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The British Museum is the biggest one in the world. There are lots of things in the museum to see: clocks which have been telling the time for six hundred years. Roman money, the earliest books in the world, including Shakespeare’s own works…

The British Museum was set up nearly 300 years ago by a doctor. Sir Hans Sloane. The man liked to collect such things as books, drawings, clothes, money, animals, flowers, and also hoped that his things would be well kept and visited by people after his death. His wish came true, and the museum opened in 1759, six years after Sir Hans Sloane died.

Later, more antiques(古董) arrived at the museum, more books, old and new, came to it, and more people wanted to visit it. All this made Pauizzi design the famous round Reading Room. There was something unusual in it. Cool air came up through small holes in the tables. Hot air under the floor kept readers’ feet warm. Since its opening, many famous men have written and studied there, including Karl Marx. And the library is growing faster and faster. Many tourists come to visit it every year.

It is now open every day of the year, except for two holidays (New Year’s Day and Christmas). Entrance(进入) is free. There are lots of special exhibitions (展览) and every day there are different films and talks, some of them for children. So if you are one of its two million visitors this year, don’t try to see it all too quickly. There is a lifetime of looking in the British Museum.