Passage TwoOne day in the early 1920s, a young man went to a newspaper office in Kansas City where he was living. He took along some of his pictures in the hope of getting a job there. However, they looked at his pictures and said, “Sorry, young man. We don’t think there is anything of interest in your pictures.”The young man did not lose heart. He continued to draw lots of pictures. Because his family was poor, he used to sit and draw pictures in the family garage. There, he met a mouse. He gave pieces of bread to feed it and became friends with it. The small mouse later appeared in the man’s drawings, gained the name of Mickey Mouse and became one of the most popular symbols of the 20th century.Walt Disney was born into a humble family in Chicago in 1901. Though nobody else in the Disney family was artistically inclined, Walt had a very early interest in art. As a boy, he drew whenever he had a chance, and he had vivid imagination and his drawings were very beautiful; he even sold some of them to his neighbors when he was about seven years old. Disney decided to go ahead with the art he was gifted with. However, he met with many obstacles and discouragements before he realized his dream of becoming a successful artist.In 1919, Disney began to work as a commercial illustrator. Later, he set up his own firm with his friend. Because Disney knew little about business, the firm ended up in bankruptcy. He was not discouraged, though; he still knew his ideas were good—but he lacked opportunity to carry them out. He thought then that he must in some way get to Hollywood. But he was flat broke, and far in debt; he had had no salary for months and had just scraped along. What to do? For two weeks he searched around Kansas City taking moving pictures of babies, selling them to their parents. Finally he had enough money for a ticket to California.Four years later, Disney created his first big-time character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. With the public going wild over Oswald, Disney went to New York to ask for a larger budget from his distributor Charles Mintz. To his surprise, however, the latter not only had secretly hired most of Walt’s staff with more money but also demanded that Walt give up his own business and work exclusively for him. Angrily, Walt refused, and returned to California. With the loss of Oswald, he learned to always retain full ownership of his characters.Dismayed at the betrayal, Disney was determined to restart from scratch. On the train going back to California, Walt thought things over. He had a studio, a few loyal men, and nothing to do. The only answer was to create a new character and make pictures himself. But what character? Cats, dogs, rabbits…all had been used. “About the only thing that hasn’t been featured is—I’ve got it!” he cried, jumping to his feet. “A mouse! Why didn’t I think of it before?”Initial efforts to sell Mickey Mouse cartoons, however, were not successful. The first two silent cartoons starring Mickey Mouse went largely unnoticed. The solution, Walt figured out, was to add sound to his cartoon. On November 18, 1928, Mickey Mouse said his first words, “Hot dog!” inSteamboat Willie. Just like this, Walt Disney had created the most popular cartoon figure in the globe, at a time when his future looked its worst.Disney was just sixty-five years old when he died of lung cancer. However, his perseverance to pursue his dream has inspired hundreds of millions of young people. Many take his famous quote “If you dream it, you can do it” as their motto.(1) (判断题)1.Walt Disney gained quick success with his pictures when living in Kansas City.正确错误(2) (判断题)2.Disney got strong artistic influence from his family.正确错误(3) (判断题)3.Disney made friends with a mouse when he practiced drawing in the garage.正确错误(4) (判断题)4.Disney had been much interested in art since he was young.正确错误(5) (判断题)5.Disney proved to be a good businessman from the very beginning.正确错误