today l begin to practice my listening . this material is good one l think .
Passage 55 The Shadowland of Dreams
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 the
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 poor—paying affair. For every writer kissed by
fortune, there are thousands more whose
longing is never requited. Even those who succeed often know long periods of
neglect and
poverty. I did. When I left a 20—year career in the Coast Guard to become a freelance writer, I had no
prospects at all.
What I did have was a friend with whom I'd grown up in Henning, Tennessee. George found me my home —a cleaned—out
storage room in the Greenwich Village apartment building where he worked as superintendent. It didn't even matter that it was cold and had no bathroom. Immediately I bought a used
manual typewriter and felt like a
genuine writer. After a year or so, however, I still hadn't received a break and began to doubt myself. It was so hard to sell a story that I 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.
1,requite : [rɪ'kwaɪt] 报答 回报
You are my wife, I to how are you, ought not want to requite?
你是我的妻子,我对你好,难道就不该要回报?
2,neglect [nɪ'glekt] 忽略 忽视
He is chargeable with a fault or neglect.
他可能因过失或疏忽而被控告。
3,poverty 'pɒvətɪ]
Poverty often encourages crime.
贫穷往往助长犯罪。
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