PASSAGETWO (1)TheNobelsaretheoriginals,ofcourse.AlfredNobel,themanwhoinventeddeadlyexplosives,decidedtotryanddosomethinggoodwithallthemoneyheearned,andgaveprizestopeoplewhomadeprogressinliterature,science,economicsand—perhapsmostimportantly—peace. (2)NotallrewardsareasnobleastheNobels.Eventhoughmostcountrieshaveasystemofrecognizing,honoringandrewardingpeoplewhohavedonesomethinggoodintheircountries,therearenowhundredsofawardsandawardceremoniesforallkindsofthings. (3)TheOscarsareprobablythemostfamous,atimeforthe(mostly)Americanfilmindustrytotellitselfhowgooditisandanannualopportunityforlotsofbigstarstogiveeachotherawardsandmaketearfulspeeches.AswellasthattherearealsotheGoldenGlobes,evidentlyforthesamething. (4)Butit’snotonlyfilms---therearealsoGrammies,Brits,theMercuryPrizeandtheMTVformusic.InBritain,awriterwhowinstheBookerPrizecanexpecttoseetheirdifficult,literarynovelhitthebestsellerlistsandcompetewiththeDaVinciCodeforpopularity.TheTurnerPrizeisanawardforBritishcontemporaryartists—eachyearitcausescontroversybyapparentlygivinglotsofmoneytoartistswhodothingslikedisplayingtheirbeds,puttinganimalsinglasscasesor—thisyear—buildingagardenshed. (5)Awardsdon’tonlyexistforarts.TherearenowawardsforSportsPersonalityoftheYear,forEuropeanFootballeroftheYearandWorldFootballeroftheYear.Thisseemsverystrange—sometimesawardscanbegoodtogiverecognitiontopeoplewhodeserveit,ortohelppeoplewhodon’tmakealotofmoneycarryontheirworkwithoutworryingaboutfinances,butprofessionalsoccerplayersthesedayscertainlyaren’tshortofcash! (6)Manysmalltownsandcommunitiesallovertheworldalsohavetheirownawardceremonies,forlocalwritersorartists,orjustforpeoplewhohavegraduatedfromhighschoolor,gotauniversitydegree.EventheBritishCouncilhasitsownawardsfor“InnovationinEnglishLanguageTeaching”. (7)Whyhavealltheseawardsandceremoniesappearedrecently?Shakespeareneverwonaprize, nordidLeonardoDaVinciorAdamSmithorCharlesDickens. (8)Itwouldbepossibletosay,however,thatinthepast,scientistsandartistscouldwin“patronageformrichpeople”—akingoralordwouldgivetheartistsorscientistsmoneytohavethempainttheirpalacesorhelpthemdevelopnewwaysofmakingmoney.Withthechangeinsocialsystemsacrosstheworld,thisnolongerhappens.Alotofscientificresearchisnoweitherfundedbythestateorbyprivatecompanies. (9)Perhapsawardceremoniesarejustthemostrecentphaseofthisprocess. (10)However,thereismoretoitthanthat.WhenafilmwinsanOscar,manymorepeoplewillgoandseeit,orbuytheDVD.WhenawriterwinstheNobelPrize,manymorepeoplebuytheirbooks.WhenagroupwinstheMTVawards,theceremonyisseenbyhundredsofthousandsofpeopleacrosstheworld.Theresult?Thegroupsellslotsmorerecords.(11)Mostawardceremoniesarenowsponsoredbybigorganizationsorcompanies.Thismeansthatitisnotonlythepersonwhowinstheawardwhobenefits---butalsothesponsors.TheMTVawards,forexample,aregreatforpublicizingnotonlymusic,butalsoMTVitself! (12)Onthesurface,itseemstobea“Win-win”situation,witheveryonebeinghappy,butletmeaskyouaquestion—howfardoyouthinkthatpublicityandmarketingarewinninghere,andhowmuchgenuinerecognitionofachievementistakingplace? 1.Whatistheauthor’stonewhenhementionsawardssuchastheOscars,theGoldenGlobesand Grammies(Paras.3&4) A.Amused. B.Appreciative. C.Sarcastic. D.Serious. 2.AccordingtoPara.4,whatwouldhappentoawardwinningwriters? A.Theywouldenjoyamuchlargerreadership. B.Theywouldturntopopularnovelwriting. C.Theywouldcontinuenon-fictionwriting. D.Theywouldtrycontroversialformsofart. 3.WhichofthefollowingstatementsbestsumsupPara.6? A.Awardsceremoniesareheldforlocalpeople. B.Awardsceremoniesareheldonimportantoccasions. C.Awardsceremoniesareheldincertainprofessions. D.Awardsceremoniesareheldforallsortsofreasons. 4.AccordingtoPara.8,onedifferencebetweenscientistsandartistsinthepastandthoseatpresent liesin_____________. A.natureofwork B.personalcontact C.sourceoffunding D.socialstatus 5.ItcanbeconcludedfromPara.12thattheauthorthinksawards________. A.promotemarketratherthanachievements B.dogoodtobothmarketandpopularity C.helpthosewhoarereallytalented D.areeffectiveinmakingpeoplepopular