Chinese writer Can Xue, along with Japanese author Haruki Murakami, was reportedly named as the fourth-ranked candidate(候选人)to have the highest chance of winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2019.
Can, whose real name is Deng Xiaohua, was born in Changsha, Hunan in 1953. Not raised as a writer, she spent almost 20 years while being a worker, tailor and medical practitioner (从业者).Yet she never gave up on her passion, and in 1985 published her first novel Yellow Mud Street. Like her other works, it made use of symbolism. The book became known as the autobiography of her inner world. Such a work was not easily accepted or understood by Chinese readers during that period. But Can never stopped pursuing her own style.
Other representative works include Old Floating Cloud and The Barefoot Doctor. Some have been translated in other languages, while others have been selected as textbooks at world-class universities in the US and Japan. Her novel The Last Lover has been honored with the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in US, widely considered a prelude award for the Nobel.
Sharing a stylistic similarity with Franz Kafka, Can has been called the "Chinese Kafka" by permanent Nobel Literature Committee judge and renowned sinologist Goran Malmqvist. Malmqvist even believed Can could achieve more than Kafka, as she has already created more than 7 million words of literary composition.
Can responded she was unworthy of that level of praise, and she is just standing on Kafka's shoulders.
Though not understood by many Chinese, Can still writes in a way that combines Western and Chinese culture. But Can said many Western readers thought her works novel enough, as she praised the virtues of introducing Chinese culture to the West.
1. When did Can Xue publish her first novel?| A．In 1953 | B．In 1973. | C．In 1985. | D．In 2019. |
| A．Old Floating Cloud. | B．The Last Lover. |
| C．The Barefoot Doctor. | D．Yellow Mud Street. |
| A．Her works made use of symbolism. |
| B．She introduced Chinese culture to the West. |
| C．She won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2019. |
| D．Her works shared a similar style with Franz Kafka. |
| A．Modest | B．Passive. | C．Mean. | D．Generous. |
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【推荐1】The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games may become known as the “Robot Games”. Organizers showed that robots will be used at the new National Stadium to provide assistance for visitors using wheelchairs. Tokyo Olympic official Masaki Komiya pointed out that Japan is known for its robot technology, and the 2020 Summer Games are a good chance to show it. “Robots should not defeat people,” said Komiya. “Robots are something that has a friendly relationship with human beings and can work together with them.”
The robots are made by a major Olympic sponsor(赞助商) Toyota Motor Corporation. Toyota officials said 16 of the so-called “human support robots” will be used at the National Stadium with five other “delivery(递送) support robots” and “media support robots” also being available.
Minoru Yamauchi of Toyota, the general manager for 2020 Robot Development, said Toyota is opening up a new field and becoming a “mobility company”. “We have been looking at how we can support people’s daily life and how we can develop robots that can partner with daily life,” Yamauchi said. “In the Tokyo Olympics, there will be many guests in wheelchairs and we hope they can enjoy the games without worrying about their mobility.”
Panasonic Corporation—also a major Olympic sponsor—showed its “power assist suit”. When worn, the suit offers support to the back and bottom area and allows heavy objects to be lifted with less effort. Panasonic said 20 of the suits will be used in the Tokyo Olympics and can help guests with their luggage(行李). Panasonic also planned to develop entertainment robots to help visitors enjoy their stay in Japan.
Yoshifumi Uchida, general manager of Panasonic, said its power assist suit technology was developed partly because of Japan’s aging population. This could help get more women and the elderly into the working population. “We would like to have a society where people can work without caring about sex differences or age differences,” Uchida said.
1. What can be learned from Yamauchi’s words?| A．More disabled people will attend the 20 Tokyo Olympics. |
| B．Robots of Toyota are the most advanced in the world. |
| C．Yamauchi invented a new kind of wheelchair. |
| D．Toyota is constantly improving their robotics. |
| A．keep people’s body warm | B．lift up entertainment robot |
| C．treat guests in wheelchairs | D．help visitors carry heavy objects |
| A．Women in Japan usually stay at home. |
| B．The employment rate in Japan is very low. |
| C．Robot technology serves the development of society. |
| D．Power assist suits help elderly people to become younger. |
| A．Robot technology to be used in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. |
| B．Major Olympic sponsors of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. |
| C．The effects of robots on people's daily life. |
| D．Japan's future robot technology. |
【推荐2】When Kevin Durant gave his tearful MVP speech in 2014, the NBA star made sure to thank one person who had been there with him from the very beginning: his mother. His heartfelt words about the sacrifices she made for Durant and his brother led to a lifetime movie about her journey as a single parent, The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story.
