More than a hundred reporters from around the world thronged and bustled in the Stock Exchange Building in Stockholm's Old Town for about an hour before the doors to the Swedish Academy swung open. Notably, there were many Japanese reporters present, hoping to break the news that Haruki Murakami had won the prize. Finally, the Swedish Academy's Permanent Secretary Peter Englund stepped out from the doors and said Canadian short story writer Alice Munro has won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature.
The following is a truncated Q&A with reporters and Englund. (The questions have been simplified and clarified.)
Why did Alice Munro win?
We gave her the Nobel Prize in Literature because she is a master of the contemporary short story.
Which book to begin with?
One of the amazing things about her is that she has no weak works in her writing. She has always worked to the best of her ability; she has always cultivated the short story to perfection. And she has never really written a weak or bad book. So you can take your pick. 'The Moons of Jupiter' was the first book I read by her and you can see both her different themes in that book and also her very special narrative mode, you can find it there. She tells her stories a bit like nobody else. She has a very economical language and sparse style. You can find that in 'The Moons of Jupiter.' You can take your pick. The latest one is obviously very interesting, 'Dear Life,' which contains a number of autobiographical sketches at the end that gives a key to the entire authorship of Alice Munro.
How was she informed?
Well, I left a message on her answering machine. I couldn't reach her and it was of course pretty early in the morning. But she will be notified by courier, by email to her both agents, by standard mail and so on.
What kind of message did you leave?
Basically, congratulations! You've won the Nobel Prize in literature.
What's the Importance of a woman winning?
Don't ask me. We picked her for excellence, nothing else. Of course it matters when you start doing the headcount. But she is no representative. She has received this prize just because of what she has done. Nothing else.
So the sexual balance doesn't count?
We don't have these kinds of quotas; thank god ... We don't have any quotas. We could, if we wanted to, award this prize four times in a row to a children's book writer working in the United States. If we wanted to. We can do as we please. We don't have to fill any quotes in any direction. We just give it to authors who show an extraordinary literary quality. One of these is Mrs. Alice Munro.
小题1:Why were there so many Japanese reporters in the Stock Exchange Building in Stockholm's Old Town?
A．They were waiting there to report who would win the 2013 Nobel Prize in 2013.
B．They had expected that Haruki Murakami would win the prize.
C．They just wanted to be the first to report the 2013 Noble Prize winner.
D．They were waiting in the stock market to give the world a big surprise.小题2:Alice Munro would most probably be informed of her winning by ________?
A．picking up her answering machine
B．email from both of her agents
C．standard mail
D．The passage doesn’t clarify it.小题3:According to the passage, Alice Munro was awarded the 2013 Noble Prize in Literature mainly for ________.
A．she has an obvious advantage over Haruki Murakami
B．it is rare for a woman to have written so many perfect stories
C．she is a master of the contemporary short story
D．she deserves a prize for her hard work for so many years小题4:Alice Munro is best known for her work ________.
A．“Dear Life”, which contains a number of autobiographical sketches that gives a key to her entire authorship
B．“The Moons of Jupiter”, which represented both her different themes and also her very special narrative mode
C．“DanceoftheHappyShades”, which helped her win the first Governor General’s Award
D．no specific work, but the uniqueness and perfection reflected in all her works
