called the NIf.

"In order to prove that we could identify these circuits, we thought if we could implant a false memory." First, they used a virus to cause the neurons (神经元) in the birds' NIf to become sensitive to light. Then, using a tiny electrode as a flashlight, they activated (激活) the neurons. The length of each pulse of light corresponded with the amount of time the neurons would fire. And the birds' brains interpreted that time period as the length of each note.

Soon enough, the birds began to practice the notes they had learned, even though they never really heard the sounds. Amazingly, the birds produced them in the correct social situations. The researchers say this is the first time anybody has found exactly a part of the brain necessary for generating the sorts of memories needed to copy sounds.

"This line of research is going to help us identify where in the brain we encode memories of relevant social experiences that we use to guide learning. We know that there are several neurodevelopmental disorders in people that have really far-reaching effects on this type of learning."

There comes a time when every parent struggles with how best to discipline their child. Whether dealing with a screaming child or an angry teen, it can be hard to control your temper. And the bottom line is that shouting and physical violence never help.

Thankfully, there are other, more effective ways and one of them is positive discipline. We consulted Lucie Cluver, a professor at Oxford University, to explore how it can help parents build positive relationships with their children.

Why positive discipline? The evidence is clear: shouting and hitting simply do not work and can do more harm than good in the long run.The "toxic (有毒的) stress" it creates can lead to a host of negative outcomes. "Parentsshout or hit their kids because they're stressed and don'tsee another way," says Professor Cluver.

The good news for every parent is the positive discipline approach works and here's how you can start putting it into practice.

As parents we often focus on our children's bad behaviour and call it out. Children may read this as a way to get your attention, continuing poor conduct rather than putting a stop to it. Actually, children are eager for praise. It makes them feel loved and special. "Watch out for when they're doing something good and praise them," recommends Professor Cluver.

Part of growing up is learning that if you do something, something can happen as a result. Defining this for your child is a simple process that encourages better behaviour while teaching them about responsibility. Give your child a chance to do the right thing by explaining the consequences of their bad behaviour. Being consistent is a key factor in positive parenting, which is why following through with the consequences is important."You can take a teenager's phone away for an hour but taking it away for a week might be difficult to follow through on."

A. And so is making them realistic.

B. What's really important is to focus on your child.

C. No parent wants to find themselves in such a situation.

D. Calm consequences have been shown to be effective for kids.

E. This can encourage good behaviour and reduce the need for discipline.

F. Repeated shouting and hitting can even negatively impact a child's entire life.

G. And hopefully it can also teach skills like responsibility, cooperation and self-discipline.

In March, 5-year-old Wynn Radke came home from preschool with no idea that she wouldn't return for months because of the COVID-19. Her mom Colleen1her to think of a goal to work toward that involved a(n)2activity. Wynn wasted no time and shouted, “67 waterfalls (瀑布)!” While the number was3, her mom loved the idea so much that she4to help the little one!

The lovely pair's first 5 took place on March 28, 2020 at Fairy Falls, and it was amazing! From there, they 6 hiking to different waterfalls, documenting their progress7they inched closer and closer to their goal.

8, Colleen said the challenge was simply a way to get Wynn outside instead of "just watching YouTube all day." But it ended up being something therapeutic (有益身心健康的) for them to do during the92020 has brought their family. Between Wynn missing her friends and Colleen losing her job, the waterfall10have helped a lot.

It took Wynn and Colleen five months, but they finally11Winnewissa Falls—their 67th waterfall—in August!12reaching her goal, Wynn 13, "I did it!" And she wasn't the only one who was14. When she returned to school, her friends and teachers15 her with celebratory balloons! For her mom, the adventure was less about the milestones (里程碑) and more about the time they spent together.

Why was the ox chosen to be one of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs (生肖)?

Centuries ago, most people earned their living  farming. The ox was used to help plow, cultivate and carry heavy goods.

The ox has long had a significant place in Chinese culture. Ancient Chinese poets and writers frequently (describe) the ox in literature. In the Classic of Poetry, the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, the animal was mentioned in 9 out of the 305 (piece).

The ox is considered a symbol of diligence and earnestness in Chinese culture. To this day, the phrase "the spirit of ox" still refers to conquering anythingmay present itself as an obstacle. The spirit is highly praised and many people follow as their work ethic. When someone achieves a great  (accomplish) through hard work, people often use "niu", (mean) "awesome", to describe him or her.

Oxen seldom bully the weak or fear the strong. They work hard and make sacrifices. This is reflected in the poem Self-mockery (write) by Lu Xun, which praises the ox's attitude of  (serve) without complaining.

So naturally, those who were born in the Year of the Ox are often expected to be hardworking,  (rely) and loyal.

内容包括：

1）比赛的目的；

2）参赛作品的内容和要求；

3）提交方式和截止日期。

注意： 1）词数 80 左右；

2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

The day of my big solo (独唱) had finally arrived. Everyone was there: my mom and dad and my little brother. Uncle Scott and Auntie Tammy had even picked up my grandma from the nursing home so she wouldn't miss the big event.

My name was on the cover of the program in bright yellow with a daisy chain drawn around it. "Cindy Hamond ... Soloist."

I couldn't believe it when I saw my name. Not that it was my name, but that it wasn't Renee Swanson's.

Renee and I had been classmates since kindergarten. She was always wherever I was and she was always ahead of me.

Dance-class recital needs a big finish? Renee was picked.

Selling Girl Scout cookies? "Oh, I'm sorry," the lady at the front door would say. "I just bought twenty boxes from Renee Swanson. Such a nice girl." Yeah, whatever.

Softball? She played first base while I watched her from my position in the outfield.

The day of the choir concert tryouts (选拔) was nerve wracking. We waited in the library while Ms. Jenkins called us one at a time into the choir room. When Ms. Jenkins called my name, my whole body was shaking.

When I came back to the library, Renee smiled at me. Ms. Jenkins called her name and she calmly followed her. She was still calm and smiling when her tryout was over.

Ms. Jenkins made the announcement at the end of the week of who had made the special choral group. I wasn't surprised when Renee's name was on her list and mine wasn't. "So," I said under my breath, "what else is new?"

Sudden clapping brought me out of my sulking (郁闷). Everyone was looking at me.

Ms. Jenkins looked at me and said, "Cindy, you will have to start practicing with me during your study halls since the solos take extra preparation."

Solo? I got the solo? I glanced over at Renee. She grinned (露齿而笑) and gave me the thumbs-up sign.

注意：

1）所续写短文的词数应为 150 左右；

2）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。

When the day came, we filed onto the stage and took our places.

When we filed off the stage, my family met me with praise and hugs and Renee was next to hug me.