Herta Muller, the Romanianborn German writer, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature.The award was announced in Stockholm. Ms Muller, 56, immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987.She is the first German writer to win the Nobel Prize for 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 get the literature prize. But unlike Doris Leasing and V.S.Naipaul, Ms Muller is relatively unknown outside literary circles in Germany."I am very surprised and still cannot believe it," Ms Muller said in a statement in Germany."I can't say anything more at the moment." She has written about 20 books, but just five have been translated into English, including the novels "The Land of Green Plums" and "The Appointment". At a news conference at the German Publishers and Booksellers Association in Berlin, where she lives, Ms Muller, wearing all black and sitting on a big chair, appeared overwhelmed by all the cameras in her face.She spoke of the 30 years she spent under a dictatorship, describing "living with fear in the morning that in the evening one would no longer exist". When asked what it meant that her name would now be mentioned at the same moment as German greats like Thomas Mann and Heinrich Bll, Ms Muller remained calm."I am now nothing better and I'm nothing worse," she said."My inner thing is writing.That's what I can _ and if nothing special happens, I will never give up." Earlier in the day, at a news conference in Stockholm, Peter Englund,secretary of the Swedish Academy, said Ms Muller was honored for her "very, very special language" and because "she has really a story to tell about...and growing up as a stranger in your own family." We can learn from the passage that _ . A) Ms Muller's special language and experience made her get the Nobel Prize B) most of Ms Muller's novels are unsuccessful works C) Ms Muller felt much better after she won the Nobel Prize D) Ms Muller was honored because of her wonderful description about German's life
A
(Question)
"Made in China" has Changed Many shoppers in the West still prize labels, boasting a product was made in Italy without knowing that a growing number of Italian products come from factories that are Chineseowned and staffed. The products which were marked "Made in China" gave the buyer an impression of "low pride and low cost, low technology and development". The statement used to be true, but now it has changed. "Made in China" is becoming a leading part in the world market. China's garment industry has been investing in producing technology and training for decades, and its workforce has collectively gotten better at sewing garments. As a result, the quality of Chinesemade clothes is rising fast. It has been home to a highlyskilled, highlyspecialized garment industry, one that supplies even some highend labels and offers the best mix of price, speed, and quality. "If I was to make a basic men's jean, I'd make that in Pakistan," said Edward Hertzman, coowner of the trade publication Sourcing Journal. "If I was going to make a fashionable women's garment, I would move to China because their skill set is better, their hand is better, their finishing is better, and they can handle that type of fashion." Indeed, luxury fashion labels now routinely make things in China. Burberry, Armani, and Prada have all produced things there, because they're still able to get good workmanship at a relatively low price. Even the Japanese brand Visvim, known for its crazy attention to detail, also produces highend, handmade footwear in China. Despite the rising wages and costs of doing business in China, companies have not walked away. "China is viewed by people who make buying decisions as unique and hard to copy elsewhere," says Josh Green, CEO of Panjiva. What is the similarity between Prada and Visvim? A) Both of them are from Japan. B) Neither of them sells at a low price. C) They both make products in China. D) They both produce handmade footwear.
(Answer)
C
Ques: NASA is moving ahead with plans to put a long-armed Lander on Mars' icy North Pole to search for clues for water and possible signs of life. The $386 million Phoenix Mars is planned to touch down in the Martian arctic in 2008. The stationary probe will use its robotic arm to dig into the icy land and pick up soil samples to analyze. In 2002, the Mars Odyssey orbiter spotted evidence of ice-rich soil near the arctic surface. Scientists hope the Phoenix mission will find clues to the geologic history of water on the Red Planet and determine whether microbes existed in the ice. Phoenix will be the first mission of the Mars Scout program, a renewed, low-cost effort to study the Red Planet. "The Phoenix mission explores new territory in the northern plains of Mars analogous to the permafrost regions on Earth," Peter Smith said. True to its name, Phoenix rose from the ashes of previous missions. The lander for Phoenix was built to fly as part of the 2001 Mars Surveyor program. But the program broke down after the well-known disappearance of the Mars Polar Lander in 1999. The Polar Lander lost contact during a landing attempt near the planet's south pole after its rocket engine shut off _ , causing the spacecraft to fall about 130 feet to almost certain destruction. The Phoenix probe had been in storage at a Lockheed Martin clean room in Denver before it was reused for its present mission. It will carry science instruments that were designed for the Mars Surveyor program including an improved panoramic camera and a trench-digging robotic arm. Phoenix will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in August 2007 and land on the planet nine months later. After Phoenix lands on Mars, we can infer it will firstly _ . A) find soil samples and send them to the earth B) look for the icy land to dig for the soil samples C) take photos and send them to the earth D) find the remains of the Mars Polar Lander
Ans: B
Mo Yan, the winner of this year's Nobel Prize for Literature, said he is not sure about whether he is happy after winning the prize. In an interview with China Central Television broadcast on Sunday night, Mo said "I don't know," when a reporter asked if he was happy."Happiness means a healthy body and a total absence of mental burdens, but now I'm under high pressure and bothered by worries. Can I say that I'm happy?" he said. "But if I say I'm not happy, people will consider that I'm striking a pose. How could you be unhappy after winning the Nobel Prize?" Mo, born into a farmer's family in East China's Shandong province, As a 12-year-old during the Cultural Revolution he left school to work, first in agriculture, later in a factory. In 1976 he joined the People's Liberation Army and during this time began to study literature and write. His first short story was published in a literary journal in 1981. "In his writing, Mo Yan draws on his youthful experiences and on settings in the province of his birth. This is apparent in his novel Hong gaoliang jiazu (1987, in English Red Sorghum 1993)," said the academy in a statement of Mo's biography. Red Sorghum was successfully filmed in 1987, directed by famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou. Mo won the Nobel Prize for Literature, which is worth $1.2 million, on Oct 11 for his "hallucinatory realism" which merges "folk tales, history and the contemporary". Dozens of his works have been translated into English, French and Japanese and many other languages. He is the first Chinese citizen to win the prize.The award sparked strong interest about contemporary Chinese literature among the public, and his books have been flying off the shelves in many bookstores across the country. From the passage we can know _ . A) He won the prize because of his story Red Sorghum. B) He wanted to become a writer when he was very young. C) Mo Yan's works have been translated into Russian. D) Mo Yan was born in a farmer family.
D