Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people, but I also explain that there’s a big difference between “ being a writer” and “ writing”. In most cases these individuals are dreaming of wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at a computer. “You’ve got to want to write,” I say to them, “not want to be a writer.”
The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poor paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune there are thousands more whose longing is never rewarded. When I left a 20-year career in the US Coast Guard to become a free writer, I had no promise at all. What I did have was a friend who found me my room in a New York apartment building. It didn’t even matter that it was cold and had no bathroom. I immediately bought a used computer and felt a real writer.
After a year or so, however, I still hadn’t gotten a break and began to doubt myself. It was so hard to sell a story that barely made enough to eat. But I know I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn’t going to be one of those people who die wondering. What if? I would keep putting my dream to the test--- even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the Shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.
小题1:The passage is meant to _______.
A．warn young people of the hardships that a successful writer has to experience
B．advise young people to give up their idea of becoming a professional writer
C．show young people it’s unrealistic for a writer to be after wealth and fame
D．encourage young people to be after a writer career小题2:What can be concluded from the passage?
A．Real writers often find their work interesting and rewarding
B．Writer’s success depends on luck rather than on effort
C．Famous writers usually live in poverty and isolation（隔离）
D．The chances for a writer to become successful are small小题3:Why did the author begin to doubt himself after the first year of his writing career?
A．He wasn’t able to produce a single book
B．He hadn’t seen a change for the better
C．He wasn’t able to have a rest for a whole year
D．He found his dream would never come true小题4: “Shadowland” in the last sentence refers to _____.
A．thewonderlandonoftendreamsabout
B．thebrightfuturethatoneislookingforwardto
C．thestateofuncertaintybeforeone’sfinalgoalisreached
D．aworldthatexistsonlyinone’simagination
