Ⅰ.阅读理解
The literary world has a new star.Novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah is this year's winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in recognition of his “compassionate penetration (揭示) of the effects of colonialism (殖民主义) and the fate of the refugee (难民)”.
Gurnah grew up in Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania.In 1964, Gurnah was forced to leave for England as a refugee, where he began to reflect on his experiences in a diary and then through stories.Through the years, he wrote 10 novels and stories that explore the suffering caused by war and colonialism.“The thing that motivated the whole experience of writing for me was this idea of losing your place in the world,”Gurnah told TheNewYorkTimes.
His 1994 novel Paradise, which tells the story of a boy growing up in early 20th century Tanzania, marked his breakthrough as a novelist and won the Booker Prize.Afterlives, his most recent work, continues the narrative of Paradise and takes place during the period of German colonialism in Tanzania.
Before he retired, Gurnah,73, was a professor of English and Postcolonial Literatures at the University of Kent in England.Although Gurnah's first language is Swahili, he adopted English as his literary language.His writing often contains traces of Arabic, Swahili and German, as well.
Anders Olsson, the chair of the Nobel committee, said that Gurnah “is widely recognised as one of the world's most preeminent postcolonial writers”.
EthiopianAmerican novelist Maaza Mengiste described Gurnah's writings as being “like a gentle blade (刀刃) slowly moving in”.“He has written work that is absolutely unfearing and yet at the same time completely compassionate and full of heart for people of East Africa,”Mengiste said.“He is writing stories that are often quiet stories of people who aren't heard, but there's an insistence there that we listen.”
1.What are Gurnah's works mainly about?
A.The life of the people in Tanzania.
B.Effects of war and colonialism.
C.Experiences of living abroad.
D.Growth in an underdeveloped nation.
2.What can we know about Gurnah?
A.He was inspired to write by his refugee experience.
B.He used to be a professor of law and literature.
C.He publishes his works in Arabic and Swahili.
D.He was not wellknown until he won the Nobel Prize.
3.What does Maaza Mengiste think of Gurnah's writing?
A.It is elegantly written in his native language.
B.It is widely welcomed by people around the world.
C.It is powerful and employs sharp language.
D.It calls for attention to the life of the underclass.
4.What does the underlined word “preeminent”in Paragraph 5 probably mean?
A.Awful. B.Potential.
C.Outstanding. D.Particular.