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    People write to each other for a number of reasons, and not all of them involve long pieces of writing. Even in the age of the Internet, sending postcards when we’re on holiday is still very common. Some people like to write a message with details about what they’ve been doing, but often the message is short.
    It’s quite common not to use “Dear + name” at the beginning of cards, but we usually write “Love or Best wishes” at the end to close friends. Because there isn’t much space on a postcard, the address and the stamp are on the same side with the message.
    There are many other occasions when we send people cards: to wish them Happy Birthday, and to send congratulations when people get married or on their wedding anniversaries or when children are born. We also send messages of condolence (引辞)to people who have just lost someone dear to them. In the UK and the USA there are also special occasions such as Mother’s Day and St. Valentine’s Day (情人节)when people exchange cards.
    For all of these occasions, there is a wide variety of printed cards which you can buy in shops, some with a printed message, but always leaving space for your name and any personalized greetings or comments.
    Young people still enjoy sending letters to pen pals(朋友) although they increasingly use e-mails. The most noticeable （显著的） feature of pen pal letters is that when we first make friends with people we haven’t met, the style is friendly but a little formal. The more letters we exchange, the more informal the style becomes.