Clara Barton,founder of the American Red Cross , gained worldwide honour for her devotion to easing human suffering and earned the nickname“Angel of the Battlefield”.

Barton was born into a freethinking family in 1821. Her elder brothers and sisters happily educated her in math and reading, so when she entered school at three years old, she could read and spell three-syllable words. 【小题1】

Concerned about Barton's difficulty in making friends, her parents sent her to a boarding school,hoping it would make her more comfortable with her peers. 【小题2】 Barton lost her appetite（食欲）and cried constantly. After only one term, she had to be brought home. Then, Barton stayed out of school to nurse her brother through a serious injury and also volunteered to care for poor families during a smallpox （天花）outbreak.

In 1861, the Civil War broke out. The sight of wounded soldiers touched Barton deeply. She began to collect and give away food , bandages, medicines, and other supplies to the Union Army.

 【小题3】 There, with little concern for her own safety, she cooked meals, assisted surgeons, and comforted wounded soldiers.

Eventually, because of working too hard , Barton broke down finally. 【小题4】 It was there that she learned of an organization based in Switzerland called the International Committee of the Red Cross , whose work mirrored her own.

Shortly after Barton arrived back home in 1873,her sister died. 【小题5】 When recuperating（康复）at a health facility in New York, she began planning for the establishment of an American wing of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Although at first the government opposed it, her efforts finally paid off. The American Red Cross was officially organized on May 21, 1881. Her influence lives on today in the work of the organization she founded.

Christopher Reeve was born in September, 1952. He started acting while he was in college and made many successful films and TV shows. 【小题1】（fortunate）, disaster came in 1995, when he fell from his horse and 【小题2】（break）his back. The doctors did not expect him to live, saying that he was not going to pull through. However, he made 【小题3】（amaze）progress. At first, he couldn't breathe 【小题4】a machine, but he learnt to breathe on his own. He had moments of feeling sorry for 【小题5】（he）, but he never had any 【小题6】（think）of committing suicide. The second year after the accident, he returned to film making. He also raised a lot of money 【小题7】（promote）medical research into back injuries. He made speeches all over the USA about his experiences, 【小题8】 encouraged a lot of people living with all kinds of problems. Besides, he also got 【小题9】（involve）with charity work. He died on October 10,2004. But people all over the world will always remember him as 【小题10】 superhero.

   Salvador Dali (1904—1989) was one of the most popular of modern artists. The Pompidou Centre in Paris is showing its respect and admiration for the artist and his powerful personality with an exhibition bringing together over 200 paintings, sculptures, drawings and more. Among the works and masterworks on exhibition the visitor will find the best pieces, most importantly The Persistence of Memory. There is also L’Enigme sans Fin from 1938, works on paper, objects, and projects for stage and screen and selected parts from television programmes reflecting the artist’s showman qualities.

The visitor will enter the World of Dali through an egg and is met with the beginning, the world of birth. The exhibition follows a path of time and subject with the visitor exiting through the brain.

The exhibition shows how Dali draws the viewer between two infinities (无限). ＂From the infinity small to the infinity large, contraction and expansion coming in and out of focus: amazing Flemish accuracy and the showy Baroque of old painting that he used in his museum-theatre in Figueras,＂ explains the Pompidou Centre.

The fine selection of the major works was done in close collaboration (合作) with the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain, and with contributions from other institutions like the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg.

Jane Austen ever popular

This summer, the UK will honor its favorite writer, Jane Austen (1775-1817), by making her face on the new £ 10 note. In the 200 years since her death, Austen’s fame has increased from the modest amount she enjoyed in her lifetime to the global fame she receives today.

And yet Austen’s work is so very English that it’s rather strange she should be so popular all over the world. Her novels are so of her time that it’s remarkable that she’s still appreciated in this very different age. Her most famous works — including Pride and Prejudice, the one for which she is most known — are set in the world of the English gentry (绅士阶层) in the 18th century.

Most of her fiction is about young women of that time. Women of the gentry could not work so their chances of happiness or even basic living depended upon finding a husband. This is a very serious subject, of course, but the joy of Austen’s stories is her ability to make wonderful, but also touching comedy out of something so serious.

Take Pride and Prejudice as an example. Elizabeth Bennet is one of five daughters in a countryside family that struggles because daughters can’t inherit (继承) the property. Her mother wants to marry off as many of them as possible. The pushy and annoying Mrs Bennet is one of the great comic characters in English literature.

The main plot of the novel is driven by the love-hate relationship between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, a wealthy noble. At first, they don’t get on. Elizabeth finds Darcy too proud; she feels he thinks he is better than everyone else in the countryside. She thinks that he looks down upon her family in particular. Darcy, while admiring Elizabeth, believes that she has treated him unfairly. The pleasure of the novel is reading how these obstacles (阻碍) are overcome and how the comical and unexpected ending is achieved.

If we think about this story, it’s obvious why Jane Austen is still popular 200 years after her death, and why readers can still identify with (与……产生共鸣) characters from the long dead world of the 18th century English gentry. Although there have been many changes since that time, it’s still the greatest challenge in life for men and women to find the partner of their dreams.

Sitting on the floor, Morteza Mehrzadselakjani’s raised arms stretch well over six feet. Standing up, the Iranian measures eight feet one inch, making him the 【小题1】（tall） athlete in the history of the Paralympics （残奧会）.

While his height has caused Mehrzadselakjani — known better as Mehrzad — to suffer in his entire life， on the sitting volleyball court it has made him a star. His 【小题2】（add） to the team that year helped Iran win the gold medal.

But Mehrzad’s 【小题3】（compete） advantage has come at a high cost. He suffers from acromegaly, 【小题4】 rare condition caused by the excess growth hormone.【小题5】 the age of 16, he already measured over six feet two inches. Several years earlier, a serious bicycle accident prevented his right leg from 【小题6】（grow） — it’s now six inches shorter than the left, making him difficult to walk. Mehrzad 【小题7】（normal） uses a wheelchair to get around.

Before finding sitting volleyball seven years ago, Mehrzad’s life 【小题8】（be） very different.

"I was alone and depressed," he said, " 【小题9】 my life has changed from playing sitting volleyball."

A coach saw Mehrzad on television and immediately discovered his potential. After training at regional Iranian clubs, he was selected for the national team and prepared for 【小题10】（he） Paralympic debut （首次登台） in Rio.