Question

Just a few years out of law school, I decided that I wanted to write fictions. The only thing I had ever published before was a law-review article. I had made great efforts to write when I came home at night after work, but I was too tired. I decided to quit my job.

I began my new life on a February morning. I sat down at my kitchen table at 7:30 am and made a resolution. Every day I would write until lunchtime. Then I would lie down on the floor for 20 minutes to rest my mind. After that, I would return to work for a few more hours.

In my first year, I sold two stories. Then I wrote a novel, but I thought it wasn’t good enough, so I ended up putting it in a drawer. My second novel, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, was published to glowing reviews and received the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction.

My success sounds like a familiar story, but actually it was far from sudden. I quit my job, and for every story I published in those years, I had at least 30 rejections. The novel that I put away in the drawer took my four years. My breakthrough came in 2006, 18 years after I first sat down to write at my kitchen table.

Sometimes genius (天才) is just the thing that comes out after 20 years of working at your kitchen. Also, doing something truly creative requires the energy of youth. Orson Welles made his masterpiece, Citizen Kan, at 25. T. S. Eliot wrote The Love Song of J. Afred Prufrock at 23.

1.When did the author decide to devote himself to writing fictions?

A. When he was tired from his work.

B. Straight after graduation from law school.

C. On being informed his law-review article came out.

D. When his hobby was disturbed by his work.

2.We can infer from the second paragraph that the author       .

A. led a wealthy life

B. arranged his life reasonably

C. was too diligent to relax himself

D. remained single

3.What does the author mainly intend to tell us in this passage?

A. Failure is the mother of success.

B. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

C. It is never too old to learn.

D. It is the first step that costs troublesome.

4.Why did the author give the example of Orson Welles and T. S. Eliot?

A. To make a comparison between them and himself.

B. To show creativity needs energy and efforts.

C. To persuade the readers of their great talents.

D. To recommend their two masterpieces.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.A

4.B

【解析】本文是一篇记叙文。通过作者的成功经历告诉我们“失败是成功之母”的道理。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句I had made great efforts to write when I came home at night after work, but I was too tired. I decided to quit my job.可知，当他的爱好被他的工作打扰时，作者决定投身于写作小说。故D项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段I began my new life on a February morning. I sat down at my kitchen table at 7:30 am and made a resolution. Every day I would write until lunchtime. Then I would lie down on the floor for 20 minutes to rest my mind. After that, I would return to work for a few more hours.可知，我们可以从第二段推断出作者合理安排了他的生活。故B项正确。

3.目的意图题。根据第四段My success sounds like a familiar story, but actually it was far from sudden. I quit my job, and for every story I published in those years, I had at least 30 rejections. The novel that I put away in the drawer took my four years. My breakthrough came in 2006, 18 years after I first sat down to write at my kitchen table.由此推知，失败是成功之母。故A项正确。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段Sometimes genius (天才) is just the thing that comes out after 20 years of working at your kitchen. Also, doing something truly creative requires the energy of youth. Orson Welles made his masterpiece, Citizen Kan, at 25. T. S. Eliot wrote The Love Song of J. Afred Prufrock at 23.可知，作者引用Orson Welles and T. S. Eliot的例子是为了要表现出创造力需要能量和努力。故B项正确。