Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people,

1+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 a writer and writing. In most cases these individuals are dreaming of wealth and fame, not the long hours at a typewriter. “You have got to want to write,” I said 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 U.S. Coast Guard to become a freelance writer, I had no prospects at all. What I did have was a friend who found for 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 typewriter and felt like a genuine 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 barely made enough to eat. But I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for many years. I wasn’t going to be one of those people who died wondering. What if？ I would keep putting my dream to test (even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure). This is the shadow-land of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.

21、The passage is meant to _______ .

A.warn young people of the hardship 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 is unrealistic for a writer to pursue wealth

D.encourage young people to pursue a writing career

24、In “…people who died wondering”, “who” 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

25、“Shadow-land” in the last sentence refers to _______ .

A.the wonderland one often dreams about