Ludwig van Beethoven is the most famous classical composer of the Western world. He is known for his powerful music and for continuing to compose after he became deaf.

Born to a musical family in the small German city of Bonn in December 1770, Beethoven was an excellent pianist and violinist as a boy. He soon became the first important composer to earn a successful living without working for the church or court. Beethoven began to lose his hearing in the late 1790s and by 1819 he was totally deaf. When he heard nothing, in order to hear the notes (音符), he cut the legs off the piano so that he could feel the vibrations (震动)as he played.

Beethoven enjoyed taking long walks in the countryside. The villagers respected him a lot and would not bother him when they passed him. He was a strange man with his untidy clothes, wild hair and a bad temper.

For his last 15 years Beethoven was regarded as the world’s best composer. The four-note beginning to his Fifth Symphony is one of the most famous moments in all of music. The notes were described as “Fate knocking at the door”. He wrote the popular Moonlight Sonata in 1801.

Beethoven never married. After his death in March 1827, his friends found his letters to a lover, but they never found out who she was.

Besides lots of concerts and broadcasts, over 200 films use Beethoven’s music. Although he died many years ago, Beethoven is still influencing the music world.

   Robert Lee Frost was born on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco, California.  Frost attended Dartmouth College after graduating from high school in 1892.  In 1894 his first poem, titled My Buterly. An Elegy, was published in The Independent.  Robert Frost went on to attend Harvard University in 1897 after marrying his wife Elinor in 1895.  He left university due to health concerns, and moved to a New Hampshire farm.

The time spent on his farm in New Hamp shire, where he tried to work the land, make a life, and provide for his family, was very hard for Robert Frost, his wife and children.  However, Frost came to respect rural life and grew an appreciation for what those living around him went through.  Because he so intimately （密切地） knew rural country life, he was able to master describing it through prose.  These experiences on the farm inspired many of his well known pieces of poetry, including The Tufts of Flowers and The Trial by Existence, both of which were published in 1906.

It was when Robert Frost decided to sell his farm in 1912 and move to England that he found publishers who were willing to shine a light on his poetry, something that was tough for a new poet to do in America.  His first book of poems, A Boy's Will, was published only a few months after his arrival in England, and North of Boston was published a year afterward.

By the time that Robert Frost made it back to his home country of America, he had built a solid career and reputation in England and was able to further his success.  His standing allowed him to connect with influential publishers, such as Henry Holt, and get his poetry out into the hands of the American people.  In 1916, Frost published Mountain Interval, which contained poems and stories he had written during his stay in England.

Robert Frost died on January 29, 1963 in Boston, Massachusetts at the age of 88.  Before passing away, Robert Frost was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 for his poems and contributions to American literature.

The Vikings, a group of people 【小题1】 ancestors came from Scandinavia, were the first Europeans 【小题2】 (reach) America. In 982 AD, there were 10,000 Vikings 【小题3】 (live) in Iceland. According 【小题4】 the old stories, Eric the Red was forced to leave Iceland because he had committed 【小题5】 murder, for which he got into trouble. He reached Greenland and then returned to Iceland and told people about Greenland. Later, he set sail again, with 25 ships, of which only 14 made 【小题6】 to Greenland. A man called Biarni was hoping to join his father who was with Eric, but he was blown off course and found himself in an 【小题7】 (know) land that no humans seemed to have stepped on, from where he reached Greenland. In 1002, Eric the Red’s son Leif followed Biarni’s directions and sailed to what is believed to be the coast of present-day Canada. He then sailed 【小题8】 (far) south to an island now known as Newfoundland. We know about their deeds through stories which 【小题9】(write) down centuries later in Norway and Iceland. They are the first 【小题10】 (record) we have of Europeans sailing to the America.

   Even though we are probably not aware of it， on our path. through life， we are setting goals all the time. However， many things will not only depend on how firmly we set a' goal， but how _______ we act in achieving it.

A story shows how smart acting can turn a seemingly _______ crisis （危机） into a（n）_______ . During Roosevelt's third campaign for president ，millions of leaflets （传单） with the president's campaign speech were _______ . People who had no chance to see and hear Roosevelt live would be able to _______ it， hopefully like it and _______ him. Of course，his picture was on the front page. Too _______ no one had noticed that under the picture was a tiny but _______  name， George Moffet， who had taken the picture.

By law， Moffet would have had to be. asked for the right to _______ this picture. As the campaign managers

had. ________ to do so， the choices looked hard：either burn the millions of leaflets，________ losing the campaign and pay the high price to print new leaflets with a ________ picture， or ask Moffet's permission（许可）. Both choices seemed ________. What could they do?

It was the campaign boss George Pekins who ________ the tables. He sent a telegram to Moffet with a great ________ telling him that Mr. Roosevelt's campaign team was planning to print millions of leaflets with Mr. Roosevelt's ________ . It would for sure be a great ________ for the photo studio. How much would he bewilling to ________ for using it?

Moffet said he would pay $ 210. Roosevelt's campaign boss ________ . So， a hard problem was solved wisely. The ________ ? Think of things in different ways.

   36-year-old Victoria Murden McClure is a real adventurer. She has been on many mountaineering expeditions（探险）. She was also the youngest person in a team that skied 1，200 kilometers across Antarctica to the South Pole in 1989，and became one of only two women ever to travel to the Pole by land.

The journey across the Atlantic was her third attempt. The first time she failed because of illness，and during her second attempt，in 1998，she nearly died. She had rowed nearly 5，000 kilometers when her boat was hit by Hurricane Danielle. McClure was suddenly in the middle of 80 mph wind，and surrounded by waves that were 20 meters high.

Her little boat turned over five times. McClure was sure that she was going to die —she took the video recorder that she had brought with her and recorded a goodbye message to her family and friends. The hurricane continued into night，and The Pearl turned over five more times.

McClure was determined not to send a signal asking to be rescued-she didn't want other people to risk their lives. But after the eleventh capsizing（倾袭）of her boat，she finally sent it and a large ship came and found her. However，they couldn't get her boat out of the rough sea—it was found months later near the coast of Portugal.

Victoria Murden McClure had concussion（脑震荡）and a dislocated shoulder when she got home. Many people might have given up after an experience like this，but one year later，McClure was back in her repaired boat and tried again. This time she was successful，and although she again met a hurricane on the journey，which stopped her from breaking the record for the fastest transatlantic rowing crossing，she only overturned once！