The United Kingdom（Period 4　Language Focusing）

today, the british museum is home to no less than six and a half million objects and has ninety four permanent and temporary exhibition galleries.an education department provides a wide range of services for adults and children.other departments are coins and medals, egyptian antiquities, ethnography, greek and roman antiquities, japanese art, medieval and later art, oriental antiquities, pre-historic and romano-british antiquities, prints and drawings, and western asiatic antiquities.
highgate cemetery
highgate cemetery is probably the most famous cemetery in london, if not in england, and is a must-visit for anyone with the slightest interest in things taphophilic.the site itself, perched atop a north london hill, was the ideal of victorian cemetery designers;  a series of winding paths intersperced with beautiful planting and impressive monuments, wind their way to the pinnacle of leyden’s magnificent creation, the circle of lebanon with its egyptian gateways and neo-classical catacombs around a superb central cedar tree. if only i could have seen this in the nineteenth century, when families took sunday lunch on the flat roofs of their forebears’ vaults, and the fashionable promenaded through trimmed and cared-for groves.poor leyden would hardly recognise his creation these days.the paths and some of the monuments are just discoverable through the ivy; “managed neglect” is now the watchword in this cemetery, for one reason i suspect because money is available to maintain the place as a nature reserve, but not to preserve it as a necropolis.years without maintenance have caused sections of the higher ground to start to move downhill, especially after heavy rain;  if you are visiting to view a particular monument, it’s very wise to enquire before setting out whether that section of the cemetery is accessible. the biggest problem with gaining access to highgate cemetery, however, is the formidable old lady who is there every single day (you’ll know who i mean).“she’d close the whole place to the public if she could, ”one guide whispered confidentially to me, and i believe it.as it is, she’s done her best to put people off: entrance to the western half is by guided tour only.separate entrance fees for west and east sections, with a supplement payable if you wish to take photographs, make a visit to highgate more expensive than some theme parks.add its distance from any form of public transport, its situation halfway down a narrow, one-way (northwards only) lane and the lack of any parking once you get there, and it’s a wonder that anyone ever visits at all.she also tried to throw me out for being“disrespectful”: i’m not sure if that was wearing a t-shirt, or laughing at her when she told me bare arms were unsuitable, but be warned. all this said, a visit here is well worth the effort.the circle of lebanon is probably the most spectacular part of any cemetery in britain, but it’s by no means the only thing worth seeing.each volunteer guide will take you on a slightly different tour, depending on their own preferences and which parts of the cemetery are currently accessible.more is visible beneath the trees in the autumn, but the ground underfoot is more treacherous.it is a journey to be planned like a military campaign.and don’t mention the vampire.they get very upset if you mention the vampire.