下面是关于怎样成为一名艺术家的讨论。讨论的焦点是个性特征，文末有故事中使用过的15个习语的定义。试着阅读下面的故事，第一次时，在不看后面定义的前提下去理解故事梗概。第二次阅读时，可以利用后面的定义解释，来帮助你在学习新的习语的同时理解全文。最后，完成阅读后面的来测试，巩固你所学的习语和表达。

　　The Artist

　　艺术家

　　What makes an artist an artist? Well, there probably isn't any easy answer to that question. However, there are some personality characteristics that many artists seem to have in common. First of all, artists come from all walks of life. They may have been born rich or poor, but they are all dedicated to realizing what only they can see in their minds' eyes. Another common trait of artists is that they do things according to their own own lights. In fact for many of them, creating art is do or die. Of course, that also means that they are often perfectionists. They'll lose themselves in a new creation and you might not see them for the next few weeks. Often, you might drop by to check up on how they are doing and you'll discover that their apartment is anything but spick-and-span. It's no wonder because they've sunk their teeth into their latest work and completely lost all track of time.

　　怎样才能成为一名艺术家呢?嗯，这个问题不是三言两语就能够回答的。但是，许多艺术家似乎都拥有一些共同的个性特征。首先，艺术家们都是来自社会各界的人士。他们的家庭环境有好有坏，但是他们都会投身于表达出自己心中的景象。另一个共同点就是，他们都会根据自己的想法来行动。事实上，许多艺术家都认为，艺术创作是非做不可的事。当然，这也意味着他们经常是完美主义者。他们会沉浸在自己新的创作中无法自拔，你可能一连几个星期都看不到他们的身影。在你拜访他们，想看看他们在做什么时，你可能会发现他们住的公寓是乱糟糟的。这也不足为奇，因为长时间沉浸于自己的创作，都不知道今夕是何夕了。

　　Housework is certainly the last thing on their mind!

　　当然，他们也不会想起来要做家务!

　　Of course, this lifestyle often means that they can barely make ends meet. Jobs are few and far between and money comes in dribs and dabs. This is true even for up-and-coming superstars whose reputation is growing by leaps and bounds. Finally, artists see art as an end in itself.

　　当然，这种生活方式意味着他们入不敷出。没什么工作，钱也很少。甚至那些一夜成名，大有前途的名人也是这样的。最后，他们搞艺术都是出于自己的兴趣。

　　It's not about the money to them. They're different from normal people who mind their p's and q's. Artists challenge us with their vision. They'd never slap something together that just looks pretty.

　　对于他们来说，艺术与钱无关。他们与那些谨言慎行的普通人是不一样的。艺术家们以他们的想象力感染着我们。他们不会为了表面的好看而粗制滥造。

　　Idiom and Expression Definitions

　　习语和表达定义

　　1.do something according to your own lights = do something your own way, follow your own inspiration rather than that of others

　　按自己方式做事，遵从自己的灵感，而不是追随他人。

　　2.all walks of life = from many different backgrounds, classes, etc.

　　来自不同的背景，阶层等等。

　　3.an end in itself = something done only for the pleasure of doing it

　　只是为了乐趣而做某事

　　4.break new ground = create something new, innovate

　　创造新的东西，革新

　　5.do or die = (used as an adjective) absolutely necessary

　　(常用作形容词)绝对必要的

　　6.dribs and dabs = little by little, not happening continuously

　　一点一点地，并非连续不断地发生

　　7.in your mind's eye = in your imagination

　　在你的想象中

　　8.by leaps and bounds = grow or improve very quickly

　　成长或改善得很快

　　9.lose yourself in something = become so involved that you don't notice anything else

　　太过投入到某事中，以至于没有注意到其他事。

　　10.make ends meet = earn enough money to live on

　　收支相抵

　　11.mind your p's and q's = be normal, not interfere with other people

　　正常的，不干涉别人

　　12.sink your teeth into something = concentrate on doing a project seriously for a long time

　　长时间集中精力完成某项任务

　　13.slap something together = create something without much care to detail

　　粗制滥造

　　14.spick-and-span = extremely clean

　　非常干净

　　15.up-and-coming = soon to be famous, young talent becoming successful

　　很快成名，成功的年轻有为的人。

　　习语和表达测试

　　1. I'm afraid I can't follow your suggestion. I prefer to paint __________.

　　2. Can you see that picture __________?

　　3. Our son is very good at the piano. In fact, he's improving __________.

　　4. Unfortunately, money is very tight at the moment. I don't have a steady job so the money is coming in __________.

　　5. I'd love to _________ my __________ a new project.

　　6. It's important that you house is _________ if you want to sell it.

　　7. Peter is an _________ musician. He'll soon be famous.

　　8. I think this work of art ________. It's completely different from anything before.

　　9. Please be quiet and __________. I don't want to be bothered.

　　10. Students attending the academy come from __________. You'll find people from all over the world with different backgrounds.

　　答案

　　1. according to my own lights

　　2. in your mind's eye

　　3. by leaps and bounds

　　4. dribs and dabs

　　5. sink my teeth into

　　6. spick-and-span

　　7. up-and-coming

　　8. breaks new ground

　　9. mind your p's and q's

　　10. all walks of life