听力原文：
W: A big dog celebrates a big birthday this year. Clifford, the big red dog, first appeared 50 years ago along with Emily Elizabeth, a little girl who loves him. Today, we have Norman Bridwell, to talk with NPR’s reporter on his dog’s 50th birthday. So, Norman, tell us how it all started.
M: Well, it was 1962, and I was a struggling, not very successful artist in New York. My wife suggested that I try my hand at painting for children’s books. So I did ten paintings and took them to publishers. I was turned down everywhere, except at one publisher, where a young woman told me I wasn’t very good. So if I wanted to paint for a book, I’d need to write one on my own.
W: So you did?
M: Umm…the woman pointed to a painting I’d done, of a little girl with a big red dog, and she said, “Maybe that’s a story”. And I went home, and over that weekend I wrote the story Clifford the Big Red Dog, and was shocked when it was accepted for publication, because I’d never written anything before.
W: I see. How wonderful!
M: Yes, it was! My wife was also in shock when she did realize it wasn’t a dream. But, it was just luck.
W: But that luck turned into 90 Clifford books that have sold 126 million copies in 13 languages.