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 as being cheerful, useful, a good man in a crisis. Therefore, obviously I’d be more than qualified for it. 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 longer or shorter time. It was obvious that 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 (揭示) a lack of sensitivity which might 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. I thought 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 a poet is least qualified to have. But I was still far short of full self-understanding and I was also short of cash.
1. The writer applied for the job chiefly because _________.
A．he wanted to work in the centre of London
B．he could no longer afford to live without a job
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 could deal with difficult situations D．he had worked in a company once
3．The length of his interview meant that _________.
A．he was not going to be offered the job
B．he had not done well in the intelligence test
C．he did not like the interviewer at all
D．he had little work experience to talk about
4．What’s the writer’s opinion of the psychologist according to the underlined sentence?
A. He was very unsympathetic.. B. He was unhappy with his job.
C. He was quite inefficient. D. He was rather aggressive
5．What did the writer realize after the interview according to the last paragraph?
A．How unpleasant ordinary jobs could be. B．How difficult it was to be a poet.
C．How unsuitable he was for the job. D．How badly he did in the interview.
PART THREE: READING COMPREHENSION
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
A
“San Francisco, open your Golden Gate, ”sang the girl in the theatre. She never finished her song. The date was 18th, 1906.
The earth shook and the roof suddenly divided, buildings crashed to the ground and people rushed out into the streets. The dreadful earthquake destroyed the city that had grown up when men discovered gold in the deserts of California. But today the streets of San-Francisco stretch over more than 40 steep hills, rising like huge cliffs above the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The best way to see this splendid city, where Spanish were the first to make their homes, is to take one of the old cable cars which run along the nine main avenues. Fares are cheap; they have not risen for almost a hundred years.
You leave the palm trees in Union Square------the heart of San-Francisco and from the shop signs and the faces around you, you will notice that in the city live people from many nations—Austrians, Italians, Chinese, and others, giving every part of the city a special character. More Chinese live in China Town than in any other part of the world outside China. Here, with Chinese restaurants, Chinese post-boxes, and even odd telephone-boxes that look like pagoda(宝塔), it is easy to feel you are in China itself.
Fisherman’s Wharf, a place all foreigners want to see, is the end of the ride. You get out, and then set out to find a table in one of gay little restaurants beside the harbor. As you enjoy the fresh Pacific sea food, you can admire the bright red paint of the Golden Gate Bridge in the harbor and watch the traffic crossing beneath the tall towers on its way to the pretty village of Tiberon. When you finish your meal, you may decide to take a boat-trip around the bay to look at the sights. You can stare at the famous , now empty, prison of Alcatraz. Then why not go to the fishing village of Sansalito—a little like London’s Chelsea or New York’s Greenwich Village—to see people painting and to look at their pictures. You will be able to enjoy a view of the city from the sea and take pleasure in the soft red and blue Spanish-type houses shining in the bright Pacific light. If you have time you might like to go by bus to Carmel, a hundred miles south of San-Francisco, where you will discover a wild and wonderful coast with high cliffs.
1. The first two paragraphs tell the readers that________.
A. everybody will be attracted by the beauty of San-Francisco.
B. this fantastic modern travel city was built by many hard-working people.
C. San-Francisco has experienced so much before it became a modern international city.
D. There are so many entertainments in attractive San-Francisco
2. How many means of transportation are suggested in the passage?
A. One B. Two C. Three D. Four
3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The origin city of San-Francisco is created by Spanish people.
B. More Chinese live in San-Francisco than in any other part of the world outside China.
C. Alcatraz used to be a prison but now is deserted.
D. San-Francisco lies near the blue waters of the Pacific.
4.Which is the right order of the travel route given in the passage?
A. Union Square—Fisherman’s Wharf—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon—prison of Alcatraz—Sanalito.
B. Union Square—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon--prison of Alcatraz—Sanalito--Fisherman’s Wharf.
C. Union Square—Fisherman’s Wharf—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon--Chelsea—Greenwich Village.
D.Union Square—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon—Chelsea—Greenwich Village—Fisherman’s Wharf.
5.Which of the following can be the best title?
A. San-Francisco—a prosperous city after the earthquake.
B. San-Francisco—a charming travel city of America.
C. San-Francisco—a city to open her Golden Gate.
D. San-Francisco—a harbor stretching over steep hills.
Section C
Directions: Complete the following passage by using ONE word that best fits the context.
There was a tradition in Europe that if a dove（鸽）flew around a house where someone was dying, then his soul would be at peace. And there are legends which say that Satan (撒旦) _48__ turn himself into any bird except for a dove. But it was Pablo Picasso who made the dove a modern symbol of peace when 49 used it on a poster for the World Peace Congress in 1949.
The rainbow is another ancient and universal symbol, often representing the connection between human beings and their gods. In Greek mythology it was associated with Iris, the goddess 50 brought messages from the gods on Mount Olympus. In Scandinavian mythology(神话) the rainbow was a bridge 51 the gods and the earth. In 52 Bible a rainbow showed Noah that the Biblical flood was finally over, and that God had forgiven his people. In the Chinese tradition, the rainbow is often taken 53 a common symbol for marriage.
Nowadays the rainbow is 54 used by many popular movements for peace and the environment, representing the possibility of a better world in the future 55 __promising sunshine after the rain.
Section B
Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are 4 words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with a word or phrase that best fits the context.
About 200 students were having a final exam in a huge lecture hall. Obviously the teacher wasn’t very well liked, who kept shouting out how much time was left. During the exam he was so 36 going around the room making sure that nobody cheated . He asked the students to pile the completed tests on the huge desk. This made for quite a mess (混乱).
Anyway, everyone needed a fairly good 37 . Many students did poorly when rushed. One of the students thought that he must get a good grade, so he went on when the professor said “ 38 down and hand in your exam sheets”.
Five minutes turned into ten, ten into twenty, twenty into forty…almost an hour 39 the test was over, our friend finally put down his pencil, gather up his work, and headed to the front to present his final. The whole time, the professor sat there, strangely waiting for the student to complete.
“What do you think you are doing?” It was clear that the professor had 40 only to give the student a 41 time.
“Turning in my exam,” replied the student confidently.
“I’m afraid I have some bad 42 for you,”the professor gloated(幸灾乐祸),“Your exam is an hour late. You’ve FAILED it. And I’ll see you next term when you 43 my course.”
The student smiled slyly(狡诈地) and asked the professor,“Do you know who I am?” “No,”cried out the professor 44 .
The student 45 the professor right in the eyes and said slowly, “I didn’t think so,” so he lifted up one of the 46 half way, put his test neatly into the center of the pile, let the pile fall 47 his test in the middle, turned around, and walked out of the huge lecture hall.
36．A．kind B．busy C．strict D．serious
37．A．teacher B．friend C．grade D．paper
38．A．pencils B．papers C．hands D．books
39．A．if B．though C．before D．after
40．A．promised B．managed C．waited D．worked
41．A．easy B．hard C．long D．good
42．A．information B．result C．advice D．news
43．A．accept B．repeat C．learn D．begin
44．A．cruelly B．warmly C．angrily D．firmly
45．A．searched B．hit C．blamed D．looked
46．A．hands B．eyes C．desks D．piles
47．A．changing B．burying C．improving D．sticking
. —--When Lily fainted, we could have turned to your father for help.
—--Yes, sending her to hospital _________ necessary.
A. hadn’t been B. wasn’t C. wouldn’t be D. weren’t
Twenty-six journalists from 19 media organizations of different countries and regions are the first ones_______ the unrest of “the Red-shirts” in Tailand capital.
A. covered B. covers C. to cover D. covering
