I climbed Kilimanjaro with Lava Expeditions (探险队) during the rainy season.

    I flew to Nairobi in Kenya and spent several days there. At my hotel in Nairobi I met the rest of the group with whom I would spend the next week. We all travelled on the bus together for a 6-hour journey into Tanzania and then Arusha, a quiet town.

    After we arrived at our hotel in Arusha, we had dinner and a few drinks. Then we were introduced to more members including Taddeus Minja, the main guide, who was very experienced — climbing Kilimanjaro runs through the generations (代) of his family.

    The next day the Lava Expeditions members checked if we had the correct and enough clothing for our expedition on Kilimanjaro. Only one person needed to bring more clothes.

    After that we set off, walking in the rain through the beauty of the rainforest, all the way to the first camp. I was happy the next few days as the view was so wonderful and changed every day. I suffered a little during the trip and I felt so tired. But the members of Lava Expeditions provided me with lots of encouragement, which was one of the best memories. Finally we reached the top of Kilimanjaro in bright blue skies.

I felt excited about climbing Kilimanjaro and the feeling didn't change during my trip. Lava Expeditions looked after me so well that I was deeply thankful for their help.

A Koala Isn't a Bear

    Koalas remind people of teddy bears. They have thick fur and large ears. Their broad, flat nose makes them look cute, similar to teddy bears. In fact, koalas aren't cute. They have sharp teeth and very sharp claws! Koalas are marsupials. This means the mother carries her baby in a pocket while it develops, similar to a kangaroo. The baby koala lives in its mother's pocket for the first six months of its life.

    The name “koala” comes from a native Australian word that means “no drink”. The koalas get almost all their water from the eucalyptus (桉树) leaves they eat. That's where they get their food too. Koalas eat only eucalyptus leaves, and only the leaves of certain eucalyptus trees. The eucalyptus trees are where the koalas live. It's also where they sleep. Koalas sleep about nineteen hours a day!

    Why do they sleep so much? Some people think it's because they're lazy. But koalas aren't lazy. They sleep so much because there isn't much nutrition in eucalyptus leaves. Koalas store hardly any fat, so they must save their energy. One way to do this is to move slowly and sleep a lot.

    After a day of sleeping, they like to move around and eat just after sunset. They live alone most of the time. Koalas are very protective of their trees. If a koala sees another koala eating in its favorite tree, it might tell the other koala to leave by “barking” at it. Koalas do “talk” to each other. Besides barks, the males make a deep grunting sound. The mothers and babies talk in soft clicking sounds. If they get scared, they may scream like a baby.

    If you need to spend time on the road，it's important to find ways to keep safe on your feet．Don't suppose it's your right of way. Yes，you might be crossing at the right place，at the right time，within the crosswalk area，but you are still exposed to danger. It could be a distracted driver，or a cyclist with a loose sense of traffic rules，so you could still get hurt．You can be in the right legally，but that won't be much help when you're in the hospital.

    Follow pedestrian(行人) signals. Just as drivers aren't supposed to speed up to beat a light when crossing through an intersection，pedestrians need to take the same care when obeying their own signals．If the hand is flashing and the countdown is into single digits (数字), stay where you are．Trying to outrun the flashing hand is unsafe，especially as cars try to clear the intersection before the light turns red．

    Give drivers enough time to stop when crossing. Don't suppose that drivers will jam on their brakes when you hit the crosswalk signals. Some provinces，such as Alberta, issue （发出）a ticket if you don't give drivers enough time to brake.

    Cross quickly. Once you've followed all of the other rules，and it is safe to cross the street，don't then just wander along in front of six lanes (车道) of traffic. There's no need to run or jog，but respect the drivers who respected you enough to stop for you.

    Want to stay away from colds? Put on a happy face.

    Compared to unhappy people, those who are cheerful and relaxed are less likely to suffer from cold, according to a new study. It's possible that being happy helps the body fight illnesses, say the researchers from New York University.

    “It seems that positive feelings may reduce the danger of illness,” said the study's chief researcher Sheldon Cohen.

    In an earlier study, Cohen found that people who were cheerful and lively caught coughs and colds less often. People who showed positive feelings were also less likely to tell their doctors that they felt ill.

    In this study, Cohen's study interviewed 193 adults every day for two weeks. During the interviews, the people told researchers about the happy or sad feelings they had that day.

    After the two weeks, the people were given colds by doctors and had to stay alone in a room for six days.

    The result showed that everyone in the study was equally likely to get ill. But for people who said they felt happy during the research period, their illness was less serious and lasted for a shorter time.

    Cohen believes that when people experienced positive feelings, their body may produce a chemical that helps fight illness and disease. So if you are worried about your health, look on the bright side more often.

    Today show's Kathie Lee Gifford is hoping to bring the story of David to a new generation with her latest musical project, The Little Giant.

    The 13-song album tells the story of the shepherd (牧羊人) boy who defeated a giant with five stones and a slingshot and became a king. The idea of the record came after Gifford and her husband Frank went on a life-changing trip to the Holy Land in 2012.

    Gifford hoped to shine light on David's story to help a new generation find their own purpose; it's why she decided to compose this album that invites kids to hear the tale of the shepherd in a fun and educational way. Gifford based the record's opening track "What is Your Stone" on bravery and faith. She hopes the songs can help children find confidence in themselves.

    Though the album is aimed towards families and children, Gifford found recording the story of David to be an exercise in healing after the death of her beloved husband Frank who passed away two years ago.

    "I catch myself saying that I lost him sometimes," Gifford says, "No, he hasn't been gone. The trip took root in my husband's life, because he truly came to understand exactly what David did. "

    Gifford says the trip and the teachings stayed with her husband until his death. 66For the next three years, when people came to visit us, they'd always see Frank's trophy (奖杯) room because it's like a museum," Gifford explained. "He would take them over. Instead of all of his trophies, he would point to the stones we brought back from the travelling destination and talk a out them. "

    Gifford expects her own journey, her new album and her commitment to bringing a bit of joy to people through her show can help inspire children to discover their own faith and purpose.

    I was on my way home from work, cutting through the Bryant Park. On that day, the sun seemed to set faster than usual, and suddenly I found myself walking in the dark. I was less than half a mile from my apartment, but the path would lead me over a bridge, across train tracks, and through an unlit underpass.

    Then I heard him – a stranger running alongside me, partly obscured(遮掩) by the bushes. My mouth went dry; my legs felt like water. But I didn't pick up my pace – instead, I stopped, turned, and faced him. He came out of the bushes and said he'd been watching me "for a long time".

    As he walked beside me, I guided us towards the edge of the park. When we reached the bridge, a train rumbled(轰鸣着缓慢行进) past, and he seized the moment, attacking me with a knife around my throat. The self-defense skills I had learned years before kicked in, and I pushed my finger into his eye, hard. And then came the shock: That didn't frighten him away. My mind flashed back to a tip from an old guitar teacher: "Press the strings like you're squeezing a flea(跳蚤)." I put all my strength into that finger, and finally he let go.

    I was shaking with fear, but I looked him straight in the eye and began to back away. I turned to run the hell out of there, but then I remembered another self-defense lesson: Never run, because then you're a target. So I walked away alone – through the dark tunnel as I dialed 911 with trembling fingers. If you ever find yourself in this situation, use these self-defense skills that you already know. They can really make all the difference to you.