VOA慢速英语2018--诺贝尔文学奖今年停发

Nobel Prize in Literature Will Not Be Awarded This Year

The Nobel Prize in literature will not be awarded this year, after accusations¹ of wrongdoing against the Swedish Academy. The organization chooses the winner.

The Swedish Academy said Friday that the 2018 prize will be given in 2019. Members made the decision at a weekly meeting in Stockholm a day earlier. Anders Olsson, the Academy’s permanent secretary, said the group needed time to rebuild public trust before choosing the next laureate.

He said the academy made the decision, in his words, “out of respect for previous and future literature laureates, the Nobel Foundation and the general public.”

Nobel Prizes are awarded in science, medicine, literature and peacemaking. Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel provided money for their establishment after his death.

This will be the first time since 1949 that the award has been delayed. Last year, Japanese-born British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro won the prize.

Sex-abuse hits the academy

The problems at the Swedish Academy began last fall. Jean-Claude Arnault, an important artist in Sweden, was accused of sexual abuse.

Arnault leads a cultural center for which the Academy provided financial support. He is also the husband of Academy member, poet Katarina Frostenson.

In November of 2016, a major Swedish newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, reported about 18 women who accused Arnault of sex abuse.

He has also been accused of violating Nobel secrecy² rules. He reportedly released the identity of winners before official announcements at least seven times.

Arnault’s lawyer Bjorn Hurtig has denied the accusations. He told the Associated Press that his Arnault is the victim of “a witch hunt” and that the accusations “may only have the purpose of harming” him.

Needing time to rebuild

The academy later admitted in a report that “unacceptable behavior in the form of unwanted intimacy³” took place among its members. However, its poor management of the behavior damaged the organization’s trustworthiness. It also led to the resignation of its first female leader, Sara Danius.

A debate about how to deal with the accusations divided the Academy’s 18 members, who are appointed to life terms. Later, seven members decided⁴ to leave or distance themselves from the group.

The Academy released a statement that said members would reexamine operating polices at this week’s meeting.

The Nobel Foundation quickly answered, saying it believes the academy will put all its efforts into rebuilding its trustworthiness.

Carl-Henrik Heldin, chairman of the Nobel Foundation Board, said in a statement that he also believes the Academy members realize their changes need to include “greater openness toward the outside world.”

Past Delays

The Nobel Prize has been suspended 49 times since the prizes began in 1901, usually the result of war.

Swedish Academy member Goran Malmqvist told Sweden’s TT news agency that the delay was “a really good decision.”

“We’re in a crisis and it will take time to rebuild it again,” he said. He added that the academy must be more open to the media, but at the same time not leak the name of the winner.

I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

previous - adj. existing or happening before the present time?

novelist - n. a person who writes novels -- books that are usually about imaginary characters and events

intimacy - n. emotional warmth and closeness?

management - n. the act or skill of controlling and making decisions about a business, department, sports team, etc.?

witch hunt - n. the act of unfairly looking for and punishing people who are accused of having opinions that are believed to be dangerous or evil

1 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

2 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

3 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。