If you live in a big city, there are many thing to drive you crazy on your daily route, and it's not just overcrowded subway trains.

    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 escalator(自动扶梯) in subway stations. "Escalators help us move faster and save time. It isn't a place to rest," the 24-year-old says. "I often see tourists block the way with their suitcases or chatting on the escalators during rush hours. It annoys me to no end."

    Admitting she is not the patient type, Zhao says things are much better in Hong Kong than in cities on the mainland where "stand right, walk left" signs are often ignored.

    The logic behind the "stand right, walk left" escalator etiquette(礼仪) seems obvious. Even though you may want to catch your breath while you're transported up or down, you should still consider others and leave enough space for people in a hurry, so that they can run and catch the train.

    Many cities' escalators, including London's and 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 some cities discourage people from moving on escalators out of safety reasons. In Hong Kong's subway stations there are regular announcements asking people to "stand still" on escalators. Even so, most people in this fast-paced city observe the "stand right, walk left" etiquette.

    But the people who stand on escalators defend themselves by telling the walkers not to be so impatient. The BBC quotes one stander as saying: "If the person is in such a rush, why not just take the stairs? Even when the escalator is packed and there's 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 be mindful of others: leave enough space between each other, don't stay at the end of the escalator, and if someone is blocking your way, a simple "excuse me" is enough.

    BBC SHOP

    Entertaining. Informing. Inspiring.

    WHAT A RELIEF!

    Delight everyone on your holiday gift list with great gifts from the BBC.

You'll earn heartfelt thanks from nature lovers for Planet Earth I&II The Complete Collection(page 41)—inspiring look at our planet's wildest, most mysterious creatures and their breathtaking home. from mystery lovers for Sherlock: Complete Seasons 1-4 and The Abominable Bride Giftset (page13)—entertaining proof that Holmes can be difficult, dangerous, accurate, and absolute funny...and from those who appreciate all things British. Delight Charles Dickens fans with Dickensian (page 7), and the new drama series with more adventures for Dickens' characters... Dinner with Dickens Cookbook (page9) with procedures for his favorite dishes... and Tom BakerReads “A Christmas poem”(page 8) for a wonderful new holiday tradition.

    THE MOMENT

    Welcome to murder, suspense, romance, robbery and clothing in this exciting historical drama! Trouble begins for Rachel Verinder the day she inherits a large diamond stolen from a Hindu temple When it disappears again, suspicion falls on Franklin Blake, the man who loves her. But what about mysterious cousin Godfrey, the housemaid with a thieving past, and doctor who experiments with opium(鸭片)？ Blake must discover the fate of the Moonstone or lose Rachel forever. A powerful tale and emotionally sudden changes, based on the first-ever English detective novel by Wikie Collins33/4hours.DVD21024:$34.99 YOUR PRICE: $27.98

    EALKERS CHRISTMAS TREE SHORTBREAD AND TINS

    Santa and a beautiful Angel put the finishing touches on Christmas tree tins-perfect centerpieces and holiday decorations that your family and friends will enjoy year after year.

    Lift the treetops and taste the delicious secret inside pure butter shortbread shaped like mini-Christmas trees, and made from only finest ingredients-flour, butter, sugar and salt.

    Baked in the village of Aberlour in the Scottish Highlands, they follow a generations-old family procedure, first perfected by Joseph Walker in 1898.While the shortbread will disappear as if by magic, the tine will hold your holiday cookies and candy for many Christmases to come.

    Wonderful hostess gifts.   Angel 21042 $19.98

    Both tins: 6h×43/4d.net wt 4.40z Santa 21043 $19.98

    After decades of cat-and-mouse between athletes and the word anti-doping agency (WADA), athletes found what they must have believed to be the ultimate (终极的) doping agent: their own blood. To enhance athletic performance with your own blood, you draw your blood and store it in a freezer. Your body compensates by creating more blood. Then, months later, just before a competition, you can re-inject (注射) the old blood for a boost. As the red-blood-cell count goes up, so does an athlete's ability to absorb oxygen. The more oxygen you get with each breath, the more energy your body is able to bum and the better you are able to perform.

    Although the enhancement is small compared to actual drugs, it can be the difference between a gold medal and a silver medal. Best of all, "extra blood" was never something WADA tested for.

    But WADA wasn't going to sit by and be fooled. What it came up with in response might be a solution to stop doping once and for all: an athlete biological passport (ABP). The idea is to record some biological features of an athlete through testing done at regular intervals. The biological passport's partial implementation (实施)—recording blood and steroid levels—began in January 2014.

    When all necessary biological features are finally combined, WADA will no longer need to worry about finding new methods to detect a drug. It will only have to detect (检测) resulting changes in the body. In the case of blood doping, if the athlete's normal red-blood-cell count is, say, 47%, but then is found to be 51% after a competition, cheating may have been involved.

