Los Angeles is always a popular holiday destination. To fully enjoy your travel there, you should know its food, weather, and also traffic. While driving in L. A. is similar to that in other areas, there are a few specific rules to note.

On many L. A. freeways, one or more lanes at the far left are used as high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. They usually have limited access and you can only enter or exit where there is a break in the double yellow line. Most HOV lanes require a minimum of two people in the car; some require three. Vehicles towing trailers (拖车) are NOT allowed in the HOV lane, regardless of how many people are in them.

On certain freeways, the HOV lanes are double-purposed as toll lanes for people driving alone who have a FasTrak, an electronic toll collection system. Therefore, you also have to have one in that lane as a HOV, which is inconvenient if you’re just visiting. FasTrak is in effect on parts of the 110 freeway between the 405 and 10 freeways, and on parts of the 10 freeway east of Downtown L. A.

It is against the law to talk on a cell phone while driving without using a hands-free device. Holding a cell phone to your ear while driving will land you with a ticket.

Driving under the influence is taken seriously in L.A. The legal blood alcohol limit is 0.08%, but you can be charged with lower levels if they show you can’t function normally. Placing an opened bottle of alcohol in the passenger area while driving (or sitting) is illegal. Any opened container of alcohol has to be transported in the trunk.

Suppose you are out shopping and come across an old friend who starts telling you a story that seems to be dragging on and on. You want to seem interested, so you offer the occasional “Oh” or “I see”. To your surprise, though, this person angrily stops and says, “Sorry if I’m boring you!”

Where did this come from? Clearly, your body language must have let out your inner feelings. The idea that verbal (口头的) and nonverbal messages can conflict was the inspiration for a recently published study from Yale University’s Lueylle Armentano.

To test the role of verbal-nonverbal mismatch on emotional communication, Armentano and her partner created experimental conditions to see what happens when someone asks for help from strangers. The research team created videotapes of a fellow Yale student expressing nervousness in his words, bodily gestures, or both. The bodily gestures included running his hands through his hair, grabbing his arm, and facially expressing uneasiness. The key question was whether the other participants, another 82 Yale students, would believe the student and provide the help he was requesting. They needed to give their responses.

Turning to the findings, those nonverbal cues (提示) of nervousness had a greater impact on helping behavior than the verbal cues. Surprisingly, helping behavior was the highest when verbal expressions of nervousness were low but nonverbal cues were high.

Recognizing that your body language can outweigh your words means that you need to be mindful of what your body is doing when you’re interacting with others. Generally, when someone is speaking to you, you want to look like you’re interested. Not only should you maintain eye contact, but you should keep your body still and face toward the other person.

The Double Ninth Festival is a special day for older people in China. It started long ago. The festival is on lunar September 9th. On this day, people show love and respect to their grandparents.

There are many ways in which Chinese people express their respect. When an older person enters a room, everyone stands. People are introduced from the oldest to the youngest. When we present a book to an older person, two hands are used. Young people always offer their seats to older people on a crowded subway or bus.

Respecting older people is a tradition in China. That’s because the Chinese know that older people have knowledge and experience that young people can learn. Chinese people are proud of being old.

In Western countries, however, older people seldom think they are old. They are called “seniors” instead of “old people”. They’d rather do everything themselves. Even after retirement (退休) they take up hobbies, part-time jobs and new activities to keep their bodies working well.

Westerners respect their older people, too. Usually, seniors don’t have to buy tickets for trains and buses. They are given discounts (打折) in stores and restaurants.

But Western seniors don’t often live with their children—they live alone. For holidays, the family usually gather at the grandparents’ home, and a great smile and a warm hug for their parents are enough for grown children to show their respect.