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'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
poor-paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune there are thousands more
whose longing is never rewarded. When I left a 20-year career in the US Coast
Guard to become a freelance writer (自由撰稿人), I had no 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.
单选题
The passage is meant to______.
A. show young people it's unrealistic for a writer to pursue wealth and
fame
B. advise young people to give up their idea of becoming a professional
writer
C. warn young people of the hardships that a successful writer has to
experience
D. encourage young people to pursue a writing career