阅读理解。
Mark, 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 people are dreaming of
wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at a typewriter. "You've got to want to write," I say to them, "not
want to be a writer."
The truth is that writing is a lonely, private and poor-paying affair. For every writer kissed by good luck
there are thousands more whose longing is never rewarded (报答). When I left a 20-year job in the U. S.
Coast Guard to become a writer, I had no hopes 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 typewriter and felt like a real writer.
After a year or so, however, I still hadn't got a break and began to doubt myself. It was so hard to sell a
story that hardly made enough to eat. But I knew 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 shadow land of hope, and anyone with a
dream must learn to live there.
1. The passage is meant to _____. [ ]
A. warn young people of the hardship 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 (不现实的) for writers to seek wealth and fame
D. encourage young people to hunt for good jobs
2. What can be concluded from the passage? [ ]
A. Real writers often find their work interesting and rewarding.
B. A writer's success depends on luck rather than on effort.
C. Famous writers usually live in poverty.
D. The chances for a writer to become successful are small
3. Why did the author begin to doubt himself after the first year of his writing work? [ ]
A. Real writers often find their work interesting and rewarding.
B. A writer's success depends on luck rather than on effort.
C. Famous writers usually live in poverty.
D. The chances for a writer to become successful are small
4. "Shadow land" in the last sentence refers to _____. [ ]
A. the wonderland one often dreams about
B. the bright future that one is looking forward to
C. a world that exists only in one's imagination
D. the state (状态) of uncertainty before one's final goal is reached
