1 . Languages have been coming and going for thousands of years, but in recent times there has been less coming and a lot more going. When the world was still populated by hunter-gatherers, small, tightly knit (联系) groups developed their own patterns of speech independent of each other. Some language experts believe that 10,000 years ago, when the world had just five to ten million people, they spoke perhaps 12,000 languages between them.

Soon afterwards, many of those people started settling down to become farmers, and their languages too became more settled and fewer in number. In recent centuries, trade, industrialization, the development of the nation-state and the spread of universal compulsory education, especially globalisation and better communications in the past few decades, all have caused many languages to disappear, and dominant languages such as English, Spanish and Chinese are increasingly taking over.

At present, the world has about 6,800 languages. The distribution of these languages is hugely uneven. The general rule is that mild zones have relatively few languages. Often spoken by many people while hot, wet zones have lots, often spoken by small numbers. Europe has only around 200 Languages: the Americas about 1,000, Africa 2,400; and Asia and the Pacific perhaps 3,200, of which Papua New Guinea alone accounts for well over 800. The median number (中位数) of speakers is a mere 6,000, which means that half the worlds languages are spoken by fewer people than that.

Already well over 400 of the total of 6,800 languages are close to extinction (消亡), with only a few elderly speakers left. Pick, at random, Busuu in Cameroon (eight remaining speakers), Chiapaneco in Mexico(150). Lipan Apache in the United States (two or three) or Wadjigu in Australia (one, with a question-mark): none of these seems to have much chance of survival.

2 . Henry Raeburn (1756-1823)

The Exhibition

This exhibition of some sixty masterpieces celebrating the life and work of Scotland’s best loved painter, Sir Henry Raeburn, comes to London. Selected from collections throughout the world, it is the first major exhibition of his work to be held in over forty years.

Lecture Series

Scottish National Portrait (肖像画) Gallery presents a series of lectures for the general public. They are held in the Lecture Room. Admission to lectures is free.

Exhibition Times

Monday-Saturday 10.00-17.45             Sunday 12.00-17.45

Last admission to the exhibition: 17.15. There is no re-admission.

Closed: 24-26 December and 1 January.

Admission

£4. Children under 12 years accompanied by an adult are admitted free.

Schools and Colleges

A special low entrance charge of £2 per person is available to all in full-time education, up to and including those at first degree level, in organised groups with teachers.

How much would a couple with two children under 12 pay for admission?

3 . Children’s Discovery Museum

General Information about Group Play

Pricing

Group Play $7/person

Scholarships

We offer scholarships to low-income schools and youth organizations, subject to availability. Participation in a post-visit survey is required.

Scholarships are for Group Play admission fees and/or transportation. Transportation invoices (发票) must be received within 60 days of your visit to guarantee the scholarship.

Group Size

We require one chaperone (监护人) per ten children. Failure to provide enough chaperones will result in an extra charge of $50 per absent adult.

Group Play is for groups of 10 or more with a limit of 35 people. For groups of 35 or more, please call to discuss options.

Hours

The Museum is open daily from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Group Play may be scheduled during any day or time the Museum is open.

Registration Policy

Registration must be made at least two weeks in advance.

Register online or fill out a Group Play Registration Form with multiple date and start time options.

Once the registration form is received and processed, we will send a confirmation email within two business days.

Guidelines

●Teachers and chaperones should model good behavior for the group and remain with students at all times.

●Children are not allowed unaccompanied in all areas of the Museum.

●Children should play nicely with each other and exhibits.

●Use your indoor voice when at the Museum.

How many chaperones are needed for a group of 30 children to visit the Museum?

4 . Welcome to our stand-up comedy classes

This is the workshop where beginners have grown into headliners and headliners have grown into stars. Our workshop stresses stand-up comedy writing and performing — the two key components of stand-up comedy.

Our classes are conducted by award-winning, comedy director and writer Stephen Rosenfield and his stand-up staff. They are conducted so that when it’s time for your club performance, you will have solidly written, funny material and you will be well rehearsed and ready to perform beyond your expectations. These stand-up comedy classes are offered to both beginners and advanced students. The workshop consists of group classes, private coaching sessions and a performance at Gotham or West Side Comedy Club.

Seats available: 2

Start date: May 17th

In-person show: May 20th at Gotham Comedy Club

Live streamed show: May 22nd on YouTube

Fees:

If you are a first time student: $410. If you are a returning student: $350.

We accept cash, checks or credit cards.

Your instructor: Becky Veduccio

Becky has been a professional comedian, writer and actress for over 15 years. She has performed stand-up comedy in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and London. Besides, she has appeared in commercials, theater and feature films. And she competed in the 2018 season of America’s GotTalent.

Her film works include Return to Me, Maid in Manhattan and Random Hearts. As a writer, she was chosen as one of Parenting. com’s top five “Favorite Mommy Bloggers” for her humorous articles on the website. In 2015, she won the New York Press Club Award for humorous writing. As an instructor, Becky has taught stand-up comedy to every age group — from elementary school kids and teenagers to university students and adults. She believes everyone has a comedic voice.

5 . Estimated to have appeared around 200m years after the events of the big bang, the first stars of the universe suddenly came into being, shedding light in the darkness. These stars produced the essential building blocks for entire galaxies (银河系), for planets, and for the creation of life in the universe.

In this fascinating masterclass with Dr Emma Chapman, the author of First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time, she will attempt to fill in the missing first one billion years from the timeline of the universe, by revealing more about the earliest stars — how they were formed and why they were so unusual.

Emma will also discuss recent discoveries in astrophysics, including what the James Webb space telescope is revealing to us about the origins of the universe, and what the next big missions in space exploration will be.

Course content

• How the universe began: the big bang and the first stars

• How stars created the building blocks for our universe

• Finding the first stars: the latest research in stellar archaeology

• The future of looking back: space exploration and the next big space missions

• Q&A

Course Details

Thursday 26 October 2023,6.30pm-8.30pm BST

£65 plus £3.56 booking fee

This ticket includes your online class plus access to a 14 day catch up recording. If you live in the UK, you can purchase a ticket with a copy of First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time at checkout for the combined price of £74.52 including postage and packing.

7 . Bike Rental & Guided Tours

Welcome to Amsterdam, welcome to MacBike. You see much more from the seat of a bike! Cycling is the most economical, sustainable and fun way to explore the city, with its beautiful canals, parks, squares and countless lights. You can also bike along lovely landscapes outside of Amsterdam.

Why MacBike

MacBike has been around for almost 30 years and is the biggest bicycle rental company in Amsterdam. With over 2,500 bikes stored in our five rental shops at strategic locations, we make sure there is always a bike available for you. We offer the newest bicycles in a wide variety, including basic bikes with foot brake (刹车), bikes with hand brake and gears (排挡), bikes with child seats, and children’s bikes.

Prices

Guided City Tours

The 2.5-hour tour covers the Gooyer Windmill, the Skinny Bridge, the Rijksmuseum, Heineken Brewery and much more. The tour departs from Dam Square every hour on the hour, starting at 1:00 pm every day. You can buy your ticket in a MacBike shop or book online.

How much do you pay for renting a bike with hand brake and three gears for two days?