Question

LONDON — The novelist Hilary Mantel won the 2012 Man Booker Prize on Tuesday for Bring Up the Bodies, the second book in her trilogy about the life of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief minister.

Set over the course of the year 1535, it tells of Anne Boleyn, Henry’s ill-fated second wife — the time when she was the most powerful and her rapid demise. The story is told through the eyes of Cromwell, who plotted her downfall.

　 “You wait 20 years for a Booker Prize; two come along at once,” said Ms. Mantel upon accepting the award. She won the Booker in 2009, too, for the first book in the trilogy, Wolf Hall.

　 The Man Booker Prize is awarded annually to a novel written by a citizen of the United Kingdom, Ireland, or the Commonwealth. Much of literary London put on black ties and gathered for a formal dinner at the grand Guildhall to hear the winner announced; the BBC broadcast the announcement live.

　 The prize has been won in the past years by some of the biggest names in fiction, including Iris Murdoch, J.M. Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, Kingsley Amis and Salman Rushdie.

Sir Peter Stothard, chairman of this year’s Booker panel, said the judges had based their choices on “novels, not novelists; texts, not reputations.”

　 He added, “It was the pure power of writing that settled most debates. We loved the shock of language shown in so many different ways and were excited by the vigor and vividly defined values in the books that we chose – and in the visible confidence of the novel’s place in forming our words and ideas.”

Other novels on the shortlist included The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twang Eng; Swimming Home by Deborah Levy; The Lighthouse by Alison Moore; Umbrella by Will Self; and Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil.　　

64. The underlined word “demise” (in Para 2) probably means _____ .

A. progress 　 B. end　　　 C. success　　　 D. recovery

65. How many novels are mentioned in the passage?

A. 5　　　　　 B. 6　　　　 C. 7　　　　　　 D. 8

66. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A. Peter Stothard thought the novels shaped people’s language in a way.

B. The judges attached importance to the language and the authors’ fame.

C. Hilary Mantel was the first to win the Man Booker Prize.

D. People were uninterested in the results of the prize.

67. The best title for the passage might be _____ .

A. Bring Up the Bodies　　　 .

B. The Man Booker Prize

C. Hilary Mantel’s Novels Earn Her Fame

D. Hilary Mantel Wins a Second Booker Prize　　　

Answer 1

  BCAD