同等學(xué)力英語閱讀及翻譯專項練習(xí) 3

My new home was a long way from the center of London but it was becoming essential to find a job, so finally I spent a whole morning getting to town and putting my name down to be considered by London Transport for a job on the tube. They were looking for guards, not drivers. This suited me. I couldn't drive a car but thought that I could probably guard a train, and perhaps continue to write my poems between stations. The writers Keats and Chekhov had been doctors. T.S. Eliot had worked in a band and Wallace Stevens for an insurance company. I would be a tube guard. I could see myself being cheerful, useful, a good man in a crisis. Obviously I would be overqualified but I was willing to forget about that in return for a steady income and travel privileges—those being particularly welcome to someone living a long way from the city center.

The next day I sat down, with almost a hundred other candidates, for the intelligence test. I must have done all right because after half an hour's wait I was sent into another room for a psychological test. This time there were only about fifty candidates. The examiner sat at a desk. You were signaled forward to occupy the seat opposite him when the previous occupant had been dismissed after a greater or shorter time. Obviously the long interviews were the more successful ones. Some of the interviews were as short as five minutes. Mine was the only one that lasted a minute and a half.

I can remember the questions now: “ Why did you leave your last job?” “Why did you leave your job before that?” “And the one before that?” I can't recall my answers except that they were short at first and grew progressively shorter. His closing statement, I thought, revealed a lack of sensitivity which helped to explain why as a psychologist, he had risen no higher than the underground railway. “You have failed the psychological test and we are unable to offer you a position.”

Failing to get that job was my low point. Or so I thought, believing that the work was easy. Actually, such jobs—being a postman is another one I still desire—demand exactly the sort of elementary yet responsible awareness that the habitual dreamer is least qualified to give. But I was still far short of full self-understanding. I was also short of cash.

1. The writer applied for the job because ______.

A. he could no longer afford to live without one

B. he wanted to work in the center of London

C. he had received suitable training

D. he was not interested in any other available job

2. The writer thought he was overqualified for the job because ______.

A. he had written many poems B. he often traveled underground

C. he had worked in an insurance company D. he could deal with difficult situations

3. The length of his interview meant that ______.

A. he had not done well in the intelligence test

B. he was not going to be offered the job

C. he had little work experience to talk about.

D. he did not like the examiner.

4. What was the writer's opinion of the psychologist?

A. He was inefficient at his job. B. He was unsympathetic.

C. He was unhappy with his job. D. He was very aggressive.

5. What does the writer realize now that he did not realize then?

A. How difficult it can be to get a job. B. How unpleasant ordinary jobs can be.

C. How badly he did in the interview. D. How unsuitable he was for the job.

我的新家遠(yuǎn)離倫敦市中心，但是，找一份工作正逐漸成為至關(guān)重要的事情，所以，我最終花了一整個上午的時間進(jìn)城，在倫敦運(yùn)輸部門登記了姓名，以便讓他們考慮為我提供一份地鐵部門的工作。地鐵部門正在招聘警衛(wèi)，不是司機(jī)。這種工作適合我。我不會開車，但是我認(rèn)為，我大概能夠看守火車，也許能夠在各車站繼續(xù)寫詩歌。作家凱茨和查克霍伍曾經(jīng)是醫(yī)生。 T · S ·埃利奧特曾經(jīng)在銀行工作過，華萊士·史迪芬斯曾經(jīng)在保險公司工作過。我將成為一名地鐵警衛(wèi)。我可以想象自己成了危機(jī)時刻的一名愉快、有用、令人滿意的人。很顯然，我的資歷遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過要求，但是我寧愿忘記這一點：作為回報，這份工作會給我?guī)�來穩(wěn)定的收入和旅行優(yōu)惠——這些優(yōu)惠尤其受到那些生活于遠(yuǎn)離市中心地區(qū)的人們的歡迎。

第二天，我和其他近百名求職者坐在一起，進(jìn)行智力測試。我肯定我考得不錯，因為經(jīng)過半小時的等待后，我被帶進(jìn)另一間房子進(jìn)行心理測試。這一次只有大約五十名候選者。主考官坐在一張辦公桌旁。當(dāng)前一名候選者經(jīng)過或長或短時間的測試被打發(fā)走后，主考官便示意要你上前，坐在他對面的座位上。很明顯，時間長的面試就是更成功的面試。有些人的面試時間只有五分鐘。我是唯一一個面試時間只有一分半鐘的人。

我現(xiàn)在還記得當(dāng)時的問題：“你為什么辭掉最后一份工作？”“你為什么辭掉之前的那份工作？”“你為什么辭掉這之前的那份工作？”我記不得我都答了些什么，只記得我的回答起初簡短，后來越來越簡短。我認(rèn)為，主考官的結(jié)束語表明他缺少敏感性，而這有助于說明：作為一名心理學(xué)家，他的職位為什么沒有地鐵升得高。“你沒有通過心理測試，我們不能給你安排工作。”

我的分?jǐn)?shù)低導(dǎo)致我沒有得到那份工作。或許我認(rèn)為，那份工作不容易做。實際上，這樣的工作——我的另一個愿望就是成為一名郵差——所要求的正是這種基本但是可靠的意識：通常的夢想家最沒有資格獲得這樣的工作。但是，我還是很缺乏完全了解自我的意識。我也缺少錢。

參考答案 ： 1 ． A 2 ． D 3 ． B 4 ． B 5 ． D