The Swedish Academy in Stockholm on Thursday named Mo Yan winner of the Twenty-Twelve Nobel Prize in Literature.

The academy praised the Chinese writer for what it called his “hallucinatoty realism (魔幻現(xiàn)實主義)”. It noted his ability to combine folk stories, history and modern events in his works.

An academy official said Mister Mo was “overjoyed and sacred” when he learnt he had won the award. He will receive his Nobel diploma, a medal and more than one million dollars at the ceremony in Stockholm in December.

Mo Yan is a leading author of modern Chinese novels. He often writes from memories of his youth. He also sets many of his stories in the area where he was born—Shandong Province in northeastern China.

Mister Mo’s 1987 book Red Sorghum is an example. It is about the extreme violence in rural eastern China during the Communist Revolution in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The story describes the criminal culture of the time, Japan’s occupation and the terrible conditions faced by farm workers. Red Sorghum was later made into a movie.

Mo Yan’s other major works include Big Breasts and Wide Hips, Republic of Wine and Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out.

The Royal Swedish Academy compared him to two 20th century writers: American William Faulkner and Colombia Gabriel Marquez.

Mo Yan’s real name is Guan Moye. Mo Yan means “Don’t speak.” The writer said he chose the name to remember to stop his tongue from getting him in trouble.

China is celebrating the victory of his native son. Minutes after the award was announced, millions of Chinese expressed pleasure and pride for Mo Yan on social media websites.

1.How many books of Mo Yan are mentioned in this passage?

A．Three.            B．Four.             C．Five.             D．Six.

2.It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

A．many people in China showed their respect for Mo Yan by letters.

B．Mo Yan is just a pen name.

C．he was very glad to win the Nobel Prize.

D．Red Sorghum was once made into a film.

3.Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?

A．Mo Yan, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

B．The origin of Mo Yan’s work.

C．The true meaning of Mo Yan.

D．Bookstore created by Mo Yan.

Among ________ writers in the world, only a few will become famous later on in life, and ______ writer is Mo Yan, who has received the Nobel Prize for literature recently.

Chinese writer Mo Yan’s Nobel Prize for Literature might ignite an explosion of global interest in Chinese literature and lead to more titles translated into English, European experts say.
“Hopefully, the award means more people will read Chinese literature and more works will get translated,” says Michel Hockx, professor of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia from University of London. “Many very good Chinese writers have been accepted globally for a long time already. Mo Yan is probably the most translated Chinese writer alive, with at least five of his novels made available in English over the past 20 years.”
Jonathan Ruppin, web editor of bookseller Foyles, says Mo’s win coincides with growing interest in Chinese literature and recognizes the talents of a distinctive and visionary（富于幻想的）writer. “We are very excited by the fact that English translations of more of his books should now become available,” Ruppin says. He made the comment after Mo became the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in its century-long history.
As East-West cultural exchange has been booming, Chinese literature has been attracting growing attention in recent years. Hockx explains, “It’s mainly because there are many more opportunities for Chinese writers to visit other countries, to publish their works outside China and to interact with readers abroad. At the same time, more and more people globally are learning Chinese and taking an interest in the Chinese language and culture.”
University of Oxford lecturer in modern Chinese literature Margaret Hillenbrand says, “The obvious reason for the growing global presence of Chinese literature is the growing global presence of China itself. People have come to realize that there is a serious knowledge deficit between China and its international counterparts — in particular, China knows incomparably more about Europe and America than the other way round — and reading Chinese literature is an effective, simple means of solving that gap.”
【小題1】The underlined word “ignite” in Paragraph 1 probably means  “________”.

Why do 33% of the households in the USA have cats? And how do you explain why there are 16 million more pet cats than dogs? Yes, kittens are adorable （討人喜歡的）．Yes, they can grow up to be good mousers and are very entertaining to watch．And yes, cats are independent and don't require as much care as dogs．But research shows cats can also be caretakers for us and our families, improve our health and teach us and our children to be kinder, gentler souls．

       Theodora Wesselman is 94 and has lived the past two years with her elderly cat, Cleo, at TigerPlace, a retirement community in Columbia, Mo．Their enduring friendship is a classic example of how humans and animals can become family and look out for each other．

       Wesselman visits other residents, and her children stop by, but Cleo is her best friend, she says．They've been together nearly 21 years．

       "She sleeps on her own pillow right beside mine," Wesselman says．"In the morning, she pecks on my cheek to wake me up．It's really sweet．I pet her, tell her I love her and take her to the kitchen to prepare her food．"

       Research shows that being able to care for a pet improves our morale （士氣;精神狀態(tài)）, helps validate us and encourages us to take care of ourselves, says Rebecca Johnson, director of the University of Missouri's Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction．The body of research is leading more retirement communities and universities to roll out the welcome mat for pets．

According to the context, where do you think the sentence “They start and end the day together” should appear in the passage?

       A．Between para．1 and para．2 B．Between para．2 and para．3

       C．Between para．3 and para．4 D．Between para．4 and para．5

Which of the following words best describe the author’s attitude towards keeping pet cats?

       A．Favorable B．Critical     C．Reserved   D．Doubtful

Why does the author take 94-year-old Theodora Wesselman as an example in the passage?

       A．To show that the elderly like Theodora Wesselman in the USA have pet cats．

       B．To suggest to what degree humans and pet cats can be caretakers for each other．

       C．Because Theodora Wesselman has been living with a pet cat for the past two years．

       D．Because Theodora Wesselman pets her cat Cleo and tells her she loves her．

What does “to roll out the welcome mat for pets” in the last paragraph imply?

       A．To give a special welcome to pets．

       B．To make the welcome mat flat on the ground for pets．

       C．To open out the welcome mat for pets to sleep．

       D．To wrap the welcome mat to make room for pets．

A

Chinese writer Mo Yan has won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature, announced the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on Thursday．The win makes Mo Yan the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel in its Ⅲ-year history．Informed of his win today, the author, who was having dinner at home, was “overjoyed and scared"．

Born in 1955 to parents who were farmers, Mo Yan－a pen name for Guan Moye，grew up in Gaomi in Shandong province in eastern China. At the age of 12, he left school to work, first in agriculture, later in a factory. In 1976 he joined the army and during this time began to study literature and writing．

He published his first book in 1981, but found literary success in 1987 with Hong Gaoliang Jiazu, which was successfully filmed in the same year, directed by famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou. In his writing, Mo Yan draws on his youthful experiences and on settings in the province of his birth and his works show the life of Chinese people as well as the country's unique culture and folk customs. Mo Yan is known as a prolific（多產(chǎn)的）writer. In addition to his novels, he has published many short stories and essays on various topics. Despite his social criticism, he is seen in his homeland as one of the most famous contemporary authors. Dozens of his works have been translated into English, French, Japanese and many other languages．

The awarding ceremony will be held on December 10．The winner will win a medal, a personal diploma and a cash award of about $l  million．

1.How did Mo Yan feel when he was told about the news?

A．Excited and proud．                     B． Happy and surprised．

C．Worried and cautious                    D． Uncertain and shocked．

2.Mo Yan developed his ability for writing when he was      ．

A．on a farm         B．in a factory        C．in a school         D．in the army

3.One of Mo Yan's characteristics of writing is that he

A．writes about topics he is familiar with        B．focuses on social problems in the country

C．describes his characters in a unique way      D．explains difficult matters in simple words

4.What's the best title for this passage? 

A．How Mo Yan Gets Nobel Prize              B．An Introduction to Nobel Prize

C．Mo Yan Wins Nobel Prize in Literature        D．A World Famous Writer, Mo Yan