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 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 U.S.Coast Guard to become a freelance writer (自由撰稿者), 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 Shadow land of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.

　　55. By saying that "an American is not free to choose the costume of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince" (Lines 2-3, Para. 3), the writer means _______.

　　A) different people have different styles of clothes

　　B) ready-made clothes may need alterations

　　C) statuses come ready made just like clothes

　　D) our choice of statuses is limited

　　[答案及分析]：[D]句意理解题，问文章中说“一个美国人不能选择中国农民或印度王子的服装”(第三段第二、三行)，作者说这句话是什么意思。文章说得很明白：身份如同已有的服装一样，我们在选择时会受到一定限制。所以[D]项正确。