Grammar is the system of a language. People sometimes describe grammar as the “rules” of a language; but in fact no language has rules. If we use the word “rules”, we suggest that somebody created the rules first and then spoke the language, like a new game. But languages did not start like that. Languages started by people making sounds which evolved (逐渐发展成) into words, phrases and sentences. No commonly-spoken language is fixed. All languages change over time. What we call “grammar” is simply a reflection (反映) of a language at a particular time.

    Do we need to study grammar to learn a language? The short answer is “no”. Very many people in the world speak their own, native language without having studied its grammar. Children start to speak before they even know the word“grammar”. But if you are serious about learning a foreign language, the long answer is “yes, grammar can help you to learn a language more quickly and more efficiently.” It's important to think of grammar as something that can help you, like a friend. When you understand the grammar (or system) of a language, you can understand many things yourself, without having to ask a teacher or look in a book.

So think of grammar as something good, something positive, something that you can use to find your way—like a signpost(路标) or a map.

    Except invented languages like Esperanto（世界语）. And if Esperanto were widely spoken, its rules would soon be very different.

    You can either travel or read, but either your body or soul must be on the way. The popular saying has inspired many people to read or go sightseeing. Here are several books we recommend that you take on your trip.

⑴ Destination: US

Recommended book: On the Road, 1957, by Jack Kerouac

    The book is a globally popular spiritual guide book about youth. The protagonist(主人公) in the book drives across the US continent with several young people and finally reaches Mexico. After the exhausting and exciting trip, the characters in the book begin to realize the meaning of life.

⑵ Destination: Sahara Desert

Recommended book: The Stories of the Sahara, 1976, by Sanmao

    The book describes the author's simple but adventurous life in the Sahara Desert, which seems a bare and dull place. The vivid natural scenery and life there, along with the author's romantic emotions will inspire you to explore the mysterious land.

⑶ Destination: England

Recommended book: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, 2013, by Rachel Joyce

    The novel tells a story of a 60-year-old man who lives a boring and unhappy life, until one day, he received his old friend's letter who got cancer. In deep shock and sorrow, he went out to send his reply letter. By thinking of his life, he walked past one mailbox after another, and finally walked from the Southwest end to the Northeast end of England. 627 miles in 87 days, he walks depending on one belief that “ his friend can survive as long as he walks.”

⑷ Destination: North Europe

Recommended book: So Slow, So Beautiful, 2015, by Luo Fu

    Following a girl's step to look around North Europe, who has been living there for 10 years. Check out how North Europeans seek their happiness, which more originated from a simple, natural and tranquil mentality.

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    You might make a disgusted face when you notice that the person waiting in their car at the red light next to you is picking their nose,but admit it,you do it too.And while it might be the natural option when there isn't a box of tissues around,it can be bad for you.The main reasons people feel the need to pick their nose is to clear it of dried liquid,stop an itch（痒）,or just because it feels good.Boogers（鼻屎）form when dried liquid and cilia,the tiny hairs that line the nostrils（鼻孔）,trap the dust,dirt,and other things.When boogers build up in your nose,it can be uncomfortable,and sometimes just blowing into a tissue doesn't do the trick.

    Otolaryngologist Erich P.Voigt, MD ,told Business Insider that picking your nose can cause injuries and bleeding within your nostrils.That's not terribly damaging,but when the bacteria from your hands get into your body,it can cause a cold and flu.So doctors strongly suggest not picking the nose.

    If dry winter air is causing the dirty liquid to harden in your nostrils,making you want to pick,consider damping the air at home,or taking a steam shower to soften things up in there.

    Children, who are most famous for having a finger up their nose,sometimes don't realize how much injury they're causing,and sometimes it.can lead to nose bleeds.

    So, next time you go to pick your nose,think about how many bacteria are on your hands and in your boogers, and maybe reach for a tissue instead.Even if you 're alone,and not waiting for the light to turn green,please,use a tissue.

    Christmas was near a season that we took seriously in our house. But a week or so before the 25th, my father would give each of his children $ 20. This was the 1970s, and $ 20 was quite a bit of money.

    But I saw it differently. My father trusted me to have the smart to spend money wisely. Even better, he gave me the means to get it. On a very basic level, my father was giving me a shopping spree (狂欢) every year.. But he was also giving me charge over my own fun, trusting my ability to manage money and making me feel like a grown-up. He didn't buy me Sherlock Holmes, but he gave me the means to walk into the bookstore and choose it for myself, so it felt like a gift from him.

