Every year about 40,000 people attempt to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. They _1_ with them lots of waste. The _2_ might damage the beauty of the place. The glaciers(冰川) are disappearing, changing the _3_ of Kilimanjaro.

  Hearing these stories, I'm _4_ about the place - other destinations are described as "purer" natural experiences. However, I soon _5_ that much has changed since the days of disturbing reports of _6_ among tons of rubbish. I find a _7_ mountain, with toilets at camps and along the paths. The environmental challenges are _8_ but the efforts made by the Tanzania National Park Authority seem to be _9_ .

  The best of a Kilimanjaro _10_ , in my opinion, isn't reaching the top. Mountains are _11_ as spiritual places by many cultures. This _12_ is especially evident on Kilimanjaro as _13_ go through five ecosystems (生态系统) in the space of a few kilometers. At the base is a rainforest. It ends abruptly at 3,000 meters, _14_ lands of low growing plants. Further up, the weather _15_ - low clouds envelope the mountainsides, which are covered with thick grass. I _16_ twelve shades of green from where I stand. Above 4,000 meters is the highland _17_ : gravel (砾石), stones and rocks. _18_ you climb into an arctic-like zone with _19_ snow and the glaciers that may soon disappear.

  Does kilimanjaro _20_ its reputation as a crowded mountain with lines of tourists ruining the atmosphere of peace? I found the opposite to be true.