Today there are policemen everywhere, but in 1700, London had no policemen at all. A few old men used to protect the city streets at night and they were not paid.

    About 300 years ago, London was starting to get bigger and more and more people began to live there. The city was very dirty and many people were poor. There were so many thieves who stole money in the streets that people stayed in their houses as much as possible.

    In 1749, Henry Fielding started to pay a group of people for stopping thieves. They were like policemen and were called "Bow Street Runners" because they worked near Bow Street.

    Fifty years later, there were about 120"Bow Street Runners", but London had become very big and needed more policemen. So in 1829, the first Metropolitan (or London) Police Service was started with about 3, 000 officers. Most of the men worked on foot, but a few rode horses.

Today, London police are quite well—paid and for the few police officers who still ride horses, the pay is even higher than for the others.

    Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some ways. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.

    In Western countries, people usually celebrate New Year from midnight on December 31st to January 1st, People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in formal(正式的)clothes, and they may drink champagne(香槟) at midnight. During the first minute of the new year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead, But some cultures prefer to celebrate the new year by waking up early to watch the sunrise. They welcome the new year with the first light of the sunrise.

    Many cultures also do special things to get rid of(摆脱)bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes, The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh(重新). Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the new year.

    Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year. One widespread Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck he will have in the new year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck on New Year's Day. In the United States, some people eat black-eyed peas for good luck-but to get good luck for a whole year, you have to eat 365 of them!

    American people like to say "Thank you when others help them or say something kind to them. People of many countries do so too. It is a very good habit.

    You should say "thank you "when someone passes you the salt on the table, when someone walking ahead of you keeps the door open for you, when someone says you have done your work well, or you have bought a nice thing, or your city is very beautiful. "Thank you" is used not only between friends, but also between parents and children, brothers and sisters.

    "Excuse me" is another short sentence they use. When you hear someone say so behind you, you know that somebody wants to walk past you without touching you. It's not polite to break others when they are talking. If you want to speak to one of them say.

    "Excuse me" first, and then begin talking. You should also do so when you begin to cough or make any noise before others.

    Let's learn to say "Thank you" and" Excuse me.