Want to say "hello" from Disneyland? Send a post card!
   Beautiful scenes of paradise (乐园), wild animals, silly pictures — you can find them all in one place. Where? On a post card! Have people always sent post cards? No. Before post cards, people liked sealed letters.
   The idea for the first decorated (装饰) post card came to John P. Charlton in 1861. He thought a simple card with decorations would be a great way to send a note. Then in the late 1800s, post cards with pictures appeared. By law, people had to write their note on the front ——on the picture! The back was only for the address. Several years later, England allowed a divided-back post card. Then people could write their note on the back left side and put the address on the right. During the early 1900s, the golden age of post cards, picture post cards became a craze of the world. In 1908, Americans alone mailed over 677 million post cards. Today, post cards are the third most popular collection in the world after stamps and coins.

    Studying different languages increases our understanding of how humans communicate and their different cultures. However, almost 80% of the people in the world speak only 1% of its languages.  Every 14 days a language dies. By 2100, half of the more than 7, 000 languages spoken on Earth today may disappear.

    Throughout history, the languages of dominant(统治的)groups have spread while the languages of native cultures have become extinct. This happens because of government language policies, or because the dominant language becomes more useful in everyday life. Furthermore, many endangered languages aren't written down. When the last speakers of a language die and their language becomes extinct, their stories, songs, and other important information are lost, too.

    Central South America has some of the world's most endangered languages. The Kallawaya people speak a secret language that has details of thousands of medical plants. Today, fewer than 100 people speak it. In Central and Eastern Siberia, many Siberian languages now have only a few elderly speakers. Yuchi, which may be unrelated to any other language in the world, is one of the many native languages used in Oklahoma, the U.S.A. It is disappearing rapidly. In 2010, only five elderly people could speak this language.

    Luckily, native cultures around the world are using modern technology to help keep their endangered languages and cultures alive. Communities are creating dictionaries and libraries by using pictures, video, and audio to record the traditions of the last speakers of their language. If the young people don't speak and understand the words and stories of their ancestors(祖先), the language will die.

    And when the language dies, part of the culture dies, too.

    Coffee and tea are two of the most popular hot drinks. Coffee is very popular in Western Europe and in the Middle East. Different people drink coffee differently. Some people in Northern Europe put cream and sugar in their coffee. But in the United States many people like to drink their coffee "black ", that is, without cream or sugar. Some oriental(东方的)countries such as China, Japan, traditionally drink tea as a national drink. In the Orient, people drink tea without sugar, but in England, where it is also a national drink, it is different. Many people in England put both sugar and hot or cold milk in their tea, while others use lemon. Coffee may also be done differently when it is ordered by the customers, the waiter may ask "regular", which means" Do you want lots of cream in it?" If coffee with lots of cream is not wanted, ask for "black" (no cream)or "dark"(meaning with a small amount of cream in). However, in most cases you may have your own choice by being provided with coffee and cream separately.

    Coffee is the most popular American drink and it is ordered almost at all hours of the day. In the light of statistics(数据), Americans drink 500 million cups of coffee each day.

    For Miller, an 80-year-old man, it's a chance of a lifetime. Miller is a part of a group of around 60 Germans who are on a bus journey along the ancient Silk Road.

    About this journey, he says:“I have been deeply interested in the Silk Road since I was a child. But now I finally have a chance to experience it.”

    The two-month bus journey will take the group through Germany, Russia and other 4 European countries. They will then enter China from the country's western part. It will be an unforgettable memory for them.

    Nearly half of the 13,000-kilometer trip will be inside China. From Xinjiang in the west to Shanghai in the east, the German visitors will see more than 20 Chinese cities. "We have managed the trip of the Silk Road for around 10 years. An increasing number of people, not only from German-speaking countries, have been joining us." Says Liu Guoqiang from China Tours.

    Almost 26 million foreigners traveled to China in 2015, and about 5 million of them were from Europe. Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai and the Yangtze River are traditional Chinese travel destinations for European tourists. Speaking of where he wants to go, Miller says: "Compared with modern cities, the culture in western China attracts me more."

As Shi Xiang, head of China Tours says "Being a new brand to attract foreign visitors, the Silk Road is good for people to know more about China, especially the northwestern part of the country.”

    People in different countries have different ways of doing things. Something that is polite in one country may be quite impolite in another. In Britain, you mustn't lift your bowl to your mouth when you are having some liquid (液体) food. But it's different in China. And in Japan you even needn't worry about making noises when you have it. It shows that you are enjoying it. But it is regarded as bad manners in Britain. If you are a visitor in Mongolia, what manners do they wish you to have? They wish you to give a loud "burp" (打嗝) after you finish eating. Burping shows that you like the food.

    In Britain, you should try not to put your hands on the table when you're having a meal. In Mexico, however, guests are expected to keep their hands on the table during a meal. But in Arab countries you must be very careful with your hands. You mustn't eat with your left hand. Arabs consider it very bad manners to eat with left hands. So, what should you do if you are on a visit in another country? Well, just do in Rome as the Romans do. You can ask the native (本土的) people to help you or just watch carefully and follow them.