文秋芳编
(d) Only read it if it is original.
6 What does Miller especially admire about Blaise Cendrars?
(a) He had a very adventurous life.
(b) He was a great writer.
(c) He knew what to do with his time.
(d) He read as well as wrote a lot.
Dealing with unfamiliar words 1 the quality of being new, interesting, and different from anything that anyone has created before (originality)
2 the process of putting people or things into particular groups according to the features they have (classification)
3 to make an organized and determined attempt to deal with a problem (tackle)
4 to make something better or more enjoyable (enrich)
5 a difficulty or problem that prevents you from achieving something (obstacle)
6 to sink under water and die (drown)
7 not being used (idle)
8 a suggestion that someone or something is especially suitable or useful for a particular situation (recommendation)
9 to make a lot of effort to achieve something (strive)
A Professor Ridgeway, you‘ve just written a biography of the poet Shelley, who (1) drowned off the coast of Italy in 1822 in a sailing accident. As you remind us in the introduction, people‘s lives have been (2) enriched by poetry for thousands of years. What (3) recommendation could you make to a young poet who is just beginning their career?
B That they should always (4) strive to be themselves, and not to worry about (5) originality. Once they‘ve found their own voice, it will be original in its own way, because everyone is unique.
A So you don‘t believe in the (6) classifications which label poets as ―romantic‖ or ―modernist‖ and so on?
B I do, but they have limited value.
A What do you think is the main (7) obstacle facing young poets today?
B I think it is to accept that you cannot be productive all the time. A poet‘s mind is never (8) idle and waiting for the right moment is part of the creative process. All other problems are relative, and can be (9) tackled when you get to them. 1 I felt depressed and lacking in confidence after reading his criticism of my novel. (demoralized) 2 Henry Miller‘s The Books in My Life is about, as the name suggests, the story of his life.
(autobiographical)
Henry Miller‘s is, as the name suggests, autobiographical.
3 Shakespeare had an extraordinary talent as a writer, which is without comparison in the history of English literature. (prodigious; unparalleled)