At 74 James Patterson has sold more than 425 million copies of his 200 novels globally,making him one of the highest paid authors in the world. "I do not work for a living.I play for a living.I love doing it," Patterson tells CNBC.But Patterson's road to success didn't happen overnight.He started writing as a side hustle and he faced a lot of rejection before getting his first book published.
Patterson grew up in the woods in Newburgh,New York with an insurance salesman father and a schoolteacher mother.Despite having dreams of being a writer,the idea "always seemed presumptuous",Patterson says.But after reading books by James Joyce,"it really turned me on to reading,and then I started writing," he says.
After college,Patterson got his first job as a junior copy writer at the advertising agency J.Walter Thompson.While climbing the corporate ladder,Patterson wrote his first book,The Thomas Berryman Number in the mid-70s.The book "got turned down by 31 publishers",Patterson says.But after it was finally published in 1976, "then it won an Edgar Award for best first novel." The Edgar Award,which is named after Edgar Alan Poe,honors the best writers in mystery fiction and non-fiction.
Despite publishing his first book at age 26,Patterson didn't have a bestseller until he was 40. "It wasn't like all of a sudden," he says.In fact,Patterson kept his day job for decades and got promoted to CEO of J.Walter Thompson in 1988.During that time,Patterson says he would read well over 100 books a year to help spark his creativity. "I have a huge imagination and I'm constantly asking,what about this?What about that?" he says.
Despite his success,Patterson says he doesn't like to give advice,especially about writing.But he credits his own success to his work ethic and passion. "I also don't take myself too seriously," he says. "Yeah,I sell a lot of books,so what?"
(1)What do we know about James Patterson? BB
A.He produced a bestseller when he was 26.
B.He read a lot of books to get source of inspiration.
C.He worked as a full-time writer when he was young.
D.He got inspiration for his first book when climbing a ladder.
(2)What does the underlined word "presumptuous" mean in paragraph 2? AA
A.Unrealistic.
B.Contradictory.
C.Imaginative.
D.Inspiring.
(3)What can we infer about James Patterson from the last paragraph? CC
A.He has sold a lot of books.
B.He doesn't take his job seriously.
C.He values positive attitudes to work.
D.He is unwilling to give advice to readers.
(4)Which of the following is a suitable title for the text? BB
A.The Secret to Career Success.
B.A Tough Road to a Bestseller Writer.
C.An Edgar Award Winner.
D.A Not-to-be-missed Fiction.
【考點(diǎn)】記敘文.
【答案】B;A;C;B
【解答】
【點(diǎn)評(píng)】
聲明:本試題解析著作權(quán)屬菁優(yōu)網(wǎng)所有,未經(jīng)書(shū)面同意,不得復(fù)制發(fā)布。
發(fā)布:2024/4/20 14:35:0組卷:20引用:7難度:0.7
相似題
-
1.A few years ago,I went to Disneyland with my sister and her two children.At that time,they were probably 10 and 8.
We were walking down the main street to go across to Downtown Disney when John,the younger of my two nephews,(1)
I was just standing there thinking and trying to(4)
I saw them talking to each other for a moment,and then John(7)
Then John came walking back over to me,totally(10)
John answered calmly, "He looked sad.He shouldn't be(12)
Then I asked, "You gave him your balloon?"
"Yes.His balloon might have flown away,or he didn't get one,(14)
To me,it's hard to imagine that this kid,this 8-year-old kid,did that.
The story is definitely not as(15)(1) A.disliked B.finished C.continued D.stopped (2) A.field B.street C.square D.lake (3) A.help B.return C.hurry D.rest (4) A.explain B.discover C.prove D.show (5) A.Since B.Though C.If D.When (6) A.height B.hobby C.a(chǎn)ge D.weight (7) A.lent B.threw C.moved D.handed (8) A.bored B.worried C.frightened D.surprised (9) A.jumping B.crying C.playing D.running (10) A.crazy B.happy C.a(chǎn)fraid D.sorry (11) A.hopefully B.excitedly C.slowly D.nervously (12) A.sad B.a(chǎn)ngry C.shy D.quiet (13) A.ticket B.money C.balloon D.food (14) A.or B.but C.for D.so (15) A.true B.touching C.simple D.tiring 發(fā)布:2024/12/21 19:0:4組卷:6引用:2難度:0.5 -
2.I remember my math teacher Mr.Young very well.He stood out because the kids made fun of him.He was missing one of his fingers,and always pointed at students with his middle finger.
I was not very good at English and math.No matter how hard I tried,I just could not figure out why I did not understand what all the other kids found so easy to learn.
One day,I was told that if I got one more E on my report card,I would be taken to the "big prison for kids".
I tried really hard for weeks.I just couldn't understand how to make different parts of members into whole things.
The day before report cards were to come out,I knew that Mr.Young would give me an E,just like he always did.
I went to Mr.Young and told him that the orphanage (孤兒院) was going to send me to the big prison if I got another E on my report card.He told me there was nothing he could do;it would be unfair to the other kids if he gave me a better grade than I had actually earned.
I smiled at him and said, "Mr.Young,do you know how the kids make fun of you because you're missing your finger?" He looked at me,moved his mouth to one side and said nothing.
"They shouldn't do that to you because you can't help not having a finger,Mr.Young.Just like I can't help not being able to learn numbers and stuff like that." I said.
The next day,when I got my report card,I tucked it into one of my books.While on the school bus,I opened it:Geography,B+;Mechanical Drawing,C-;English,D-;History,C-;Gym,B+;Art,C;Math,D-.
That math grade was the most favorite one I ever received.Because I knew that someone in the world finally understood what it was like for me to be missing a finger inside my head.
(1)Where may the boy live according to the passage?
A.In an orphanage.
B.In a big prison.
C.In the school dormitory.
D.In his home.
(2)What grade should the boy have got in the math test this time?
A.D-
B.E
C.D
D.B+
(3)The underlined word "tucked" in the passage most probably means "
A.stuck
B.listed
C.copied
D.hid
(4)The reason why the boy remembers Mr.Young is that
A.he missed one of his fingers
B.he treated his students very well
C.he understood the boy
D.he taught his students in a special way發(fā)布:2024/12/21 19:0:4組卷:3引用:1難度:0.7 -
3.A man went to buy fruits and asked the shopkeeper about the(1)
After the woman left with a smile,the shopkeeper looked toward the customer and said, "I didn't mean to(6)
After he learned the story,tears(13)(1) A.quality B.variety C.price D.taste (2) A.raised B.a(chǎn)ddressed C.examined D.explained (3) A.strength B.request C.contact D.thought (4) A.excitement B.joy C.a(chǎn)nxiety D.shock (5) A.nervously B.peacefully C.cheerfully D.hurriedly (6) A.cheat B.harm C.frighten D.ignore (7) A.check B.comparison C.stop D.preparation (8) A.content B.grateful C.excited D.ready (9) A.neighborhood B.community C.block D.department (10) A.reasonable B.high C.half D.minimum (11) A.concentrating B.depending C.focusing D.pressing (12) A.disappear B.decline C.increase D.start (13) A.dried up B.welled up C.slowed down D.settled down (14) A.bargaining B.a(chǎn)rguing C.comparing D.balancing (15) A.explore B.serve C.help D.connect 發(fā)布:2024/12/20 19:30:2組卷:16引用:7難度:0.5
把好題分享給你的好友吧~~