阅读材料，回答题。 Washington Irving was America’s first man of letters to beknown internationally. His works were received enthusiastically both in Englandand in the United States. He was, in fact; one of the most successful writersof his time in the country, and at the same time winning the admiration offellow writers like Scott in Britain and Poe and Hawthorne in the UnitedStates. The respect in which he was held partly owing to the man himself, withhis warm friendliness, his good sense, his urbanity, his gay spirits, hisartistic integrity, his love of both the Old World and the New. Thackeray describedIrving as "a gentleman, who, though himself born in no very high sphere, wasmost finished, polished, witty; socially the equal of the most refinedEuropeans. " In England be was granted an honorary degree from Oxford anunusual honor for a citizen of a young, uncultured nation and he received themedal of the Royal Society of Literature. America made him ambassador to Spain. Irving’s background provides little to explain his literaryachievements. A gifted but delicate child, he had little schooling. He studiedlaw, but without zeal, and never did practice seriously. He was immune to hisslrict Presbyterian home environment, frequenting both social gatherings and thetheater. The main point of the first paragraph is that WashingtonIrving was________ 查看材料