单选题 Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people, but I also explain that there is 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 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 profession, for not every writer is kissed by future. There are thousands whose expectation is never rewarded. When I left a twenty-year career (职业) in the US Coast Guard to become a freelance writer (自由撰稿人), I had no hope at all. What I did have was a friend who found me a 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 I 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 shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.

单选题 The passage is meant to______.
A. encourage young people to consider writing as a career
B. advise young people to give up their idea of becoming a professional writer
C. show young people it is unrealistic for a writer to seek wealth and fame
D. ware young people of the hardships that a successful writer has to experience

单选题 What can be concluded from the passage?
A. A writer's success depends on luck rather on effort.
B. Real writers often find their work interesting and rewarding.
C. Famous writers usually live in poor condition.
D. The chances for a writer to become successful are small.

单选题 Why did the author begin to doubt himself after the first year of his writing career?
A. He was not able to have rest for a whole year.
B. He hadn't a change for the better.
C. He was not able to produce a single book.
D. He found his dream would never come true.

单选题 "Shadowland" in the last sentence refers to______.
A. a world that exists only in one's imagination
B. the bright future that one is looking forward to
C. the state of uncertainty before one's final goal is reached
D. the beautiful land one often dreams about