How do you win a Nobel Prize for writing? Here’s the secret from a previous winner: make it short, keep it real, and work hard.
Canadian author Alice Munro, 82, was awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in literature. She is known for her short stories about personal relationships of ordinary people, usually women.
Munro was born into a farming family in Ontario. The family was very poor. Munro did a lot of physical work as a young girl. She decided to be a writer at the age of 12. Now Munro turns her hard childhood into great writing ideas. The story Dear Life, for example, opens with a description of the neighborhood in which Munro grew up. Also, she talks about her poor relationship with her mother in many of her stories, such as Lives of Girls and Women and Friend of My Youth.
Since she published her first book in 1968, Munro has won many awards, with the Nobel Prize as her biggest honor. But Munro doesn’t see herself as a talented(有天赋的) writer.
“I’m the opposite of a writer with a quick gift. I don’t grasp it very easily at all, the ‘it’ being whatever I’m trying to do,” she said.
Do you dream of becoming an author while sadly admitting you are not that talented? Munro has a tip for you: use notebooks and write a lot.
“I have lots of notebooks that contain(包含) this writing,” she said. But it helps her sort out (整理) her mind. “Stories would just be working in my head for so long that when I started to write I was deep into them.”
1.As a Nobel prize winner, Alice Munro is famous for _________.
A. having a rich childhood
B. writing short stories
C. having good relationship with her family
D. only writing about women in her stories
2.In the story Dear Life, Alice Munro _________.
A. described her poor relationship with her mom
B. wrote about her poor family
C. described the neighborhood where she grew up
D. talked about physical work she did in her childhood
3.Alice Munro published her first book when she was_________.
A. 37 B. 12 C. 30 D. 82
4.From the passage we can learn that Alice Munro is _________.
A. talented B. easy-going(随和的)
C. confident D. hard-working
5. According to Alice Munro, those who want to be a writer should _____.
A. have talent in writing
B. write stories as long as possible
C. make up the story with imagination
D. write as much as possible
完形填空,从每题所给选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
Ever since I was a child, my mouth has caused me trouble. I'm not a bad person; I have a _______ time learning when to keep my mouth closed.
My mom has told me again and again, "Robert, your constant bad words are hurting me. If you _______ to be this rude, you will get into big trouble."
It's been a problem at school several times too when teachers have told me something I didn't want to hear. I used to feel it was my duty(职责) to _______ myself.
One day in English class I began working on my homework until I heard a classmate_______ behind me. It was Nathaniel, who liked doing that as usual.
At first, I said very _______ , "Nathaniel, would you please be quiet?"
However, Nathaniel continued talking to himself. I quickly _______ "Nathaniel, shut up(闭嘴)!"
For the next five minutes, we threw hurtful(伤感情的) words back and forth at each other.
"At least I don't have an ugly lazy eye like you!" I shouted.
I knew this would make him _______ . It would hurt his feelings and shut him up.
What I said filled him with anger. He tried to _______ over my seat and catch me as he shouted, "That's it! That's it!"
_______ at his reaction(反应), I sat back in my seat. I had never seen Nathaniel act like this before.
Later on, we were taken to the principal's office. There, Mr. Black, our English teacher, told us to _______ the matter. It wasn't until then that I finally found that _______ I hurt someone physically(身体上), the wounds eventually heal(愈合). But when I hurt them with my _______ , sometimes the pain (痛苦) never goes away.
At the end of the discussion, I said _______ to Nathaniel.
When I went back to my room, I spent some time praying(祈祷). I began to _______ how often what I said hurt others. But I believe that as I keep praying and asking God to help me, he'll tell me when to keep my_______ closed.
1.A. busy B. hard C. happy D. fantastic
2.A. decide B. like C. continue D. try
3.A. support B. separate C. smell D. spend
4.A. singing B. reading C. beating D. talking
5.A. clearly B. nicely C. carelessly D. angrily
6.A. repeated B. expressed C. replied D. shouted
7.A. nervous B. afraid C. sad D. bored
8.A. fall B. look C. hand D. reach
9.A. Angry B. Surprised C. Nervous D. Happy
10.A. discuss B. solve C. explain D. report
11.A. while B. after C. when D. where
12.A. words B. action C. ideas D. experience
13.A. goodbye B. thanks C. sorry D. okay
14.A. talk about B. hear about C. complain about D. think about
15.A. eyes B. mouth C. windows D. door
—Let’s go and listen to Mr. Black’s speech on Western culture, shall we?
— ________ . It’s getting to the end.
A. Why not? B. That’s all right
C. I’m afraid not. D. Never mind.
Bob used to _______ a difficult person to get along with. But recently he has got used to_______ with others in a friendly way.
A. be, work B. be , working
C. being ,work D. being, working
A lot of things ________ in Oxfam shops, _________ books.
A. sell; including B. are sold; including
C. sell; include D. are sold; include
Jim’s father ________ to London last month. He ________ there three times.
A. went; has gone B. has gone; has been
C. went; has been D. has been; has gone