My new home was a long way from the centre 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 bank 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 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 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 centre 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.

　　答案解析：

　　1． A。第一段中提到作者不得不找工作，否则他无法继续生活下去，即使是地铁乘警的工作，他都很愿意接受。故答案为A。

　　2． D。从第一段的“I could see myself being cheerful, useful, a good man in a crisis.”可知，他认为自己在危机出现时会表现得很厉害的，因此自认为他的资历足以应付这份工作，故答案为B。

　　3． B。通过第二段中的“Obviously the long interviews were the more successful ones.”可知，时间越长代表成功可能性越大，因此我们可以推断出面试时间很短表示招聘方对作者不感兴趣，即别人不会给他提供工作。故答案为B。

　　4． B。第三段中作者提到a lack of sensitivity，表示那位心理学家没有什么同情心及敏感性。故答案为B。

　　5． D。第四段倒数第二句“But I was still far short of full self-understanding.”表明作者对于自己的了解不够。对于什么样的工作适合自己不是很清楚。故答案为D。

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