A
The Costa Book Awards consistently pick winners that are both of the moment and subsequently endure. It's our pleasure to confirm this year’s Category Winners.
First Novel Award Winner
Book: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Author: Gail Honeyman
Eleanor is 31 years old; work finishes on a Friday and begins again on a Monday. Between, her only company will be two bottles of vodka and her own unique wisdom. It is an unexpected shared experience suddenly opens the door to possibility. Challenging reader expectations with a living, breathing character, Gail Honeyman's debut is a funny and moving diamond.
Biography Award Winner
Book: In the Days of Rain
Author: Rebecca Stott
The Exclusive Brethren were a closed community who believed the world is ruled by Satan. Into this is born Rebecca. Her father had been an influential Brethren Minister. As her father lay dying, he begged her to help him write the memoir. He wanted to tell the story of their family who for generations had all been members of a fundamentalist Christian sect.
Poetry Award Winner
Book: Inside the Wave
Author: Helen Dunmore
To be alive is to be inside the wave, always travelling until it breaks and is gone. These poems are concerned with the borderline between the living and the dead — the underworld and the human living world – and the acutely intense being of both.
Children's Award Winner
Book: The Explorer
Author: Katherine Rundell, Hannah Horn
Four children survive their aircraft plunging into the Amazon jungle, but for Fred and his friends, it's only the beginning of a cruel battle for survival. Filled with adventure and a real command of character and incident, Rundell has few peers in superb children’s fiction.
21. Which of the following tells about a family story？
A. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. B. In the Days of Rain.
C. Inside the Wave. D. The Explorer.
22. Which character in the book lives alone and like drinking?
A. Eleanor Oliphant. B. Gail Honeyman.
C. Rebecca. D. Fred.
23. What can we learn from the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?
A. Randell has written a lot of excellent children’s books.
B. The Explorer is no good than other children’s fictions.
C. Few children’s fiction is as good as Randell’s.
D. Randell cooperates with others in writing children’s fiction.
【答案】21. B 22. A 23. C
【解析】
本文是一篇应用文，介绍了四部科斯塔图书奖的获奖作品。
【21题详解】
细节理解题。根据Book: In the Days of Rain中“He wanted to tell the story of their family who for generations had all been members of a fundamentalist Christian sect.（他想讲述他们家族的故事，他们家族世代都是基督教原教旨主义的成员。）”可知，In the Days of Rain.讲述了一个家庭故事。故选B。
【22题详解】
细节理解题。根据Book: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine中“Eleanor is 31 years old; work finishes on a Friday and begins again on a Monday. Between, her only company will be two bottles of vodka and her own unique wisdom. （Eleanor31岁，工作周五结束，周一重新开始。其间，她唯一的陪伴就是两瓶伏特加和她自己独特的智慧。）”可知，Eleanor Oliphant独自一人居住，而且喜欢喝酒。故选A。
【23题详解】
推理判断题。根据划线句“Filled with adventure and a real command of character and incident, Rundell has few peers in superb children’s fiction.（充满冒险和对人物和事件的真实把握，Rundell在优秀的儿童小说中很少有同龄人与之匹敌。）”由此判断出，Rundell的儿童小说很优秀，很少有儿童科幻作品能与之媲美。故选C。
