1 . We often hear about people climbing mountains like Mount Everest in Asia, the highest mountain in the world; Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa; Mount Blanc in Europe. What about Mount Denali (德纳利山) in America?

Denali in Denali National Park in Alaska is the highest top in the United States. It’s much higher than Mount Everest in fact. The base (底部) of Denali is at 2,000 feet above sea level. It is 18,000 feet from the base to the top of Denali.

Denali is one of the most difficult mountains in the Western for mountain climbers. Denali is closer to the North Pole (北极) than other tall mountains. This means that the air is thinner, so it’s harder for climbers.

The first group of climbers got to the top of Denali in 1909. Two other groups were successful after that. The next group got to the top in 1947. This group had a husband and a wife team, Bradford and Barbara Washburn. Barbara was the first woman to successfully climb the mountain. The Washburns were not climbing for sport; they were explorers. In the field of mountain mapping, Bradford Washburn was one of the best. The Washburns mapped many mountains and the Grand Canyon. Bradford dreamed of mapping Mount Everest project. Later they produced the best map ever made of Mount Everest.

2 . When talking about volleyball, people may think of the spirit of Chinese women’s volleyball team. On Sep. 29th, the team won the gold medal with the record 11-0 at the 2019 World Cup. This is China’s fifth World Cup victory (胜利). The Chinese team has successfully got 11 straight victories, winning great honor for the country. The players showed great teamwork and a hard-working spirit.

The whole nation cheered for the players and millions of people cried tears of joy. But few know how hard they worked to achieve success. Less than two hours before the games, three players couldn’t join in the game because of illness, and many of team members kept on playing even after being injured. “My leg hurt a lot, but I can stand it,” said Zhu Ting. The Chinese women’s volleyball team has been the nation’s pride since it first stood on the top at the World Cup in 1981. In the following 38 years, there were ups and downs (起落), but they put in hard work to win the game.

The spirit of the women’s volleyball team is not to win the championship, but to try their best, no matter how difficult the situation is! Those Chinese volleyball players have made great achievements and their spirit were quite an encouragement for Chinese.

3 . English people enjoy drinking tea very much. They like to drink it with some cakes or biscuits to eat. Here are some things about tea drinking in the UK.

No real teatime

All around the world, everyone thinks that English people drink tea at 5 o’clock in the afternoon every day. In fact, they drink tea at any hour of the day, from the minute they get up to the last minute before going to bed. Of course, an Englishman may drink tea around the middle of the afternoon, but they also drink it at breakfast.

The nice scones (烤饼)

Scones are a simple kind of cake. They are a little sweet and usually with jam and cream on them. They are good with tea. In fact, if you want a “cream tea” in the UK, you’ll get a pot (壶) of tea with some delicious scones !

Milk in tea

English people always put milk in their tea. This may be different from other European countries. They like to drink tea without putting anything in it.

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Self-reflection means slowing down and calming yourself, including calming your mind. Some people like to do self-reflection only in their mind. Others keep a diary. What’s more, taking notes is also OK. Each method works. You can follow the steps to do self-reflection.

First, choose the right time to do it. School textbooks are made up of units of study. This makes it easier to begin self-reflection. Look for time when you finish a unit of study. Sometimes you know it’s the time because there is some kind of test. Use these natural breaks to stop and do self-reflection.

Then, find a quiet place and take out your reflection diary. Write down some notes on the new things that you learned in the unit.

Finally, think about things that you are not sure of. Maybe you learned a new way to work out a maths problem, but you’re not sure when to use it. Writing down your questions will help you remember to look for answers the next time you are working with the same topic.

Successful students always know self-reflection is important. If you have never taken the time to do self-reflection, you’d better try it now.

7 . Conflict (冲突) happens when two people disagree because of their own goals, values, or beliefs. It’s not always as simple as an argument.

Parents and teenagers have many chances to have conflict with one another. Adolescence (青春期) is a time when independence and parental influence fight, since teens are able to think on their own but still live with parents who have rules and expectations for them. When kids don’t show up at home late at night, their parents get worried. When the teen doesn’t come home, he/she will get punishment.

Sometimes, teens want to have noisy fun while their parents want to sleep. This is a common conflict that happens every day. Parents might use the teenager’s grades to judge (判断) him/her every time the grades are reported. The conflict happens when the parents’ expectations aren’t meet.

Here are a few tips for parents and teenagers to use.

View each other as friends in the common goals you agree on, which usually include keeping teens safe and seeing them be successful.

List possible solutions to the conflict together. Just start listing creative ideas, whether they seem reasonable or not. Creativity is your friend when you’re solving any problems in life, including conflicts with others.