    My mother had a gift for giving me what I needed, usually right at the moment I needed it most. This was when I was 25, I failed at being an adult on my very first try. I had quitted my previous job but had no new one. But when my mother paid me a visit, I put on a good show, telling her I had started my own company.

    My mother knew that I was trying hard and failing at that time. It wasn't until after she left that I noticed at the foot of my bed an envelope thick with cash. She knew how desperately I needed it. She knew that had she just shown up with groceries, or offered to pay my rent, she would have made me feel much worse. The cold, hard cash meant she was helping me. And, funnily enough, the distance with which she gave the gift felt like she was giving me space to fix my life and preserve my dignity. My mother and father both did the same thing. One was giving me the means to take my own decisions, and the other was giving me a second chance when those decisions had cost me dearly.

    An open office is supposed to force employees to cooperate. To have them talk more face to face. To get them off instant messenger (IM) and brainstorming new ideas. But a recent study by two researchers offers evidence to support what many people who work in open offices already know: It doesn't really work that way. The noise causes people to put on headphones and tune out. The lack of privacy causes others to work from home when they can. And the sense of being in a fishbowl means many choose email over a desk-side chat.

    Ethan Bernstein and Stephen Turban, two Harvard Business School professors, studied two Fortune 500 companies that made the shift to an open office environment from one where workers had more privacy. Using “sociometric” electronic badges (徽章) and microphones, as well as data on email and instant messenger use by employees, the researchers found in the first study that after the organization made the move to open-plan offices, workers spent 73% less time in face-to-face interaction. Meanwhile, email use rose 67% and IM use went up 75%.

    The participants wore the badges and microphones for several weeks before the office was redesigned and for several after, and the company gave the researchers access to their electronic communications. The results were astonishing. “We were surprised by the degree to which we found the effect,” Bernstein said. The badges could tell that two people had a face-to-face interaction without recording actual spoken words. The researchers were careful to make sure other factors weren't in question—the business cycle was similar, for instance, and the group of employees were the same.

    In a second study, the researchers looked at the changes in interaction between specific pairs of colleagues, finding a similar drop in face-to-face communication and a smaller but still significant increase in electronic correspondence.

    Another wrinkle in their research, Bernstein said, is that not only did workers shift the way of communication they used, but they also tended to interact with different groups of people online than they did in person. Moving from one kind of communication to another may not be all bad—“maybe email is just more efficient,” he said—but if managers want certain teams of people to be interacting, that may be lost more than they think. The shift in office space could “have strong effects on productivity and the quality of work”.

    Bernstein hopes the research will offer evidence that will help managers consider the possible trade-offs of moving to an open office plan. In seeking a lower cost per square foot, they buy into the idea that it will also lead to more cooperation, even if it's not clear that's true. “I don't blame the architects,” he said. “But I do think we spend more of our time thinking about how to design workplaces based on the observer's angle”—the manager—“rather than the observed.”

    Asia is such a vast and diverse continent for anyone dreaming of an escape. Here are some best destinations to visit over the next 12 months.

    Xi'an, China

    Xi'an, China is supreme and then there's the biggie (重要的事物)-the Army of Terracotta Warriors, celebrating 30 years as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.

    Xi'an is vast, but a relaxed way of living and recent openings have boosted an already superb accommodation market. A crop of new bars and cafes are thrown in here. There's never been a better time to visit.

    South of Tokyo, Japan

    Two cities in south of Tokyo are well worth visiting.

    Yokohama is just a 20-mixinte train journey from the capital and packs considerable appeal with its bayside location, architecture, beer and tasty cuisine.

    Less than an hour from Tokyo, fantastic seaside town Kamakura »s known for its surfing scene, but also offers an attractive selection of relaxed cafes and restaurants.

    Sri Lanka's Hill Country

    Sri Lanka may be “so hot right now”, but Lonely Planet recommends a different experience.

    Try getting ahead of (and away from) the pack by taking a scenic train to Sri Lanka's Hill Country for a wonderfully temperate escape from the nation's humid coasts.

    This island owns a mountainous interior that is every bit as scenic as the coast, blessed by pleasantly cool temperatures that rarely above 21℃.

    Raja Ampat, Indonesia

    “Raja” means “king” and this grand title is apparent. Packed with white-sand beaches, lush jungle and unusual mushroom-shaped small islands. Raja Ampat is a biological hotspot.

    Home to some of the richest, most diverse coral reefs on the planet—over 200 diving spots are still in a state of nature—and this, paired with a growing ecotourism (生态旅游) offering, means Raja Ampat will no doubt remain king of the islands.