Alfred Nobel gave more than 9 million U.S. dollars of his money to establish annual(每年的) Nobel Prizes. As Nobel wished, money is given to people who help the world in some great way in one of five fields: physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. As well as the money, each Nobel Prize winner also receives a gold medal(奖章).
The Nobel Foundation (诺贝尔基金会) owns the prize money, but it does not award the prizes. The Foundation follows the rules made by Alfred Nobel before his death. One of the rules says that not all the prizes must be given out each year. In fact, no Nobel Prizes were given for the years 1940-42.
Different groups give out each award. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences(瑞典皇家科学院) gives out the physics and chemistry awards. The Karolinska Institute(卡罗林司喀研究院) of Stockholm, Sweden(瑞典斯德哥尔摩), awards the physiology or medicine prize. The Nobel Prize for literature is awarded by the Swedish Academy. The government (政府) of Norway(挪威) chooses five people to award the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1968, a sixth prize was established in economics. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences makes this award, too.
Each of these bodies must receive the names of possible winners before February 1 of each year. A small group of 12 people decides on a final winner; the one who is selected(选择)by seven or more people wins. If no one is selected by seven or more people, the prize is not given out that year. The group of 12 reviews the possible winners, and asks questions, such as:
· Did the possible winner make an outstanding(卓越) achievement the year before?
· Was the person’s contribution the result of many years of research?
· Did the person work with one, two, or three scientists as a team? (Some of the prize money may also be given to others.)
· Was the person’s work based on the work of someone else? (Again, others may get some of the prize money.)
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded on December 10, 1901, exactly five years to the day after Alfred Nobel’s death. Each prize was more than $40,000 at that time. Today each prize is more than $1 million.
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Nobel Prize Winners
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