READING COMPREHENSION.
French writer Le Clezio won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Swedish Academy announced
Thursday.
The Academy cited Le Clezio as "author of new departures and poetic adventure, explorer of humanity
beyond civilization."
Le Clezio, 48, received much attention with his first novel The Interrogation in 1963 and made the
breakthrough as a novelist with Desert in 1980, for which he was rewarded a prize from the French
Academy.
This novel Dserte contains magnificent images of a lost culture in the North African desert, contrast
with a description of Europe seen through the eyes of unwanted immigrants, the Swedish Academy said
in the statement.
The emphasis in Le Clezio's work has increasingly moved in the direction of an exploration of the
world of childhood and of his own family history, the academy added.
Le Clezio was born 1940 in Nice of France, but both parents had strong family connections with the
former French colony Mauritius. At the age of eight, he moved to Nigeria with his family. During the
month-long voyage to Nigeria, he began his literary career with two books Un long voyage and Oradi noir.
He has taught at universities in Bangkok, Mexico City, Boston, Austin and Albuquerque among other
places. Since the 1990s, Le Clezio and his wife share their time between Albuquerque in New Mexico, the
island of Mauritius and Nice.
This was the fourth of the prestigious Nobel Prizes handed out this year, with awards in chemistry,
physics and medicine made in the past three days.
The Nobel Prizes have been awarded annually since 1901 to those who "conferred (给予) the greatest
benefit on mankind during the preceding year."
The annual Nobel Prizes are usually announced in October and are handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary
of the 1896 death of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish industrialist and the inventor of dynamite.
Each prize consists of a medal, a personal diploma and a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (1.4
million U.S. dollars).
1. Which of Le Clezio's works won him the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature? [ ]
A. The Interrogation
B. Desert
C. Un Long voyage
D. Oradi noir
2. The underlined word 'cited' means _____. [ ]
A. praised
B. encouraged
C. referred
D. thought
3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?[ ]
A. Le Clezio has taught in Bangkok, Boston, Albuquerque and Nice since 1990s.
B. Le Clezio got a personal diploma, a medal in all for the Nobel Prize.
C. The Nobel Prizes are awarded yearly in October.
D. Le Clezio moved to Nigeria in 1948.
4. Which is the best title for the passage? [ ]
A. A French writer wins 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature.
B. Four Nobel Prizes have been handed out this year.
C. The Nobel Prizes have been awarded annually.
D. Life of a French writer-Le Clezio.
5. Where can we probably find this article? [ ]
A. In a scientific fiction.
B. In a history book.
C. In a newspaper.
D. In a travel leaflet
