The career of Henrik Ibsen was directly influenced by his childhoo. In later years, the great
playwright remembered only a cruel, angry father, forced by business defeats to move the family
to an old farm outside Skien, Norway. Ibsen's mother, no longer welcomed in the homes of her
wealthy friends, started to suffer from depression. At sixteen, the young Ibsen left home, working
as an appretice(學徒)in Gerimstad.
Failure, for Ibsen, became a way of life. Catalina, his first literary attempt, was impossible to
sell. The privately printed book was eventually sold as packing paper to a grocer. Ibsen sought
admission to the university in Oslo but failed the entrance examinations. He tried a career as a
journalist, without success. As a stage manager, first in Bergen, then in Oslo, he did better, but
lost the latte
r job when the theater closed down. The experience was not altogether wasted. At
Bergen, Ibsen's agreement required him to provide one new play each year, and although none
of the five he produced was well received, the requirment forced him to learn the techniques of
his trade.
In 1864, Ibsen took his wife and baby son to Rome, Italy, where they spent five years living
in poor conditions. On the edge of starvation, he wrote Brand, dealing with the subject he knew
best: failure. Six months after he sent Brand to Danish publishers, his fortune had changed completely.
The play was brought out in March, 1866, becoming an immediate success. With Brand and Peer
Gynt, written in the same period, Ibsen won recognition at last. Awarded an annual fixed payment
and the title of national poet by Norway, he dropped his shabby clothes and became a well-dressed,
neatly barbered, distinguished writer.
1. Which of the following best describes Ibsen's childhood?
A. Lonely.
B. Peaceful.
C. Unhappy.
D. Surprising.
2. Ibsen benefited a lot from his experience as _______.
A. an apprentics
B. a university student
C. journalist
D. a stage manager
3. Ibsen's first successful work was written in ____.
A. Grimstad
B. Bergen
C. Oslo
D. Rome
4. What can learn from the passage?
A. One is never too old to learn.
B. Experience is the best teacher.
C. Failure is the mother of success.
D. Wisdom is better than gold or silver.