Today, the NBA superstar’s mom travels the country as a motivational speaker and philanthropist (慈善家). On Monday, she spoke at Thomson Reuters’ in New York about her personal struggles to achieve financial stability and shared the financial advice she gave her son when he entered the league with CNBC.
“I wanted him to realize he has worked hard,” she says, “And it is OK for him to enjoy himself because of his hard work. But it is also imperative that he prepares for his future.” While she advised him to enjoy the rewards of his labor, she also wanted to make sure that her son knew the importance of financial planning.
She told the audience that when she found herself a single parent to two children at 21, she couldn’t follow the financial principles. Rather than planning for the future, she focused only on how her money could make ends meet for that moment.
Recently, Durant has teamed up with Laurene Powell Jobs for a new philanthropic program called College Track which is aimed at helping disadvantaged kids attend college. As part of the program, Durant has committed to donating $10 million to his hometown’s public school system.
Durant’s mom says that in addition to his financial decisions, she is proud of his philanthropic work and his desire to help the community. “I thought giving back was always very important, and so we talked about that and he had seen that from us as a family and it’s one of the things that I taught him,” she says.
1. What is The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story mainly about?| A．Durant’s career path. |
| B．Durant’s hard childhood. |
| C．Durant’s mother’s devotion to the family. |
| D．Durant’s mother’s struggling to be independent. |
| A．Enjoyable. | B．Important. |
| C．Unusual. | D．Hopeful. |
| A．Enjoying now and planning for the future. |
| B．Sharing rewards and creating a charity program. |
| C．Spending less money and saving for the emergencies. |
| D．Donating money to the charity and helping more schools. |
| A．His kind heart. | B．His poor hometown. |
| C．His mother’s teaching. | D．His difficult life experiences. |
【推荐3】Anne Lacaton and Jean-Phippe Vassal, this year’s Pritzker Prize winners, were as surprised as anyone else when the most famous award in architecture was made public yesterday.
“Of course it’s very pleasant, and we are very pleased,”Lacaton said at a conference with her partner, both smiling broadly from their black eyeglasses.
Putting aside their eyeglasses, Lacaton and Vassal could not be more different from an earlier generation of Pritzker winners, known for their easily recognizable styles and grand work. Instead, the two apply their simple guideline to their work on old urban buildings for low-income families: Never destroy, never remove or replace, always add, transform, and reuse!
When Lacaton and Vassal were asked to redesign a particularly large and over-crowded public housing block in Bordeaux in 2017, the residents (居民) told them they could not afford to move, even temporarily, but they wanted bigger units. Their solution was to replace the folding wooden front door with sliding glass door to each unit and painted the ugly walls with something bright. Suddenly, everyone had roomy outdoor space, some of which could be used during the winter as “winter gardens.”
“So, people can not only get sun and light and spend time with family, but it’s also open to neighbors,” Columbia University architecture professor Mabel Wilson.“I would love to live in one of the apartments t they’ve redesigned.”
Their approach of cheap and creative re-adaption could be a model for urban planning in the US, Wilson adds, where destruction has been seen as a solution to old public housing in such cities as Chicago and St. Louis.
There’s a lot of violence in architecture and urbanism. We try to be precise. We try to work with kindness,” Lacaton once explained.“Buildings are beautiful when people feel well in them, when the light inside is beautiful and the air is pleasant, when the exchange with the outside seems easy and gentle, and when uses and sensations are unexpected,”
Lacaton and Vassal started their firm in Paris in 1987. Together, they worked primarily in France.
1. Why are Lacaton’s and Vassal’s eyeglasses mentioned in paragraph 3?| A．To draw readers attention to their unusual color. |
| B．To show that Pritzker Prize winners need eyeglasses. |
| C．To tell us how surprised and happy they are for the prize |
| D．To stress their only possible similarity with other Pritzker winners. |
| A．They built winter gardens in the outdoor space. |
| B．They destroyed the walls to provide more space. |
| C．They just changed the doors and repainted the walls. |
| D．They provided bigger temporary rooms for the residents. |
| A．They have built many public houses with unique styles. |
| B．They have designed various famous buildings in the world. |
| C．They have provided free services for poor families in the US. |
| D．They have tried to transform old urban buildings with kindness. |
| A．Architecture. | B．Environment. | C．Lifestyle. | D．Politics. |
【推荐1】The Nobel Prize for literature is given to the person who shall have produced the most outstanding work in the field of literature. Here are four winners, along with the reasons.
