Climbing up Mount Tai

(登泰山)

By Wang Yifei （六年级 王怡菲）

Hi everyone, I’m broadcaster Sunny Wang. I’m sure that all the sixth graders attending the graduation vacation had a great and joyful time in the past two days.

Last year, I went to Mount Tai. It is said in a poem that if you stood on the top of Mount Tai, you would have the whole world under your eye. I personally paid this mountain with great personal interest, because I once read somewhere going like, if you climbed on the top of the Tai Mountain, and wished for something, then your wish would come true. So on a clear morning, my parents and I arrived at the foot of Mount Tai. It didn’t look very tall to me, at least not as tall as Mount Hua（华山）, but Dad said that it would be really hard to conquer and he was really worryingabout me. So I ran for the first few steps to show him that I could climb on just fine.

Tall trees grew along our walkway, leaving the air fresh and clean. There were some birds singing, which made usenjoy this trip. But it got a little more complicated as we moved higher up the mountain as the stairs became steeper and steeper, and its number was getting more and more. So we got breathless every few steps. It seemed the top of the mountain was getting so far, so high and so unreachable to me. The idea of quitting was hovering in my mind when I suddenly saw something far away from us. “Hey Dad, maybe we can go up there by ropeway. It’s much faster, and we don’t even have to lift a finger to get to the top of the mountain.” But the cruel reality made me realize that there was no ropeway beside us, so we had to climb the mountain all by ourselves.

I panted heavily, and kept looking up. It looked like we were never getting up there. After what seems to be three hours, we finally reached the middle of the mountain, where stuff like walking-sticks and ice-creams’ prices had gone sky high, and it would not prudent to buy anything now.

As we moved on, I found that there was another path, just beside us. The path was near water, and sometimes there was no road and you had to walk on the bare ground. It seemed to be a good idea to me to walk on that path because it looked like a lot easier one. But something stopped me when I saw no one else was using it. Turned out that it was one of the old paths people used to get on the top of the mountain, but somehow, now people think it is very dangerous to walk there, and now it has been deserted.

At last, we made it to the top of this formidable mount. I couldn’t help but play back all the moments on our way to the top. I remembered how I grabbed the stones beside me to save my energy, how mom used the walking-stick for support…

There I was, standing as high as possible, looking down. All the mountains seemed small. I could see the path we took. It looked like a giant snake, crawling between the mountains.

Now as I had seen it, there were definitely more than one way to get on the mountain. The ropeway, the new stoneroad, and the old stone-muddy path. Each one has their own advantages. The ropeway will keep you very relaxed, and can get on the mountain in no time at all. The new stone road is good, and it is shorter than the old one. But the old road can get you closer to the fresh forest.

There are always more than one way to get to your destination, so is there in your life. When one road doesn’t work, try another one. Our mind can’t just be confined to one path. Indeed we should take a further view of the wholescenario and figure out which road is the best.

I hope this speech has some help to you, and it will be helpful in future life. Thank you.

(716 words)