Question

My newly-rented small apartment was far away from the centre of London and it was becoming essential for me 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 underground. 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 bank and Wallace Stevens for an insurance company. I’d be a subway guard. I could see myself being cheerful, useful, a good man in a crisis. Obviously I’d 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 centre.

The next day I sat down, with almost a hundred other candidates, for the intelligence test. I must have done all right because after about half an hour’s wait I was sent into another room for a psychological test. This time there were only about fifty candidates. The interviewer sat at a desk. Candidates 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’ve 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 chiefly because _________.

A．he could no longer afford to live without one

B．he wanted to work in the centre of London

C．he was not interested in any other available job

D．he had received some suitable training

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

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

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

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

A．How unpleasant ordinary jobs can be

B．How unsuitable he was for the job.

C．How difficult it is to be a poet

D．How badly he did in the interview.

4.The length of his interview meant that _________.

A．he did not like the interviewer at all

B．he had not done well in the intelligence test

C．he was not going to be offered the job

D．he had little work experience to talk about

5.What’s the writer’s opinion of the psychologist?

A. He was rather unsympathetic.           B. He was unhappy with his job.

C. He was quite inefficient.               D. He was very aggressive（有進取心的）.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.C

5.A

【解析】

試題分析：文章大意：文章講述了一個經(jīng)常寫詩的人去應聘倫敦地鐵保安，結果在第二輪被淘汰的故事。對于這個人的內(nèi)心世界進行了深刻的剖析，和形象地描寫。

1.推理題。根據(jù)第一段最后2行Obviously I’d 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 centre.說明我需要一份穩(wěn)定的收入，故我來找這份工作是因為我要養(yǎng)活自己。如果沒有工作就沒辦法養(yǎng)活自己，故A正確。

2.推理題。根據(jù)第一段4,5行I couldn’t drive a car but thought that I could probably guard a train, and perhaps continue to write my poems between stations.說明我一直在寫詩。在接下來的6.7行中例舉了Keats and Chekhov的例子來說明自己是詩人，但是也要有一份工作。同時也說明他認為自己做這份工作是綽綽有余的。故D正確。

3.推理題。根據(jù)文章最后一段, 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.說明他意識到自己還缺乏責任意識，缺乏自我理解。自己是不適合這個工作的，故B正確。

4.推理題。根據(jù)文章第二段最后2行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.說明我的面試時間很短。結合第三段內(nèi)容可知我沒有被錄取，故C正確。

5.推理題。根據(jù)文章第三段后三行His closing statement, I thought, revealed（顯示） a lack of sensitivity which helped to explain why as a psychologist, he had risen no higher than the underground railway. “You’ve failed the psychological test and we are unable to offer you a position.”說明作者認為這個人很無情，打碎了我的夢想。故A正確。

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