    WADA is confident that the biological passport could even prevent genetic changes—the ultimate, ever-lasting enhancement—which are surely coming next. If an athlete inserts a performance enhancing gene, it will probably leave detectable changes in the body, that would differ from the athlete's feature in the biological passport.

    I was deeply moved by the kindness of an elderly flower seller at Sydney's Central Station one evening.

    I was feeling as cold as the winter winds quickening the steps of the people who buried chins (下巴) in scarves and hands deep into coat pockets. In many ways, 2018 had proven an arduous year. My teenage daughter had left home for university, my job of 23 years was no more, and a creative project I'd given my all to for years had also been suddenly called off. I also found out a person I considered a friend was far from it.

    A year earlier, I'd dreamt about an earthquake. In the dream, a red light flashed inside a building and then the earth began to rock. Walls fell down on me as I ran into the open, feeling sorry for the people I hadn't loved enough. Before I was buried completely by the falling world, I shouted, "Abuelo, ayudame," in my native Spanish. "Grandfather, help me!"

    Now, with the very real aftershocks of a series of unexpected endings, I walked into a little flower shop to buy a gift for a friend. The gentleman at the shop looked at me and turned away for a moment, returning with a fragrant flower. "For you. You need to smile today," he said in a rich and beautiful accent, offering me the flower with eyes full of care. It took all my strength not to cry. Then he gave me a grandfatherly hug that made me want to tell him everything.

    Instead, I thanked him and headed for the train. How did he know? I wondered. For the first time in weeks, I felt hope.

    While faking and fierce looks are among animals great defenses, many species know that everyone runs from a big stink (臭气) too.

    Vulture (秃鸳)

    Vultures, are street sweepers that feast on the rotting flesh of dead animals, which benefits us by ridding our highways and landscapes of animal bodies and the bacteria they might carry. When vultures feel threatened they vomit, and the smell of vomited-on dead bodies puts of most predators. Throwing up allows the vulture to fly away more quickly-and the vomit can hurt the aggressor's eyes and face.

    Opossum (负鼠)

    In some ways opossums have it easy. In order to become "dead", they don't have to fax anyone a death certificate. They just lie there with their tongues hanging out with the smell of dead flesh, sometimes for hours, effectively convincing potential predators they can find a much fresher meal elsewhere. Even if they keep getting attacked, they won't move any more than a human statue until the threat has passed.

    Hoatzin (磨雉)

    Hold your nose and meet the hoatzin, a bird of distinctions, not the least of which is that it smells like fresh cow shit. The animal mostly eats leaves and it's the only bird known to digest by fermentation, like a cow. This process is what causes its smell and has earned it the nickname the "stink bird

    Millipedes (千足虫)

    Millipedes are tricky. For starters they look wormy. Their name is deceptive, too: Their legs number about 750. Their major defense is to curl up into a ball. They, though, also release a harm eyes, and leave a horrible smell on their attackers.

    Sea Hare (海兔)

    The graceful sea hare is plain in taste in the first place, so it's not the most popular dish in the seafood chain. Nonetheless this type of sea creature has a pretty creative smell-related defense that is almost the opposite of its smelly companions on this list. The sea hare gives out a slimy, purple ink, the substance which makes food less palatable to predators.

    Researchers using lobsters (2-f) as model predators found that the sea blocks the lobsters receptive mechanism. In other words, the sea hare gives its attacker the equivalent of a stuffy nose so they don't know how appealing it is.

Everything to know about Singapore

Here is how to plan the best possible trip to this impressive city-state.

When to go

Positioned just one degree north of the Equator, Singapore is consistently tropical. So it's more a matter of when not to go. Namely: the monsoon season between November and January when the city is blanketed in regular rainfall.

What to celebrate

Singapore celebrates its independence in an annual celebration known as National Day. Every year on August 9, the holiday is marked with great excitement that extends into the evening, ending in a massive fireworks display over Marina Bay.

What to eat

Hainanese chicken rice is considered the national dish of Singapore, as you can find it just about everywhere. If you are looking for something a bit spicier, try laksa--a coconut curry-based noodle soup.

Souvenir to take home

The Merlion is Singapore's official mascot(吉祥物), a mythical beast with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. Many local salesmen offer hand-carved figurines that fit easily into carry-on luggage and will serve as a lasting symbol of your time here. Anyone who's ever visited this place directly connects the symbol to the city.

Travel trip

Hawker centers are open-air food markets featuring delightful street food. Eat at these as much as possible to support local business and for a true taste of Singaporean dining customs. While each has its own charm, Maxwell Road Hawker Center in Chinatown is the most famous.

Instagram-worthy view

A photo from the world's largest rooftop infinity pool-- connecting the three towers of the Marina Bay Sands-- is a must for many tourists here. But back on the ground, Merlion Park affords a more impressive view of the hotel itself.