Peter Handke
He is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director and screenwriter. He is most famous for his novel about his mother’s act of killing herself deliberately, A Sorrow Beyond Dreams. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize for literature.
Kazuo Ishiguro
He is a British novelist, screenwriter and short-story writer. He was born in Japan, but his family moved to the UK in 1960 when he was five. He is known for The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go and The Saddest Music in the World. He was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize for literature.
Bob Dylan
He is one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 20th century. In 2016, he was named the winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize for literature and it was the first time that the honor had been given to a musician. He was praised for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.
Svetlana Alexievich
She was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize for literature. Her works reflected the suffering and courage in her time. She is known for her works about the women involved in World War II and the description of the Soviet Union’s war in Afghanistan.
1. Which of the following is Peter Handke’s famous book?| A．Never Let Me Go. | B．The Remains of the Day. |
| C．A Sorrow Beyond Dreams. | D．The Saddest Music in the World. |
| A．He was the first musician to receive the Nobel Prize. |
| B．He tried to explore the human nature. |
| C．He wrote a lot of Japanese songs. |
| D．He helped the women in need. |
| A．Peter Handke’s. | B．Kazuo Ishiguro’s. |
| C．Bob Dylan’s. | D．Svetlana Alexievich’s. |
【推荐2】Who Was E.B.White?
Today, most people remember E.B.White as the beloved children’s book author who gave us Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, but did you know that most of his career was spent writing for famous magazines like The New Yorker? His lifelong dream to write a children’s book about a mouse would take years to get published. A few years later, White would publish yet another children’s book inspired by a pig he had raised and a spider.
Who Was Johnny Cash?
Find out in this biography that takes us from Cash’s childhood on an Arkansas cotton farm to his first days in rockabilly through his most famous years as a country music legend and icon of American songwriting. Due to his wide range of musical talent, Johnny Cash has been inducted into the Country, Rock and Roll, Rockabilly, and Gospel Halls of Fame. He also won 18 Grammys and 9 Country Music Association Awards.
Who Was Charles Schulz?
Charles Schulz always loved drawing from the time he was a young child, and as he grew older, he turned this passion into a successful career. His early doodles of his naughty dog and of a shy boy inspired two of his most familiar and beloved characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy.
Who Was Levi Strauss?
As a young working-class German immigrant, Levi Strauss left his family’s dry goods business in New York City to journey out west for the California Gold Rush. Only Levi wasn’t looking for gold — he wanted to provide the miners with strong clothes to wear. His solution? Blue jeans — which have become one of the most beloved and fashionable clothing items in the world.
1. What did EBWhite devote most of his time to?| A．Writing articles for magazines. | B．Raising animals for children. |
| C．Writing books for children. | D．Drawing pictures for magazines. |
| A．To look for gold. | B．To seek a good job. |
| C．To develop his family’s business. | D．To make clothes for miners. |
| A．E.B. White’s. | B．White’s. B. Johnny Cash’s. |
| C．Charles Schulz’s. | D．Levi Strauss’. |
【推荐3】In June 9, 1870, Charles Dickens died at the age of 58. The next day, a headline in The New York Times read: “Death of the Great Novelist...Mourned by the People of Two Continents.”
Natalie McKnight is a literature professor who studies Dickens and his works. She explains why the novelist has remained so popular. One important reason, she says, is that Dickens wrote from his heart.
Dickens wrote about situations and emotions that still interest people today. He used his pen to fight social inequality and gave voice to the poor.
This year marks the 150th year of Dickens’ death. It’s another chance to remember this great writer. Will you read (or re-read) some of his most famous works?
| A．He tried hard to produce emotional effects among his readers. |
| B．His work led to many important social changes. |
| C．Dickens’ early life was very hard. |
| D．A Tale of Two Cities has sold more than 200 million copies. |
| E．The headline was not overstating the fame of Dickens. |
| F．Their works became the best sellers of that time. |
| G．Many other 19th century novelists wrote entertaining works. |
