In Britain you're allowed to drive a car when you're seventeen. You have to get a special two-year driving license before you can start. When you're learning, someone with a full license always has to be in the car with you because you aren't allowed to drive the car on the road alone. You don't have to go to a driving school — a friend can teach you. The person with you isn't allowed to take money for the lesson unless he's got a teacher's license.
Before you're allowed to have a full license, you have to take a driving test. You can take a test in your own car, but it has to be fit for the road. In the test you have to drive round for about half an hour and then answer a few questions. If you don't pass the test, you're allowed to take it again a few weeks later if you want to. In 1970 a woman passed her fortieth test after 212 driving lessons! When you've passed your test, you don't have to take it again, and you're allowed to go on driving as long as you like. Britain's oldest driver was a man who drove in 1974 at the age of 100.
Before 1904 everyone was allowed to drive, even children. Then from 1904 car drivers had to have a license. But they didn't have to take a test until 1935. On the early days of car driving, before 1878, cars weren't allowed to go faster than four miles an hour, and someone had to lead the car with a red flag.

    People in New Zealand have a very special way of greeting(问候) people. It's called Hongi(碰鼻礼).

    When people meet, they always greet each other by pressing one's nose against another's nose. When a visitor is greeted in this way, people there won't see the person as a visitor any more, but one of the people of the land. Of course, during the visitor's stay, he has to share all the duties(职责).

    At meetings or important ceremonies(典礼) people always greet in this way. And it's just like the handshake in our country.

    People in different countries greet each other in different ways. Here are some.

    The United States

    People shake hands when they meet for the first time. Friends and family members often hug or kiss on the cheek(脸颊)when they see each other.

    Korea(韩国)

    Men bow and shake hands to greet each other. Women do not usually shake hands. If you call someone, you use his or her full name. The family name comes first; then the first name.

    Finland(芬兰)

    Finns (芬兰人) greet each other with a handshake. Hugs and kisses are only for close friends and family members.

    The Philippines(菲律宾)

    The everyday greeting for friends is a handshake for both men and women. Men sometimes pat(轻拍) each other on the back.

The Terracotta Warriors, one of the eight wonders of the world, have enjoyed international fame. Located in Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, they are warriors of the first-ever emperor in1China or Qin Shi Huang in Chinese, Ying Zheng.

Even though I knew they are life-sized sculptures (雕塑), I was still2 when I saw them. I was lucky enough to3 the pit (深坑) and take a close look at them for the first time.

They were made around 2, 200 years ago. When I first got down into the pit, the sculptures scared me4some of them lacked body parts.

I was told that the Terracotta Warriors are not easy to preserve (保存;保护) for over thousands of years. But to my surprise, they were actually5 in color when they were first discovered. However, the color fell off6after being exposed in the air.

The difficulty of preservation is one of the reasons why they have stopped7out other pits. Although the Terracotta Warriors are breathtaking, they are only part of the Mausoleum (陵墓) of the First Qin Emperor.

Shen Wenxi, an expert and museum librarian of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told me there's an even grander area8 man-made mountains, rivers and seas inside the emperor' s underground palace.

However, there is no plan to dig them until there are perfect9of protecting and preserving them. Experts are still busy restoring the relics (修复文物) that were10in the 1970s.