【1】A safari park is a park in which wild animals are kept. They are mainly located in east or central Africa. They often occupy a very wild area, with mountains and rivers. To visit the park and look at the animals, people have to drive around in a car for a few of hours because the park is huge.

    【2】In south Africa there is a safari park, which contains all sorts of wild animals like lions, elephants, rhinoceroses(犀牛), zebras, wild pigs, deer and giraffes.

    【3】There is a wild road leading through the park, but nobody is permitted to walk on the road. Anyone traveling in the park has to go in a car because wild animals may fiercely attack people. From the car he may see almost every types of African wildlife. Some of these are getting scarce (稀有的) because people kill them for various reasons. For example, rhinoceroses are killed for their horns (角), which are used in traditional Chinese medicines for colds and headaches. Perhaps they will be seen only in museums and books one day.

    【4】Travels may buy food for the animals. They can feed them when they tour the park. Of course, they should not feed them in a close distance because the wild animals may attack people. In addition, they should only give proper food to the animals.

    【5】A traveler may carry a gun with him in his journey. The gun is given to him by the government. However, it is not used for hunting. In fact, a seal(封条) is fixed to it. The traveler may fire at a wild beast to defend himself in case he is attacked. However, he has to prove to the government that he has been attacked and that he has not fired at a harmless animal.

    When my father was celebrating a milestone (里程碑) birthday, I pulled together a surprise gift that he would never forget.

    As he was approaching 60,1 had a firm idea: What if I could get the memories people had of him, put each one into an envelope - 60 in total - and have him open them, one by one, on his birthday? So I wrote an e-mail to family and friends, explaining my idea.

    I sent the e-mail and waited. And then the replies started coming in and I was very, very surprised. There were so many memories, and they were all so lovely. They came from the '50s, '60s, '70s, from every decade（十年） between now and the day my dad was born. They came from my mother, my siblings, my grandma, my dad's friends from high school, his sister, my dad's first boss, a colleague at his first job, from people who hadn't seen my dad in 40 years, from people I myself hadn't even informed. They typed them and handwrote them. They mailed them and e-mailed them.

    The night before Dad's birthday, my sister and 1 stayed up late, putting everything together with some

    The next morning, after breakfast and presents and cake, we gave the pile of envelopes to him. "Just one more thing for you," we said.

It took him a long time to open them and read. Each one was a brief ticket to another time, a leap (跳跃) backward over years and decades. There was a lot of laughter and a few tears, too.

    I was kind of sad when the project was over because it was great fun to collect these memories. It gave me a different picture of my dad.

    Walk Out of the Comfort Zone and Try New Things

    For most high school students, free periods are useless. From what I have seen, few do homework, instead many are on their phones and talking, making it impossible for those who actually want to do work to complete any. As a senior next year, I think extra periods should be used to take optional subjects.

Our school offers many classes. Now is the time to experiment in different fields of study. We will never know if we are interested or talented in a subject if we don't try it.

    In my 8th grade, I was told that I had to take an art class as a graduation requirement; so in the 9th grade I took Studio and Art. One of the projects was to build a clay pot, but I built mine incorrectly, so it broke in the kiln (窑). I found out that I have no artistic ability at all, and now I know for sure that I do not want to be an artist. However, the class was one of my favorites that year. I was able to try new activities and test my ability.

    Walk out of our comfort zone and try new things! College is when we should focus on a specific major, but high school is when we have to figure it out.

    Half of all college students change their major at some point. By doing that hundreds of dollars are wasted on classes that they would have never needed to take. So use our extra periods to find out what we want to do in college. The classes we choose can impact us in future. Taking optional subjects will enrich our mind. It will also show colleges we are diverse students.

    Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, was born in Kingfish, Oklahoma on March 29, 1918. He was raised in Missouri where he worked in his father's store while attending school. This was his first retailing (零售业) experience and he really enjoyed it. After graduation, he began his own career as a retail merchant.

    He soon opened his first Wal-Mart store in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. Wal-Mart specialized in name brands at low prices and Sam Walton was surprised at the success. Soon a chain of Wal-Mart stores sprang up across rural America. Walton's management style was popular with employees and he founded some of the basic concepts of management that are still in use today.

After taking the company public in 1970, Walton introduced his “profit sharing plan”. The profit sharing plan was a plan for Wal-Mart employees to improve their income dependent on the profits of the store. Sam Walton believed that “individuals don't win, teams do”. Employees at Wal-Mart stores were offered stock options (认股权) and store discounts. These benefits are commonplace today, but Walton was among the first to implement (实现) them. Walton believed that a happy employee meant happy customers and more sales. He also believed that by giving employees a part of the company and making their success dependent on the company's success, they would care about the company.

    By the 1980s, Wal-Mart had sales of over one billion dollars and over three hundred stores across North America. Wal-Mart's unique decentralized (分散的) distribution system, also Walton's idea, created the edge needed to further encourage growth in the 1980s during growing complaints that the “superstore” was stopping smaller and traditional stores from developing. By 1991, Wal-Mart was the largest US retailer with 1,700 stores. Walton remained active in managing the company, as president and CEO until 1988 and chairman until his death. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom shortly before his death.

    Some people live to climb the highest mountains. Some people live only dreaming about it while others live to avoid ever climbing at all. But one thing is certain, all people encounter mountains in their life.

    When I was a little girl, my family moved to a tiny town at the bottom of a big mountain. One day after school, while exploring the green woods of this magnificent mountain, I almost fell on a set of stairs. What could these steps lead to? Curiosity got the best of me as I knew it would be starting to get dark soon. I started climbing up those strangely mysterious steps.

    I climbed and climbed. There was nothing but just green bushes and these steps. I had to reach the top! But it was now getting real dark. If I kept going I might not be able to see my way back. My mom would be worried sick if I didn't come home soon. So I ran back home almost in the dark while trying not to get too scared.

    Anxiously I went to bed dreaming about what I would find at the top of this magical mountain. Could there be a castle up there? Maybe I would find a monster(怪物). Maybe I was taking the risk of never coming back home. Or, maybe all I would find was absolutely nothing! But something inside me was going to climb that mountain at all cost. I could hardly wait to try this adventure again.

    Now we live in a world surrounded by the "can't do" attitudes. We all fall down. We all have doubts and regrets. Still we must climb and dream about what's at the top of our mountain. Monsters may appear or the night will fall. But never ever give up on your dream! Never let anyone tell you, "You can't." Dream big and climb high!