I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years,
I was treading water, just trying to earn an income. I tried journalism, but I didn’t think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.
I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words.
It takes confidence to make a new start — there’s a dark period in-between where you’re neither one thing nor the other. You’re out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you’re too ashamed to say, “Well, I’m writing a novel, but I’m not quite sure if I’m going to get there.” My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published, I put it aside.
Then I met an agent(代理商)who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.
The next problem was finding a publisher. After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal — that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for.
It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck — of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there’s no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract(合同)of the publisher — to be a published writer — is unbelievably rewarding(有回報(bào)的).
小題1:What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?
A.I was waiting for good fortune. |
B.I was trying to find an admirable job. |
C.I was being aimless about a suitable job. |
D.I was doing several jobs for more pay at a time. |
小題2:The author decided to write a novel ______ .
A.to finish the writing course |
B.to realize her own dream |
C.to satisfy readers’ wish |
D.to earn more money |
小題3:How did the writer feel halfway with the novel?
A.Disturbed. | B.Ashamed. | C.Confident. | D.Uncertain. |
小題4:What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph?
A.It pays to stick to one’s goal. |
B.Hard work can lead to success. |
C.She feels like being unexpectedly lucky. |
D.There is no end in sight when starting to do something. |