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A maths talent who won fame this week for giving up a million-dollar prize is living with his mother in a simple flat in St Petersburg, co-existing on her ~30-a-month pension, because he has been
unemployed for many years.
The Sunday Telegraph tracked down the strange recluse (隐士 ) who shocked the maths world when he solved a century-old puzzle known as the Poincare Conjecture.
Grigory Perelman's trouble comes from a split with a leading Russian mathematical institute, the
Steklov, in 2003. When the Institute in St Petersburg failed to re-elect him as a member, Dr Perelman
was left feeling an "absolutely ungified and untalented person", said a friend. He becEune unconfident and cut himself off.
Other friends say he cannot afford to travel to the International Mathematical Union's congress inMadrid, where many people want him to receive the maths equivalent(等价物) of the Nobel Prize, and that he is too modest to ask anyone to pay for his trip.
Interviewed in St Petersburg, Dr Perelman insisted that he was unworthy of all the attention, and
was uninterested in the prize.“I do not think anything that I say can be ofthe slightest public interest"
he said. "I am not saying that because I value my privacy, or that I am doing anything I want to hide.
There are no top-secret projects going on here. Ijust believe the public has no interest in me."
He continued: "I know that self-promotion happens a lot and if people want to do that, good luck
to them, bjt I do not regard it as a positive thing. I realised this a long time ago and nobody is going to
change my mind. Newspapers sliould be more discerning(有洞察力的) over who they write about.
They should have more taste. As far as I am concerned, I can't offer anything for their readers."
Dr Perelman has some small savings from his time as a lecturer, but is apparently unwilling to increase them with the $1 million offered by the Clay Mathematics Institute in Cambridge,Massachusetts, for solving one ofthe world's seven "Millennium Problems".
66. Grigory Perelman lives with his mother because
A. he has to look after her
B. his mother has a million dollars
C. he has been out of work for a long time
D. he is badly paid at the mathematical institute
67. The phrase "absolutely ungified and untalented person" shows that Dr Perelman felt
A. angry B. discouraged C. proud D. confident
68. Grigory Perelman refused to accept the prize because .
A. he thought the prize was worthless
B. he didn't believe the news
C. he couldn't afford to travel to Madrid
D. he showed no interest in it
69. From the passage, we can infer that Grigory Perelman
A. solved the most difficult maths problem
B. has a strong personality
C. wanted to make himself known to all
D. didn't get on well with the press
70. What's the best title for the passage?
A. Great Mathematician Leads Simple Life
B. Maths Genius Abandons a Million-dollar Prize
C. Mathematics Institute Offers Grigory $1 Million
D. One ofthe World's Seven "Millennium Probtems" Solved
