发布时间 : 星期三 文章Unit3更新完毕开始阅读b1abe1d2a300a6c30d229f97
Unit Three My First Job
进入大学之前，尽力去攒一些钱。作者申请了一个教书职业。但是面试变得越来越糟。我的第一份工作, 在我等着进大学期间，我在一份地方报纸上看到一张广告，说是在伦敦某郊区有所学样要招聘一名教师. 离我住处大约十英里, 我因为手头很拮据，同时也想干点有用的事，于是便提出了申请，在提出申请的同时我也担心，自己一无学位，二无教学经验，得到这份工作的可能性是微乎其微的。
然而，三天之后，却来了一封信，叫我到克罗伊顿去面试。这上路去那儿原来还真麻烦：先乘火车到克罗伊顿车站，再乘十分钟公共汽车，然后还要步行至少四分之一英里。结果，我在六月一个炎热的上午到了那儿，因为心情非常沮丧，竟不感到紧张了。
学校是一座装着大窗户了红砖房子。前庭园是个铺着砾的正方形：四个角上各有一丛冬青灌木，它们经受着从繁忙的大街一吹来的尘烟，挣扎着活下去。 开门的显然是校长本人。他又矮又胖，留着沙色的小胡子，前额上布满皱纹，头发差不多已经秃光。
他带着一种吃惊的、不以为然的神态看着我，就像一位上校看着一名没系好靴带的二等兵一样。“哦，”他咕哝着说。“你最好到里面来。”那狭窄的，不见阳光的走廊里散发出一股腐烂的卷心菜味，闻上去很不舒服；墙上墨迹斑斑，显得很脏，周围一片静寂。他的书房，从地毯上的面包屑来判断，也是他的餐室。“你最好坐下，”他说，接着便问了我许多问题：为了得到普通学校证书我学过哪些课程；我多大岁数了；我会玩些什么游戏；问到这里他突然用他那双充满血丝的眼睛盯住我，问我是否认为游戏是儿童教育的一个极为重要的组成部分。我含含糊糊地说了些不必太重视游戏之类的话。他咕哝了几句。我说了错话。我和校长显然没有多少共同语言。
他说，学校只有一个班，二十四名男生，年龄从七岁到十三风不等，除了美术课他亲自教以外，其余所有的课程都得由我来教。星期三和星期六的下午要到一英里以外的公园去踢足球、打板球。
整个教学计划把我吓坏了。我得把全班学生分成三个组，按三种不同的程度轮流给他们上课；想到要教代数和几何这两门我在读书时学得极差的科目，我感到很害怕。更糟糕的也许是星期六下午打板球的安排，因为这时候我的朋友大都会在悠闲地自得其乐。
我羞羞答答地问，“我的薪水是多少？”“每周十二镑外加中饭。”还没等我来得及提出异议，他已经站了起来。“好了，”他说，“你最好见见我的妻子。她才是这所学校真正的主管人。”
我再也无法忍受了。我当时很年轻，想到将在一个女人手下干活，就觉得是最大的侮辱。
一. Key Words
1. apply : vi.
a) ask officially for, esp by writing
E.g. Last year he applied to return to his own village. He applied to the boss for promotion. b)
2. interview : n. & v.
a) meeting between the employer and applican6s for the post
E.g. Interview is the time not only for the employer to select future employees, but also for the applicants to know more about the post.
b) meeting with sb. for discussion, conference, etc.
E.g. It is my greatest honor to be granted an interview by Your Majesty. c) have or obtain an interview with
E.g. Who do you think is the most promising of all the applicants you have just interviewed?
3. depress : v. a) make sad
E.g. She was so depressed by the rain that she had to drink a lot of coffee. b) press, push or pull down
E.g. If you depress the button there, a robot will come out to serve tea. c) make lower
E.g. Drugstores are forced to close down because they cannot afford to depress prices as supermarkets constantly do.
4. disapproval : n.
a) unfavorable opinion or feeling, dislike
E.g. The audience express disapproval of the actors by booing. b)
5. undo : vt.
a) untie, unfasten
E.g. He undid his tie as soon as he walked out of the office building. b) cancel, bring back the state of affairs that existed before
E.g. The new President undid many rules set up by the former President.
6. attach : vt.
a) (to) fasten or join (sth) to sth.
E.g. They attached a photo to application papers. b) give (importance) to
E.g. The factory attaches great importance to quality control.
7. range
a) (vt.) vary between certain limits
E.g. The dressed range in price from 20 to 90 dollars. b) (n.) limits between which sth. varies E.g. He has a wide range of interests.
8 dismay
a) (vt.) fill (sb.) with fear and hopelessness
E.g. We were dismayed by the violence of his reaction. b) (n.) state of being dismayed
E.g. To our dismay, our new car was missing.
9. competent: a.
a) completely skillful, good at doing sth.
E.g. I don't think he is competent to drive such a long bus. We found he was competent for the post.
Although he has had a long training, he is still not very competent at it. b)
10. protest
a) (v.) (against, about) express a strong objection
E.g. All the local farmers protested against the new airport being built on rich farmland. b) (n.)
E.g. People made a protest about the rise in price.
11. prospect : n. a) view, scene
E.g. The prospect from the mountain was grand.
b) sth. that one expect or consider is going to happen, mental view E.g. He was excited by the prospect of owning his own house. c) possibility that sth. will success E.g. I see no prospect of his success.
d) (pl.) chances of success in the future
E.g. At the end of the interview, the applicant asked about promotion prospects and other examinations he could take to go ahead and so on..
12. indignity: n.
a) injury to one's dignity, insult
E.g. The man felt it an indignity to work under a young woman. b)
二. Useful Phrases
1. be short of : have not enough, be in want of
E.g. It was obvious that this young man was rather short of teaching experience.
2. as a result : therefore
E.g. The girl did not work hard enough and she failed the exam as a result.
3. smell of : give out the smell or scent of E.g. The garden smells of roses.
4. attach importance to : consider important, treat as important
E.g. Our teacher attached great importance to listening comprehension.
5. have in common : share together or equally
E.g. Though they are twins, they have few interests in common.
6. consist of / in
a) (of) be made up (of)
E.g. This apartment consists of three bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom and a kitchen. b) (in) have as the chief element
E.g. Happiness consists in being contented with what one has.
7. in turn : one after another
E.g. Each man stood up in tun and spoke .
三. Warm-up Questions and Introductory Remarks
1. Warm-up Questions
(1) Have you had the experience of being interviewed? (2) What is an interview?
(3) For what purpose is an interview needed?
2. Introductory Remarks
---Everyone wants to find a good job. What's the procedure for job hunting then? This text tells a true story of a young man, the first job he applied for, and the first job interview he experienced.