【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 s a matter of fact, many who wish to be writers are longing for1) wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at the typewriter. They are not aware2) of the fact that writing is a lonely, private and poorpaying affair3). I remember when I became a freelance writer, I had no prospects4) at all. What I did have was a friend and a small storage5) room in an apartment building. It didn39。t even matter6) that it was cold and had no bathroom. Immediately I bought a used manual typewriter and plunged7) myself into writing. After a year or so, however, I still hadn39。t received a break8) and began to doubt myself. Then one day I was offered9) a job earning $ 6,000 a year. As the dollars were dancing10) in my head, something cleared 11) my senses. From deep inside a bullheaded resolution welled up 12). I heard myself saying, I39。m going to stick13) it out and write. I realized that you had to make sacrifices14) and live creatively to keep working at your dreams. Then, in 1970, 17 years after I left the Coast Guard, Roots was published15). The shadows had turned into dazzling limelight. and pessimism are powerful forces, and each of us must choose which we want, so as to shape our outlook and our expectations. From which perspective1) do we want to view life? Will we look up in hope or down in ddespair2)? An optimistic attitude is not a luxury。 it’s anecessity3). The way you look at life will determine how you feel, perform 4), and how well you will get along with others. Conversely5), negative thoughts, attitudes, and expectations feed on themselves。 they bee a selffulfilling prophecy6). Pessimism creates a sad and hopeless place where7) no one wants to live. When the world is seen as8) a hopeful, positive place, people are more likely to achieve9). Optimism doesn’t need to be naive. You can be an optimist and still recognize10) that problems exist and that some of them are not dealt11) with12) easily. Yet optimism makes a difference in the attitude13) of the problem solver! Optimism draws our attention away from negativism and channels14) it into positive, constructive thinking. When you’re an optimist, you’re more concerned15) with problemsolving than with useless faultfinding. To tackle a big problem, one needs both optimism and persistence.5. What is character? Character is posed of those principles and values that give our life direction, meaning and depth. These constitute 1) our inner sense of what’s right and wrong based 2) not on laws or rules of conduct but on who we are. They include such traits 3) as integrity, honesty, courage, fairness and generosity which 4) are formed in the long process of life. So wrong is simply 5) in doing wrong, not in getting caught. Yet some people wonder 6) if our inner values matter anymore. After all, haven’t many people succeeded in every visible way, despite 7) their moral weakness? This question demonstrates a dilemma 8) of our modern life. Many have e to believe that the only things we need for success are talent 9), energy and personality. Success has bee more a function10) of charm, skills and techniques that lubricate the process of human interaction 11). Instead of making efforts to deal with difficult issues 12) of right and wrong, we turned to making thin