The other day, I got into a car accident, which was clearly not my fault. The other driver was so busy on his phone that he went right through a red light and hit my car.

    A traffic policeman arrived and started taking statements. I explained that my speed was about 55 km/h. "So you were going about 50 km/h, my lady?" he asked. "No, I said I was going about 55 km,/h," I said. "Right, so you were driving at a speed of about 50 km/h?" he asked again.

    I was a little annoyed because I felt he wasn't listening to me carefully. So I shouted, "No! I was going about 55 km/h."

    "OK, if that's the way you want it," the officer simply replied. Because the city speed limit is 50 km/h, I only got paid from my insurance (保险) company for the damage to my car, but the other driver's insurance company couldn't pay me due to my speed. I didn't realize it at the time, but it turned out I was getting him wrong.

    He didn't mention the 5 km/h, but he certainly knew something about the rules of the insurance. Suddenly, I realized that the traffic policeman had been trying to help me out.

    November 21 is World Hello Day. At school, we learned that "How do you do?" and "How are you?" are standard ways to say hello when 1 others. But do you know how to respond (回答) them? Do native (本土的) speakers still use them today? As we learned, "How do you do?" is for greeting someone we meet for the 2 time. And it can be responded with the same " 3 ". "How are you?" is often used to greet someone we are 4 with. It usually follows with a response of "I'm fine, and you?" or "I'm well, and you?".

    But English is a casual (随意的) language. The formal "How do you do?" is seldom said by native speakers. It is 5 old-fashioned. Yet they greet each other in many other 6.

    You may hear a 7 between British people: "You all right?" "Yeah, you?" "I'm good. Any plans for the weekend?" or "How's it going?" "Yeah, fine, and you?" These ways of greeting are 8 for young people to say hello to friends.

    Americans like saying "What's up?" or "What's good?" to friends. Don't be confused (混乱的). It doesn't mean "What's wrong?". It is just one way of saying 9 And people usually respond "Not much." 10"Nothing.". "Hey, man." is also popular. But it is only used among males. What do females say? You guess it. They often say "Hey, 11.".

    If you 12 an Australian, you may hear "G'day, mate." It means " 13 " You can respond with the same "G'day."

    However, there is no 14 to say hello to each other. If you can't remember all of the above, just choose "How are you?". This is the15 common and standard way for people of all ages. You can reply with "Pretty good." "Same as usual." or "I'm hanging in there."

    Some people have a very poor sense of direction. Unluckily, I am one of them. I have visited a place many times but I may still get lost there the next time.

    When I was a little girl, I never dared to ask strangers the way. And so I used to walk around in circles and hope that by chance I would get to the place I was going to.

    Now, I am no longer too shy to ask people for directions, but I often receive useless or ever wrong information. So I try to avoid giving people wrong directions. It anyone asks me the way somewhere, I would say, "Sorry, I am a stranger here."

    Once on my way to work I was stopped by a man. He asked me if I could tell him the way to the Friendship Building. I gave him my usual reply. But just as I walked on only a few steps, I realized that he had asked the way to my office building. However, I had no time to turn back and look for him. I hurried to meet someone at my office and I didn't want to keep him waiting.

    When I just got to my office, the secretary showed in the man who had asked me for directions. Imagine how awkward I was and how surprised he was when we saw each other at the first sight!

    If you live in a big city, there are many things to drive you crazy in your life. Vicky Zhao is a mainlander working in Hong Kong. For her, one thing she can't put up with is people standing on the wrong side of the escalators in subway stations." Escalators help us move faster and save time. It isn't a place to rest, "the 24-year-old mainlander says. "I often see tourists block the way with their cases or chatting on the escalators during rush hour. It always annoys me."

    The logic（逻辑） behind the "stand right, walk left" escalator etiquette seems obvious. You should leave enough space for people in a hurry, so that they can run and catch the train. Many cities' escalators, including Beijing's, use the" stand right, walk left" system to speed up the flow of people.（Australia is an exception and you should stand on the left side instead.）

    But the people who stand on escalators protect themselves by telling the walkers not to be so impatient. In a recent story about escalator etiquette, the BBC quotes（引用） one stander as saying, "If the person is in such a rush, why not just take the stairs? Even when the escalator is very full and there is nowhere to move, I see these same people complaining about not being able to pass."

    Whatever the escalator etiquette is in the place you live or visit, do what most people are doing and always think of others: leave enough space between each other, don't remain at the end of the escalators, and if someone is blocking your way, a simple "excuse me" is enough.