A Letter from Willa Cather to President TomaS Masaryk
Honored Sir,
Your letter, sent to me through your Legation at Washington, confers upon me great honor and gives me great pleasure. I am glad to have carried a message from the Bohemian (波希米亚) neighbors, whom I grew up with, to their home country of the
Czech Republic.
I have just returned to New York, where I had the pleasure of taking Annie Pavelka, the living "Antonia" in my book My Antonia, and six of her children to the first screening of A Lost Lady. I have the good fortune to proserve relations with most of my characters. "Antonia" and her splendid children are flesh and blood realities. Every time I go back to them, I feel how much more interesting and lovable they are than my picture of them. I wish I could present them to you in person.
I regret that I cannot satisfactorily meet your kind request for biographical (传记的) material. I avoid biographers, asking them to wait until I get my work further along. My first novel was published in 1912, and a period of twelve years is hardly long enough for a writer to find the form best suited for writing. I was not young when I began to write, and though living is a good preparation for writing, I do need more time to acquire a simple and modest way of presenting my work, however well I know what I wish to present.
I am able to send you a very good photograph taken recently. I enclose a short biographical account which my publishers use for publicity purposes, and some casual reviews. Biographies usually begin to come along just about the time a writer has no more to say, and I do not feel that time has yet come to me.
I beg you, President Masaryk, to believe in my grateful appreciation of your letter.
Respectfully yours,
Willa Cather
What Is Your Pet Trying to Tell You
Animals want our attention, and sometimes they're quite obviously about asking for it. Unusual behaviors are often our pets' way of telling us to stop what we're doing and play with them. It's why Fido constantly chases his tail and why Kitty keeps rolling around. A desperately bored pet may have "bad" behaviors to get a reaction - even a negative one!
Feed me.
Sure, your dog loves you, but that's not why he's licking (舔) your face. A puppy learns to lick his mother's mouth to get a little leftover food, so Spot isn't kissing you in our sense of the word; he just wants a snack.
I'm stressed.
Cat owners also misinterpret their furry friends'kisses. While a cat might lick you to show love, sometimes she'll do it to ease herself. One way to tell if her licking is stress-related is to see if it goes on for an extended period of time. Birds also over clean when they feel anxious. Some will even drag out their own feathers.
My tail tells all.
Dogs wag (摇) their tails to the right when they see something or someone they want to approach, and to the left when they see something they want to avoid. When frightened, dogs curl their tails in, while cats wrap theirs around themselves. And if a cat's tail looks like a question mark, she's eager to play.
If you want to improve your fitness, walking is a great choice. Here are a few tricks that may help you increase your walking stamina (耐力).
Walk for at least 30 minutes 3 to 5 days a week.
But remember—don't sweat it if you can't walk this long at the beginning. Over time, your body will get used to a certain level of activity, and that makes it easier for you to walk longer.
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If you only have a short period of time to walk, add force to work on your stamina. You can simply put a few books or solid objects in a backpack and carry that. Keep track of the amount of weight you're carrying so you can increase it gradually.
Find ways to include walking in your regular routine.
Figure out how you can introduce more walking into your daily routine. For example, you might try using the stairs instead of the elevator. .
Download a step-tracking or general fitness app.
A fitness app allows you to set goals for yourself to stay active and increase your walking stamina over time. These devices often measure the distance you've walked and include information about your heart rate and calories burned.
A. Carry weight while walking.
B. Some trackers also allow you to compete with others.
C. Go on a longer walk at least one day a week.
D. It's free, simple, and adaptable to your schedule.
E. If the weather is unsuitable, use a stationary bike inside instead.
F. Or you can park further away from shops and walk the distance.
G. Going for regular walks improves your cardiovascular (心血管的) fitness gradually.
In the middle of a hot July afternoon, I became a thief of some sort—a thief of music. For the first time, I created a(n) 1 piano arrangement of one of my favorite songs. Using only my ears and iPad, I 2 a mix of sounds and melodies into the tones of a single instrument; I created complex harmonies and voices into something I could 3 with only two hands. No help, no guide—I did it 4 .
I've been a pianist since my hands grew big enough to touch the 5 . For many years, my musical identity was 6 by the notes that others had written in the past centuries. I valued classical music, but I felt such performances were shallow (肤浅的). I had nothing of my own to 7 the great compositions (乐曲) of Bach. This was why, when I put the finishing touches to my piano version of a modern song, my 8 was glorious: this arrangement was mine. What I'd done seemed magical: an ability to take what had already existed—to "steal" a song from my favorite band—and to change it into something 9 all on my own.
In music, as in other aspects of life, I believe that true originality 10 exists. Almost everything has been done before. The most passionate romance novel may be a slightly 11 version of a play written by Shakespeare, which in turn was 12 from the writers of Ancient Gréece.
The gift of 13 is just like what I did on the piano: to find out something beautiful, to analyze and change it and 14 yourself in the mystery of its composition, and then to make it new. Such an act is not copying; it is finding 15 and use it as fuel for your own masterpiece.
