Herta Muller, the Romanian-born German writer, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature.The award was announced in Stockholm on Thursday. Ms.Muller, 56, immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987.She is the first German writer to win the Nobel in literature since Gunter Grass in 1999 and the 13th winner writing in German since the prize was first given in 1901.She is the 12th woman to win the literature prize.But unlike previous winners like Doris Lessing and V.S.Naipaul, Ms.Muller is ly unknown outside of literary circles in Germany. "I am very surprised and still cannot believe it," Ms.Muller said in a statement delivered by her publisher in Germany."I can't say anything more at the moment." She has written some 20 books, but just 5 have been translated into English, including the novels "The Land of Green Plums" and "The Appointment." At the news conference on Thursday at the German Publishers & Booksellers Association in Berlin, where she lives, Ms.Muller, wearing all black and sitting on a leopard-print chair, appeared nervous with all the cameras flashing on her. When asked what it meant that her name would now be mentioned in the same breath as German greats like Thomas Mann and Heinrich Boll, Ms.Muller remained philosophical."I am now nothing better and I'm nothing worse," she said, adding: "My inner thing is writing.That's what I can hold on to." Earlier in the day, at a news conference in Stockholm, Peter England, secretary of the Swedish Academy, said Ms.Muller was honored for her "very, very distinct special language" and because "she has really a story to tell about cruelty and repression in a village much like the one Muller grew up in." The awards ceremony is planned for Dec.10 in Stockholm.As the winner, Ms.Muller will receive about $1.4 million. Ms.Muller was surprised at the news about her winning the award because _ . A) she was born a Romanian and became a famous German writer B) she had missed a lot of chances to win the prize C) she had expected to win the prize eagerly for long D) she thought she was just an unknown writer in this field
D
In many European countries it is normal to have a long break in the middle of the day when all members of the family return to their houses to eat together. This is not very common in Britain because normally it is a long way from the place of work or school to the home. Consequently the British people tend to have a big breakfast before they go to work and the meal at midday is not spent with the members of the family but with workmates or schoolmates. Lunch is normally eaten between 12: 30 p.m. and 1: 30 p.m. Most people finish work at five thirty. It often takes at least an hour to get home from the school or workplace so people tend to eat their evening meal or "dinner" between 6: 30 p.m. and 8 p.m. On Sundays people don't have to work, so they take the opportunity to eat together with their family. Sunday lunch is usually the best meal of the week and many of the meals which are considered typically British are eaten for Sunday lunch. For example roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. This is a typical British family eating together on Sunday. After lunch the father will smoke his pipe and read the newspaper sitting on his favorite armchair while his wife washes the dishes. The children will play traditional English games such as hopscotch, skipping or doctors and nurses. Although everyone in Britain understands that "breakfast" is the first meal of the day, there is a lot of confusion about the words for other meals such as "dinner, lunch, tea, high tea, brunch and supper" and if you ask a British person what these words mean, most of them will give you a different answer according to what part of the country they are from or what social class they are from. Another example of this is the pronunciation of the word "scones" (a type of cake eaten with Devonshire clotted cream, strawberry jam and cups of tea, known as a "cream tea") Why do the British have a lot of confusion about the words for other meals except breakfast? A) Because of the different pronunciations. B) Because of the different eating times. C) Because of the different eating habits. D) Because of the different parts of country and social classes.
D
Q: The Beijing government has set out to _ thousands of university graduates to work as junior officials in rural areas to both improve rural administration and ease the city's employment problems. The government plans to recruit 3,000 university graduates this year, 1,000 more than last year, to work as assistants to village heads or Party secretaries in suburban areas. People interested in jobs in Beijing's rural villages and townships can submit applications to the Beijing Municipal Personnel Bureau or online at www.Bjbys.com from February 1 through March 15. "We hope university graduates will seize this opportunity to use their knowledge in rural villages and to start their careers," Sun Zhenyu, deputy director of Beijing Personnel Bureau, told Xinhua News Agency. The government has promised successful candidates a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan ( $ 250) in the first year, 2,500 yuan ($ 320) the second year and 3,000 yuan ($ 385) the third year, provided their performance is up to the required standards.Sun said. Wang Lina, who graduated from Beijing Union University last year, was one of the first graduates to find work in the city's countryside After majoring in industrial and commercial administration, Wang served as the assistant to the village head of Ertiaojie Village in suburban Besjing's Pinggu District.For one project, Wang contacted people at the BeijingAcadeny of Agricnitural Sciences and arranged for the local farmers to receive training in strawberry planting.Her efforts paid off.The village had a plentiful harvest of organic strawberries earlier this year. Nationwide, about 150,000 university graduates found employment in rural areas last year, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Education. The ministry predicts that 4.95 million students will graduate from universities across the country this year, 820,000 more than last year.About 1.4 million of them are unlikely to find jobs when they graduate. In Beijing, a record 200,000 people are expected to graduate from university this year.... From the story of Wang Lina we can learn that _ A) the sooner you go to the countryside, the sooner you will be successful B) local fanners can get big harvests if they team more knowledge C) university graduates can also realize their value in rural areas D) Wang had great difficulty in helping villagers planting organic strawberries
A: C