The Nobel Prize is a mysterious incarnation of power and authority, an anointed ritual whose claims are accepted as part of the order of things. The Nobel Prize is at once a relic of the past and a self-admiring mirror of our democratized, scientized, secularized modern culture. After a century of existence, the Nobel has become a problematic part of modern history: it helps shape our perception of ourselves for better or worse.
Like monarchy, the Nobel Prize surrounds itself with mystery and extraordinary secretiveness. Indeed, the media have more easily breached the privacy of the British royal family than that of the Nobel institution.The prizes present themselves as if handed down from eternity. But as even a cursory inspection will reveal, the juries that pick the laureates have often shown bias, lapses of judgment and bitter infighting. In the sciences, a number of quarrels, scandals, and even lawsuits have erupted over claims to priority or credit for collaborations honored by Nobles. And while widely admired, the science prizes have also been charged with swaying research goals and funding, however inadvertently, and more insidiously with corrupting scientific ambitions by the lure of Nobel fames. Such controversies, together with public dissent from several prizes, have been part of the Nobel history since its beginning. All prizes stir arguments; the Nobel's fame simply magnifies this hugely.
The very glory and stature of the Nobel Prizes prompt some sharp questions. Should such high endeavors of the human spirit as science, literature, and peace be treated as competitions, however exalted? Should these priceless efforts be paid the enormous, though "honorary," price lavished on the winners? Would it matter if there never had been a Nobel Price? Or if it vanished tomorrow? The problem is that the prices are not merely awards and medals but are aspects of power woven into our lives: it was once and future Nobelists who built the nuclear bombs that still hang fatefully over us; Nobelists now play an important part in public and military policy.
It is also true that the Nobel Prizes show modern fame: the Nobel Prize pays honor to some of the highest human adventures in nature and matter, creativity and justice. Where else, moreover, can both the unfamed and the general public find a replacement for the authority and coherence, to whatever degree, the Nobel has come to possess? In a world and age as inwardly
fractured
as ours this is a question not lightly dismissed.
单选题
The Nobel has become a problematic part of modern history because ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：此题为细节分析题。首先根据题干线索词problematic确定答案位置出现在第一段。该段第二句The Nobel Prize is…and a self-admiring mirror of our democratized，scientized，secularized modern culture，意思是诺贝尔奖是我们民主化的、科学化的、通俗化的现代文明的一面自我赞誉的镜子，即反映了现代社会；同时末句指出，无论好坏，它帮助我们形成了对自身的认识，暗含它带来了很多后续问题，因此A选项为正确答案。
单选题
Which of the following statements is true about the Nobel Prize?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】解析：此题为细节分析题。最后一段指出，诺贝尔奖展现了当代的名誉：因为它褒奖了人类在自然和物质、创造力和正义方面等方面最重要的探索。接着反问句Where else，moreover，can both…find a replacement for．．．the Nobel has come to possess指出，此外，在其他地方，芸芸众生能否找到像诺贝尔奖所象征的权威和一致性的替代物呢?因此，显然C选项“诺贝尔奖显示了权威和一致性”为本题的正确答案。
单选题
The author's attitude towards Nobel Prize is______.