Reading the News
Max Yu, Young Theater Graduate, Wins $45,000 Playwriting Prize
[1] Max Yu is the first to admit: He’s not very good at entering contests. It was one of his theater professors at the University of California, Los Angeles who told him to submit Nightwatch—the play he spent his whole senior year writing—for the Relentless Award, which the American Playwriting Foundation grants to one playwright a year for work that has not yet been produced.
[2] The prize, created several years ago to honor the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, includes$45,000 and staged readings of the winning play at theaters across the country.
[3] Yu was in Shanghai, where he works as an English teacher, when he learned that he won. He is the first Chinese-American awardee. (Submissions are judged in a blind selection.)
[4] “Part of me is like, I don’t deserve to win this award,” Yu, who graduated in June, said by phone. “Because I’m 22. I’m too young. I’m like a nobody.”
New Words and Expressions
admit /əd
mɪt/ vt.＆ vi. 承认；准许进入
contest /
kɒntest/ n. 比赛；竞赛
submit /səb
mɪt/ vt 提交；呈递；使服从
senior /
si:niə(r)/ adj. 毕业年级的；地位较高的；年长的
grant /ɡrɑːnt/ vt. 授予；允许；承认
honor /
ɒnə(r)/ vt. 给以荣誉；尊敬
awardee /ə
wɔː
diː/ n. 受奖者；获奖者
deserve /dɪ
zɜːv/ vt.＆ vi. 应受；应得；应受惩罚
nobody /
nəʊbədi/ n. 小人物；无足轻重的人
be good at 擅长；精通
across the country 在全国各地
work as 任职；以……身份而工作