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.

   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！

Howard Carter is one of the most famous explorer the world has ever known. He was bravely and loved to visit and explore new places. During his life, he discovered much amazing things.

Howard Carter did not go to school, and learnt to draw from his father, that was an artist. He was bright and curious about the world outside her hometown. In 1891, at age of 17, he set sail for Alexandria, Egypt. By the 1920s, he had become an explorer, search for the tombs of Egyptian kings. He finds several important ones. Inside the tombs, he discovered out a great fortune in jewels and gold, along with the preserved bodies of dead kings. These preserved bodies are known as mummies.

In 1882，at 19 months old，Helen Keller unfortunately 【小题1】（catch）a fierce fever. She survived but the fever left its mark--she could no longer see 【小题2】 hear. It was as if she had been thrown into a dark prison cell. 【小题3】（luck），Helen was not someone who gave up easily. She began to explore the world 【小题4】 using the other senses. By the age of seven，she had invented over 60 different signs by means of 【小题5】 she could talk to her family.

With days passing by，Helen came 【小题6】（realize）that she was different from others and that there were a lot of 【小题7】（restrict）on her communication. This made her so angry that her behaviour was often【小题8】（bear）. Eventually，it became clear that something had to be done. So，just before her seventh birthday，her superb teacher，Anne Sullivan came to her life. 【小题9】（help）by her teacher，she gradually became gentle and learnt to read and write in Braille. Besides，she even learnt to speak，a major 【小题10】（achieve）for someone who could not speak at all.

Helen made continual efforts to go deeper into the kingdom of knowledge，and her perseverance（坚持不懈）paid off at last.