1. A mistaken obituary gave Alfred Nobel the idea for the prizes.

The story goes that Alfred Nobel was inspired to establish his awards in 1864 after a French newspaper mistakenly ran his obituary, called “The merchant of death is dead.” Nobel didn’t want that to be his legacy, and began thinking of more productive ways to be remembered for posterity. (The obituary was supposed to be for Nobel’s younger brother Emil, who died while experimenting with nitroglycerine in their father’s factory.) The Nobel Prizes are announced in October and awarded December 10 each year, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s actual death. He died of a stroke at the age of 63 in 1896.

2. One of the Nobel Prize ceremonies takes place in Norway.

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo and presented by the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, while the other Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm and presented by the King of Sweden. Alfred Nobel planned it that way in his will.

3. There’s no Nobel Prize for economics.

Notice that Nobel didn’t mention economics in his will: That’s because the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences is not a “Nobel Prize.” It’s technically the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Sweden’s central bank created the endowment in 1968.

4. The Nobel Prizes come with cash.

Nobel Prize winners take home a diploma, a gold medal, and some cold, hard cash. In 2019, winners of “full Nobel Prizes” are awarded 9 million Swedish kroner, or almost US$910,000.

5. Organizations can win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Only individuals can be nominated for the Nobel Prizes in medicine, chemistry, literature, and physics, as well as the economics prize. Recent organizations that have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize include the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (2017), the European Union (2012), and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007).

6. Up to three individuals can win each Nobel Prize.

For teams larger than three, the committee will choose who gets left out. If two people win, the prize money is split equally. If three people win, the awarding committee chooses how to divide the prize.

7. People don’t know when they’ve been nominated.

Nobel Prize nomination records are kept sealed for 50 years after the award is given. Winners don’t know they’re nominated until they win.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【讣告】 fùɡào obituary an article about sb’s life and achievements printed in a newspaper

【捐赠】 juānzèng endowment the act of giving this money

1、1864年一家法国报纸错误地刊登了阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔的讣告，题为《死亡商人去世》，据说他因此受到启发而设立了诺贝尔奖。诺贝尔不希望死后仅留下一篇讣告，并开始思考如何能让子孙后代铭记自己的方法。（这篇讣告本来是诺贝尔的弟弟埃米尔的，他在父亲的工厂用硝化甘油做实验时去世。）诺贝尔奖于每年10月公布，12月10日颁发，也就是阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔逝世的日子。1896年，诺贝尔因中风逝世，享年63岁。

2、诺贝尔和平奖在奥斯陆由挪威诺贝尔委员会主席颁发，其他诺贝尔奖在斯德哥尔摩由瑞典国王颁发。阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔在他的遗嘱中就是这样规划的：“物理和化学奖由瑞典科学院颁发；生理或医学奖由斯德哥尔摩卡罗琳研究所颁发；文学奖由斯德哥尔摩科学院颁发；和平卫士奖由挪威议会选举的五人委员会颁发。

3、没有“诺贝尔经济学奖”。诺贝尔在他的遗嘱中没有提到经济学：那是因为诺贝尔经济学奖不是“诺贝尔奖”。严格来说，这个奖项是瑞典银行为纪念阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔而颁发的经济学奖。瑞典中央银行在1968年创立了该基金会。

4、诺贝尔奖奖金发现金。诺贝尔奖获得者可以获得一张证书、一枚奖牌和一些实实在在的现金。2019年，所有诺贝尔奖获得者都获得900万瑞典克朗，约合人民币586万元。

5、机构组织可以获得诺贝尔和平奖。只有个人才能获得诺贝尔医学奖、化学奖、文学奖、物理学奖和经济学奖提名。最近获得诺贝尔和平奖的组织包括国际废除核武器运动（2017年）、欧盟（2012年）和联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会(2007年)。

6、每项诺贝尔奖最多可有三位获奖者。对于三人以上的团队，委员会将决定谁被排除在外。如果两人获奖，奖金将平均分配。如果三人获奖，颁奖委员会将决定如何分配奖金。

7、人们不知道自己什么时候被提名过。诺贝尔奖的提名记录在颁奖后被封存50年。获奖者在获奖之前不知道自己被提名了。

(chinadaily.com.cn)

(chinadaily.com.cn)