One day, I was at a wood carver's(雕刻家的) shop, and Fred Cogelow was his name. If you search for his name on 1 , you can see a collection of his wonderful art works.
I really liked the works, but the price made it 2 for me to afford one. Out of curiosity(好奇), I asked, "How long do you need to carve one of these?" After all, Fred wasn't an old 3 and there were so many works in his shop. I thought that he could make one 4 a day at least with a machine.
"Twenty-six years," he answered. It was hard to know whether he was joking. I smiled but he looked honest and 5 . Then he explained, "People keep asking me how long it 6 to carve one work. When I tell them this, they think how much more expensive my works are than the ones made with a machine. They don't think about the wasted material(材料) I 7 when I was learning to carve, or the mistakes I made 8 I finally became a good carver, so I tell them twenty-six years. That's from the moment when I first picked up a carving tool to now, and every 9 I've taken since then has gone into my works."
I greatly admire(敬佩) him. He never gave up in his life. 10 hard work he did and what a strong will he had when facing all of the difficulties!
