A
Not all awards are as noble as the Nobel Prize，which is world-famous for giving prizes to people who made progress in literature，science，economics and—perhaps most importantly—peace，even though most countries have a system for recognizing，honoring and rewarding people who have done something good in their countries，there are now hundreds of awards and awards ceremonies for all kinds of things.
The Oscars are probably the most famous，a time for the film industry to tell itself how good it is.The awards are not only for films—now there are also Grammies，Brits，the Mercury Prize and the MTV and Q awards for music.In Britain，a writer who wins the Booker prize，can expect to see their difficult，literary novel hit the bestseller lists and compete with The Da Vinci Code for popularity.The Turner Prize is an award for a British contemporary artist — each year it causes controversy by apparently giving lots of money to artists who do things like displaying their beds，putting animals in glass cases or—this year—building a garden shed.
Awards don't only exist for the arts.There are now awards for Sports Personality of the Year，for European Footballer of the Year and World Footballer of the Year.This seems very strange — sometimes awards can be good to give recognition to people who deserve it，or to help people who are on tight budget carry on their work without worrying about finances，but professional soccer players these days are not shy of fund!
Why have all these awards and ceremonies appeared recently? Shakespeare never won a prize，nor did Leonardo Da Vinci.
Most awards ceremonies are now sponsored by big organizations or companies.This means that not only the person who wins the award benefits from it — but also the sponsors.The MTV awards，for example，are great for publicizing not only music，but also MTV itself!
On the surface，it seems to be a “win-win” situation，with everyone being happy，but let me ask you a question — how far do you think that publicity and marketing are winning here，and how much genuine recognition of achievement is taking place?
【语篇解读】 本文作者对品类越来越多的获奖及获奖庆典提出了自己的疑问和看法。
1．Why does the writer write Paragraphs 2 and 3?
A．To show the importance of giving awards to people.
B．To show there are various awards.
C．To tell us why so many awards appear.
D．To tell us how people win awards.
B [考查推理判断。根据第二段和第三段列举电影类奖项Oscars、音乐类奖项Grammies，Brits，the Mercury Prize and the MTV and Q awards、文学奖项Booker prize以及当代艺术奖项、体育奖项等等可知，作者写这两段是为了展示多种多样的奖项。]
2．What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 mean?
A．Don't need to carry on their work.
B．Aren't as famous as other people.
C．Aren't as important as other people.
D．Don't lack money
D [考查词义猜测。根据前文“...to help people who are on tight budget carry on their work without worrying about finances”可知，此处是说现在专业足球运动员并不缺钱。]
3．Which of the following statements may the writer agree with?
A．The win-win situation satisfies all people involved.
B．Most awards today go to people who don't really need them.
C．Awards should be given to people with financial problems.
D．Organizations that give awards take advantage of awards ceremonies.
D [考查细节理解。根据倒数第二段“This means that not only the person who wins the award benefits from it...”可知，那些颁发奖项的组织或赞助者也同时从中获利。]
4．In the passage，the writer is mainly concerned .
A．if awards go to people who really deserve them
B．if Nobel Prize and other awards are still as noble as before
C．that awards and ceremonies publicize the winners too much
D．that too many awards can do harm to publicity or marketing
A [考查推理判断。根据第一段的第一句及最后一段的末句可知，作者对获奖是否真的是对成就的一种认可表示怀疑，这篇文章也贯穿了这个思想。]
