荒野一日 A Day in the Wild

The sun had just risen when the four friends arrived at the national forest park. A sea of mist covered the mountains, and the landscape looked spectacular, like a painting. 'Breathe in!' Han Mei said, opening her arms wide. 'This is the freshest air in the world.' Jack took a deep breath and immediately began taking photos with his phone.

They followed a winding trail into the forest. Han Mei, who loved ecology, stopped again and again to point out rare plants. 'This park is a habitat for more than two thousand species,' she said. 'Some of them exist nowhere else on Earth.' Lily listened with wide eyes, writing every name in her notebook as if collecting treasures. She opened her notebook and drew a small map of the park, marking every rare flower they had passed.

Around noon, they reached a waterfall. Water crashed down the rocks, sending cool mist into the air. While Jack wandered closer to feel the spray, Li Lei spotted a family of monkeys watching them from the trees. The monkeys chattered, swung from branch to branch, and disappeared into the dense green, leaving the friends laughing in surprise. The waterfall roared so loudly that they had to shout to be heard, and they loved every second of it.

They had lunch by a quiet lake, sharing sandwiches in the shade of an ancient tree. Li Lei read the park guide aloud: the reserve was established fifty years ago to preserve the wildlife and the delicate ecosystem. 'People used to hunt here,' he said. 'Now the creatures live safely within the boundary of the park.' The guide's words made them think, and for a while nobody spoke, each lost in the beauty of the afternoon.

In the late afternoon, Cozy teacher joined their evening walk. She pointed at the sky, where the sun was sinking below the horizon, painting the clouds gold and pink. 'Seeing such beauty, we feel small but grateful,' she said softly. 'Notice how -ing forms make our language as lively as this sunset.' The students smiled at her gentle way of teaching grammar.

On the way home, the car was quiet with happy tiredness. Han Mei rested her head against the window and whispered, 'This park is now my favourite place on Earth.' Lily nodded and added, 'Mine too. Let's come back in spring, when the flowers bloom and the birds return.' Nobody needed to vote; the plan was already made in every heart. As the car rolled on, Han Mei hummed a song, and the others joined in one by one.