TEXT B 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 U. S. Coast Guard to become a freelance writer, 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. "… people who die wondering What if" (Para. 3) 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