题目内容
Romanian-born German writer Herta Mueller won the 2009 Nobel Prize in literature yesterday, honored for work that "with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, describes the landscape of the dispossessed(被流放者)," the Swedish Academy said.
The 56-year-old author, who immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987, first gained public attention in 1982 with a collection of short stories titled Niederungen, or Lowlands in English, which was promptly censored(审查通过) by her government.
In 1984 an uncensored version was smuggled to Germany where it was published and her work describing life in a small, German-speaking village in Romania was popular with the readers there. That work was followed by Oppressive Tango in Romania.
"The Romanian national press was very critical of these works while, outside of Romania, the German press received them very positively," the Academy said. "Because Mueller had publicly criticized the dictatorship(独裁) in Romania, she was prohibited from publishing in her own country.” In 1987 she immigrated to Germany with her husband two years before dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was toppled from power.
Mueller's parents were members of the German-speaking minority in Romania and father served in the Waffen SS during World War II. After the war ended, many German Romanians were deported(放逐) to the Soviet Union in 1945, including her mother, who spent five years in a work camp in what is now Ukraine.
Most of her works are in German, but some works have been translated into English, French and Spanish, including The Passport, The Land of Green Plums, Traveling on One Leg and The Appointment.
Mueller has given guest lectures at universities, colleges and other venues in Paderborn, Warwick, Hamburg, Swansea, Gainsville (Florida), Kassel, Gottingen, Tubingen and Zurich among other places. She lives in Berlin. Since 1995 she has served as a member of Deutsche Akademie fur Sprache und Dichtung, in Darmstadt."
Mueller is the 12th woman to win the literature prize. Recent female winners include Austria's Elfriede Jelinek in 2004 and British writer Doris Lessing in 2007.
The award includes a $1.4 million prize and will be handed out on December 10
1.Herta Mueller was awarded Nobel Prize in literature because of____________.
A.her public criticism upon the dictatorship in Romania
B.her works with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose
C.her works describing the life of the dispossessed in Germany
D.the popularity of her works with the readers in the German-speaking village
2.Which of the following statements is mentioned by the author?
A.German Romanians were treated unfairly in Germany in the 1940s.
B.Her parents were dispossessed to Ukraine after the World War II.
C.Her first work was published in Germany in the early 1980s.
D.Her works were all translated into versions in different languages.
3.It can be inferred from the fourth paragraph that _____.
A.people then in Romania had the right to say whatever was true.
B.Herta Mueller left her home country after the dictatorship was ended.
C.Herta Mueller immigrated to Germany together with her parents.
D.Romanian citizens lived a hard life without democracy in the 1980s.
4.According to the passage, which of the following works has an English version?
A.Lowlands in English B.Oppressive Tango in Romania.
C.Traveling on One Leg D.The Land of Green Plums
5.What is the passage mainly about?
A.Mueller made great contribution to literature through hard work
B.Mueller won the Nobel Prize for her great literature works.
C.Mueller gained great popularity by describing dictatorship.
D.Mueller was treated badly in Romania and immigrated to Germany.
B
A
D
C
B
【解析】
Published in 1896 and one of the most memorable horror stories ever written, Dracula, by Irish writer Bram Stoker,is the story of a vampire(吸血鬼),someone who lives on human blood. Stoker wrote the book after reading stories about Central European vampires and set his novel in Transylvania. Even today,there are readers of the book who believe that Transylvania is a mythical(神话的)country,a figment(虚构)of Stoker’s imagination. Nothing could be further from the truth. Transylvania is part of modern-day Central European country Romania,and the country does indeed have a history of mythological vampires.
However,Romanians are always puzzled by the description of the novel’s central character, Count Dracula,a tall,elegant aristocrat(贵族)with impeccable(完美的)manners who also happens to speak very good English. This is a world away from the images of vampires that they have grown up with. Romanian vampires are half-human creatures who live solitary lives in the forests,not aristocrats living in castles with well-stocked libraries.
So where did Stoke get the image for his Dracula? The answer becomes clearer when one learns of his relationship with a man called Henry Irving,the greatest British stage actor of his time.
Stoker was working as a civil servant in his home city of Dublin when he first met Irving. Bored with his tedious life and work, Stoker took every opportunity to visit the theatre and for a while was the drama critic for the Dublin Evening Mail. One of the reviews he wrote was of a performance of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet,with Irving in the lead role.
Irving was so pleased with Stoker’s review of his performance that he asked to meet him. Stoker couldn’t believe his luck when one night,he was invited to a dinner party where Irving was the guest of honour. Irving entertained the assembled dinner guests with some renditions(表演)of famous poems and speeches from Shakespeare.
Stoker was already writing the first chapters of Dracula and began to base the central character on Irving,in the vain hope that if it ever became a stage play, Irving would play the central character. Sadly,Irving never did,but the two men became close friends,and in 1878 Stoker left the civil service and became Irving’s manager in London.
【小题1】Bram Stoker set his novel in Transylvania because .
A.it is in modern-day Romania |
B.Transylvania is a mythical country |
C.he wanted to tell a true story |
D.he had read stories about vampires from the area |
A.is very similar to the vampires that Romanians know about |
B.Is completely different from the vampires Romanians know about |
C.Has impeccable manners,like a real Romanian vampire |
D.Is puzzled by the comparison with Romanian vampires |
A.That the book would become a stage-play. |
B.That Irving would play the central character in the stage play. |
C.That he could live in London. |
D.That Irving would work for him. |
Herta Müller, the Romanian-born German writer, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature. Ms. Müller, 56, immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987. She is the first German writer to win the Nobel in literature since Günter Grass in 1999 and the 13th winner writing in German since the prize was first given in 1901. She is the 12th woman to gain the literature prize. But unlike previous winners like Doris Lessing and V. S. Naipaul, Ms. Müller is unknown inside of literary circles in Germany.
“I am very surprised and still cannot believe it,” Ms. Muller said in a statement released by her publisher in Germany. “I can’t say anything more at the moment.”
She has written some 20 books, but just 5 have been translated into English, including the novels “The Land of Green Plums” and “The Appointment.”
At a news conference on Thursday at the German Publishers & Booksellers Association in Berlin, where she lives, Ms. Müller, wearing all black, appeared overwhelmed(不知所措) by all the cameras in her face.
When asked what it meant that her name would now be mentioned in the same breath as German greats like Thomas Mann and Heinrich Böll, Ms. Müller remained philosophical(达观的). “I am now nothing better and I’m nothing worse,” she said, adding: “My inner thing is writing. That’s what I can hold on to.”
Earlier in the day, at a news conference in Stockholm, Peter Englund, secretary of the Swedish Academy, said Ms. Müller was honored for her “very, very distinct special language” and because “she has really a story to tell about…and growing up as a stranger in your own family.
1..we can learn from the passage that Ms. Muller is_______.
A.the 1st writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature since 1999 |
B.the 12th winner for the Nobel Prize in Literature since 1901 |
C.the 13th woman writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature |
D.a German citizen since she moved to German in 1987 |
2. Ms. Müller was surprised at the news about her winning the award because ____.
A.she was born a Romanian person |
B.she had failed many times in winning it |
C.she had never wanted to win the prize |
D.she was only an unknown writer |
3. The underlined expression “in the same breath” is the nearest in meaning to ____.
A.instead of |
B.at the same moment |
C.in a breath |
D.under the same roof |
4. We can infer according to the passage that ____.
A.her honored works are based on her own experience |
B.most of Ms. Müller’s novels are unsuccessful works |
C.Ms. Müller is feeling much better after she becomes the award winner |
D.Ms. Müller was honored because she’s described the Germans’ life vividly |