1 . Phineas T. Barnum is the best-known circus business owner of the nineteenth century. He excelled as a showman, and throughout his career in the entertainment business, he promoted many different forms of attractions.

Barnum’s first job was as a newspaper owner. He also worked as a writer and publisher. His lasting fame, however, is as a showman. Barnum considered this to be his main talent and he never changed this view of his character.

Barnum’s entertainment interests covered museums, traveling dance troupes, and even the mid-century US tour by Jenny Lind, the Swedish singer. He was, by nature, a risk-taker, and usually gained success from the most unlikely businesses.

Barnum was willing to adopt any manoeuvre that publicized his businesses. His American Museum in New York included hoaxes and freaks (恶作剧和怪物), both human and animal. This was not unusual by the standards of the time, but even he felt the need to prove his hoaxes fair, as advertising tricks.

Barnum’s unbounded self-confidence meant he never doubted his ability to make a success of any business. He opened America’s first aquarium (水族馆) and opened a theater in New York that was the largest and most modern in the city. He aimed to change the public knowledge of theaters, and in this, he largely succeeded. He made theater-going respectable.

Determination and hard work featured majorly in the qualities that Barnum displayed, and he frequently spoke about the necessity of both. He believed success only came to those who worked for it and knew they had the self-determination necessary. He also stated the necessity of understanding the business that a person was running. Knowledge and experience counted much in Barnum’s life, and he certainly knew the entertainment business.

Success in life, according to Barnum, could only be achieved when a person is in good health. He advised that getting healthy and maintaining a healthy body and mind would lead to happiness as well as success.

Videos of 77-year-old Xu Xiuzhen, who speaks different languages with foreigners while working at a scenic spot selling water, postcards and headdress flowers, have brought her instant fame.

Xu’s village     1     (locate) at the base of Moon Hill, a popular tourist destination famed for a moon-shaped hole at the summit. She has been working as a tour guide and vendor (小贩) in Yangshuo,     2     county and resort town in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region since 1998,     3     the area became famous for foreign backpackers and organized tours.

Xu, who dropped out of junior school in the third grade, began to learn different languages to attract more foreign customers. Xu said she would convert words in any language into Chinese characters     4     (base) on their pronunciation and then memorize them. Repeating the words in her head before going to bed and     5     (immediate) after waking up has given her fluency in basic conversations with foreigners.

Over the past two decades, Xu     6     (teach) herself 11 foreign languages, including English, Spanish, Japanese and Korean. In addition to     7     (make) her incredibly popular, her excellent linguistic ability has made it easier for her to communicate with foreign tourists. Xu has also become one of the busiest tour     8     (guide) in Yangshuo. Her reputation draws a large crowd of tourists every day, especially foreign visitors, who come to meet the multilingual guide out of     9     (admire).

“More and more foreign tourists are coming to Yangshuo, and I hope they will feel     10     home here with my help,” she said.

Yu Rong, a Chinese artist, thinks of a new way to introduce     1     ancient story of Hua Mulan in her picture book. In the book, I Am Hua Mulan, she tells the story by     2     (combine) Chinese paper-cutting with international artistic styles. She places Shaanxi papercuts over western-style pencil sketches (素描)    3     (create) typical presentation of Chineseelements (要素), which turns out to be a     4     (success) and impressive breakthrough.

Hua Mulan,     5     story has been told by generations in China, was a fighter from the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). As a devoted daughter, she dressed herself as a man to serve in the army     6     place of her father. Mulan’s character, such as courage, kindness and a disinterested attitude towards fame and fortune, made     7     (she) one of the most respected historical Chinese heroines. Mulan’s story has been adapted     8     (frequent) in modern media. For example, in 1998, Disney produced a film named Mulan, which     9     (consider) a great success by critics and the public right after its release.

To better tell the story, Yu Rong takes inspiration from her several     10     (visit) to sites of ancient battles and Henan Province’s Yu Opera. After years of preparation she finally makes this extraordinary work.

10 . A qualified doctor who rarely practised but instead devoted his life to writing once said, “Medicine is my lawful wife and literature is my lover.” Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a great playwright (剧作家) and one of the masters of the modern short story.

When Chekhov entered the Medical School of Moscow University in 1879, he started to publish hundreds of comic short stories to support his family. After he graduated, he wrote regularly for a local daily newspaper.

As a writer he was extremely fast — often produced a short story in an hour or less. Chekhov's medical and science experience can be seen through the indifference many of his characters show to tragic events. In 1892, he became a full-time writer and published some of his most memorable stories.

Chekhov often wrote about the sufferings of civilians in small towns of Russia. Tragic events controlled his characters who were filled with feelings of hopelessness and despair.

It is often said that nothing happens in Chekhov's stories and plays. He made up for this with his exciting technique for developing drama within his characters. Chekhov's works combined the calm attitude of a scientist and doctor with the sensitivity of an artist.

Some of Chekhov's works were translated into Chinese as early as the 1940s. One of his famous stories, The Man in a Case, about a school teacher's extraordinarily orderly life was selected as a text for Chinese senior students.