Man of Few Words

Everyone chasessuccess,but not all of us want to be famous.

South African writerJohn Maxwell Coetzee is _______(51)for keeping to himself. When the 63-

year-old man wasnamed the 2003 Nobel Prize winner for literature,reporters were warned thatthey would

findhim"particularly difficult to_________(52)".

Coetzee lives in Australia but spends part of the year teachingat the, University of Chicago.He seemed

_________(53)by thenews that he won the US $3 million prize.

"It came as acomplete surprise.I wasn't even aware they were due to make theannouncement,"he

said.His_________(54)of privacy led to doubts as to whether Coetzee will attendprize-giving in Stockholm,

Sweden,on December 10.But despite being describedas_______(55)to track down,the critics agree that

his writing is easyto get to know.

Born in Cape Town,South Africa,to anEnglish-speakingfamily,Coetzee_______(56)his break-

through in 1980 withthe novel"Waiting for the Barbarians".He__________(57)hisplace amongthe

world's leadingwriters with two Booker prize victories,Britain's highest honour fornovels.He first

_______(58)in 1983for the Life and Times of Michael K and his second title came in 1999 forDisgrace.

A major theme in hiswork is South Africa'sformer apartheid system,which divided whites from blacks.

_______(59)with theproblems of violence,crime and racial division that still exist in thecountry,his

books have enabledordinary people to understand apartheid_________(60)within.

"I have alwaysbeen more interested in the past than the future,"he said in a rareinterview.

"Thepast________(61)its shadow over the present.I hope I have made one or twopeople think

_______(62)aboutwhether they want to forget the past completely."In fact this purity inhis writing

seems tobe_________(63)in his personal life.Coetzee is a vegetarian,a cyclist ratherthan a motorist and

he doesn't drinkalcohol.But what he has________(64)to literature,culture and the people of South Africa isfar greater than the things he has given up."In looking at weakness

and failure inlife,"the Nobel

prize judging panelsaid,"Coetzee's work_________(65)the divine spark in man."_________(63)

A.written

B.hidden

C.mirrored

D.stricken