Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga，Spain in 1881.When he died in 1973，he was ninety-one years old. But he still took up his paints and brushes to start a new picture as if he were seeing things for the first time，which is why we have called him the youngest painter. Young people are always trying new things and new ways of doing things. They don't hesitate to attempt one thing after another. Eager to experiment, they welcome new ideas.

When he was over ninety this great painter still lived his life like a young man. He was still restlessly looking new ideas and new ways to use his artistic materials. No one knew what to expect from him next. No one could be sure what kind of picture he would produce. If he had painted a picture of you, it might have looked exactly like you. Or it might have been all lines, squares, circles and strange-colored shapes. It might not have looked like human at all.

At such times Picasso was trying to paint what he saw with his mind as well as with his eyes. He put in the side of the face as well as the front. He may have painted it flat, as though it had no depth. Sometimes he seemed to paint just as a child painted, simply for his own pleasure. He didn't imitate others.

Most painters discover a style of painting that suits themselves and stick to that, especially if people admire their pictures. But Picasso was like a man who had not yet found his own particular style of painting. He was still struggling to find perfect expression for his own uneasy spirit.

The first thing one noticed about him was the look of his large, wide-open eyes. Gertrude Stein, a famous American writer who knew him in his youth, mentioned this hungry look, and one can still see it in pictures of him today.

Picasso painted a picture of Gertrude Stein in 1906. She visited the painter's studio eighty or ninety times while he painted her picture. While Picasso painted they talked about everything in the world that interested them. Then one day Picasso wiped out the painted head on which he had worked for so long. "When I look at you I can't see you any more!" he said.

Picasso went away for the summer. When he returned he went at once to the unfinished picture in the corner of his studio. Quickly he finished the face from memory. He could see the woman's face more clearly in his mind than he could see it when she sat in the studio in front of him.

Picasso was often attacked for this new, sometimes frightening style. It produced pictures like some of our worst dreams. The camera has made it unnecessary for painters to make exact representations of what they see. A camera can reflect real life more exactly. What great paintings give us is a view of life through one man's eyes, and every man's view is different.

   Chances are the first Monday in September is a day off from school for you. If it is, you can _______ a man named Peter McGuire. Who's Peter McGuire?According to_______  , he's the founding father of Labor Day. On September5, 1882, McGuire led a_______ of 10, 000 workers in New York City一workers who took the day off from their jobs to hold a parade(游行) and a picnic. The_______ came to be known as Labor Day，and the idea_______ throughout the country. In 1887，Oregon became the first state to make it a statewide holiday, on the first Saturday in June. And in 1894，President Grover Cleveland_______ a bill that made . Labor Day a(n)_______ holiday, on the first Monday in September一the date we still celebrate to this day.

Labor Day began as a day for workers to protest, (抗议)_______ poor working conditions一long days, low pay and a lack of job security. Back in Peter McGuire's day, you could be_______ just for calling in sick -________  you were really too sick to work. Twelve-hour workdays were also________  . And workers had only short breaks for meals and other necessities.

McGuire went to work at the age of eleven, ________ newspapers on the streets of New York City. He had to help________ his family. McGuire saw poor working conditions first-hand. And he________ those conditions himself. That urged him to help________ the first trade unions in the United States.

The workers hoped strength in numbers would________ their employers to improve working conditions. They weren't always ________ . But' thanks to their________ the eight-hour workday and the five-day workweek became common practices. So did________ vacations and sick days. As for Labor Day itself, it became a day________  labor for most workers. So thanks to Peter McGuire, Labor Day means a day off from school for you and your teachers.

   It isn’t easy being a princess. A princess addresses large crowds and uses perfect manners. A princess must always be polite and sweet and sometimes repairs car engines and fixes tires. Princess Elizabeth Ⅱ really did so.

Before she was Queen of England, Princess Elizabeth wanted to join the ATS, a female branch of the British military. It was in World War Ⅱ , and women worked at jobs traditionally held by men.

Elizabeth was a teenager and first had to convince (使信服) her parents about her plan. Her parents thought it was too dangerous, but she would not take no for an answer. “ I ought to do as other girls of my age do,” she said firmly. After some months, her parents finally agreed. Princess Elizabeth did not receive any special treatment in the ATS. The only thing different was that she returned to Windsor Castle each night to sleep.

When she arrived at the ATS camp for her first day of training, she was greeted by a jacked-up car with its wheels off. In the following weeks, she learned to take apart an engine and then assemble (组装) it. The princess loved the training, admitting, “I’m a mechanic at last. I’ve scraped the skin off my knuckles.”

Princess Elizabeth worked on cars, trucks, and even tank engines. She also learned to read maps and drive cars, ambulances, and military trucks. To complete her ATS training, she was required to drive a big truck on her own.

The King and Queen thought driving a truck was too dangerous, but before they could let her know how they felt, they discovered Elizabeth driving a truck onto the palace grounds. She had driven from the ATS camp through the busy London streets all by herself.

Now at her old age, she still drives — sometimes in London but more often around her large property at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Being a queen requires a lot of hard work, but it can be fun as well. Queen Elizabeth loves horses and still rides four times each week. She also still likes to get a little dirty. She actively manages her estate farm at Balmoral and is often seen hiking through the countryside there.

Alanis Morissette, a Canadian singer and song writer, is 【小题1】 excellent superstar. She has made several albums, but her album Jagged Little Pill, which 【小题2】 (publish) in 1995 , made her world famous. Last Thursday night, hundreds of her fans saw her first 【小题3】 (perform) in the Corn Exchange in Cambridge, England since her song Uninvited 【小题4】 (win) this year’s Grammy Award for the best rock song. It was 【小题5】 (extreme) cold that night, but the audience were enthusiastic. During the concert, she played a few songs from her new album, such as Everything But…,【小题6】 tells the story of someone 【小题7】 (look) for love in the wrong places. Morissette gave a 【小题8】 (create) and powerful performance in another song Utopia, whose singing was full of feelings.【小题9】 (impress) by Morissette’s brilliant music and singing, the people present were excited. At the end of the concert, she ended the evening 【小题10】 a new song about the life of a superstar. After the concert, it is widely agreed that she is really a superstar！