A
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 typewriter.“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 poorpaying affair.For every writer kissed by fortune there are thousands more whose wish is never rewarded.
When I left a 20year career in the US Coast Guard to become a freelance writer (自由撰稿者), I had not prospects 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 manual typewriter and felt like a genuine 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 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 Shadowland_of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.
语篇解读：本文是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了从事写作行业的艰难，告诉我们要想以写作为生，要耐得住寂寞，能够坚持自己的理想等。
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 pursue wealth and fame
D．encourage young people to pursue a writing career
解析：选A 推理判断题。根据第一、二段，尤其是第二段内容可知，事实上，写作是一项孤单寂寞而又收入微薄的工作，作者的目的是警告想成为成功作家的年轻人写作的艰辛。
2．What can be concluded from the passage?
A．Genuine 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 and isolation.
D．The chances for a writer to become successful are small.
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据第二段内容可知，很多从事写作的人都没有成功，成功的人是少数。
3．“people who die wondering.What if？” refers to “those ________”．
A．who think too much of the dark side of life
B．who regret giving up their career halfway
C．who think a lot without making a decision
D．who are full of imagination even upon death
解析：选B 推理判断题。根据本句“I wasn't going to be one of those people_who_die_wondering.What_if？”及后面一句“I would keep putting my dream to the test even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure.”可知，他不愿意放弃自己的理想。
4．“Shadowland” in the last sentence refers to________.
A．the wonderland one often dreams about
B．the bright future that one is looking forward to
C．the state of uncertainty before one's final goal is reached
D．a world that exists only in one's imagination
解析：选C 词义猜测题。根据上句“I would keep putting my dream to the test even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure.”以及文章最后一句的后半句“anyone with a dream must learn to live there”可知，本句前半句的意思是：这是希望的阴影之地。画线词的意思是“达到最终目标前的不确定状态”。
