Unit Four  

      Text

                  Trying to make some money  before  entering uni-
                     versity,  the author applies for a teaching job.  But the 
                     interview goes from bad to worse. . .

                              MY  FIRST  JOB

                                                                Robert Best

         While  I  was  waiting  to enter university,  I  saw  advertised  in a local 
     newspaper  a teaching post at  a school in  a  suburb  of   London about ten 
     miles from where I lived.Being very short of money and wanting to do some-
     thing  useful,  I  applied,  fearing  as  I did  so,  that  without  a  degree   and 
5   with  no experience  in  teaching  my  chances of  getting  the  job  were slim. 
            However, three  days  later a letter  arrived, asking me  to  go  to  Croy-
     don for  an interview.  It proved  an awkward  journey:  a train  to  Croydon 
     station;  a  ten-minute  bus ride   and  then  a  walk of  at  least a quarter of a
     mile. As  a  result  I arrived on a  hot  June  morning   too depressed  to  feel
10 nervous. 
          The  school  was a  red  brick  house with big windows. The front garden 
    was a gravel square;four evergreen  shrubs stood at each corner,  where  they 
    struggled to survive the dust and fumes from a busy main road.
          It  was  clearly  the  headmaster  himself  that  opened  the  door:  He was 
15 short and fat: He had a sandy-coloured moustache, a wrinkled  forehead  and 
     hardly any hair.
         He  looked  at  me  with  an  air  of  surprised  disapproval,  as  a  colonel 
    might look at a private  whose  bootlaces  were undone.` Ah yes, '  he   grunt-
    ed.` You'd  better  come  inside.'  The  narrow,  sunless hall smelled  unpleas-
20antly  of  stale  cabbage;   the  walls  were  dirty  with   ink  marks;  it  was  all 
    silent. His  study,  judging  by  the  crumbs on the  carpet,was also his dining-
    room. `You'd better sit down, ' he said, and proceeded to ask  me  a  number 
    of  questions:  what  subjects  I  had  taken in  my General  School Certificate; 
    how  old  I  was; what  games  I  played;  then  fixing me  suddenly   with  his 
25 bloodshot eyes, he  asked me whether I  thought games were a  vital  part  of 
    a  boy's  education.  I  mumbled  something  about  not  attaching  too  much 
    importance  to  them. He  grunted.  I had said the wrong thing.The headmaster 
    and I obviously had very little in common.
          The  school,  he  said,  consisted  of  one class of twenty-four boys, rang-
30 ing  in  age   from  seven to  thirteen. I  should   have   to  teach   all   subjects 
    except art,  which  he  taught  hirnself.  Football  and  cricket  were  played  in 
    the  Park,  a  mile  away  on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.
          The teaching set-up filled  me with fear. I should have to divide the 
    class  into  three  groups   and  teach  them  in  turn  at  three  different   levels; 
35 and I was dismayed at  the thought  of  teaching  algebra  and  geometry - two 
    subjects at  which I  had been completely incompetent  at school.  Worse per-
    haps  was  the  idea of  Saturday  afternoon cricket;most of my f riends would 
    be enjoying leisure at that time.
          I said shyly, ` What would my salary be? '` Twelve  pounds  a  week   plus 
40 lunch.  'Before  I  could   protest,  he  got to  his  feet.` Now',  he  said,` you'd 
    better meet my wife. She's the one who really runs this school. '
         This   was   the   last   straw.  I  was  very young: the prospect  of  working 
    under a woman constituted the ultimate indignity.

                                New Words

    apply / vi.                                   write to ask for (a job, membership, etc.),
                                                         esp. officially 申请
     application n. 
    interview / n.                               面试；接见；会见
  advertise / vt.                              make known to people by printing a notice 
                                                     in a newspaper,etc.or by broadcasting on 
                                                          television, etc. 为...做广告
     advertisement n. 
    local /                                        of,special to, a place or district 当地的；
                                    地方性的
  post n.                                        job or position 职位
  suburb / n.                                 outer area of a town or city, where people 
                                                          live 郊区
  slim / a.                                      small, slight; slender 微小的；苗条的
  depress /  vt.                               make sad 使沮丧
     depression n.
  brick / n.                                      砖
  gravel / n.                                   砾石
  evergreen / a.                              with green leaves throughout the year 常绿的
  shrub /  n.                                   low bush with several woody stems 灌木	

  fume / n.                                     strong-smelling smoke, gas or vapour 浓烈难闻
                                     的烟、气、汽
  headmaster n.                            （中、小学的）校长
  sandy-coloured/ a.                      yellowish-red 沙色的，黄中带红的
  moustache / n.                            hair growing on the upper lip 小胡子
  disapproval / n.                           unfavorable opinion or feeling; dislike 
                                                         不赞成；不满
  colonel / n.                                 上校
  private / n.                                   soldier of the lowest rank 列兵；士兵
  bootlace /  n.                               shoelace for a high shoe or boot 靴带
  undo vt.                                       untie,unfasten 解开；松开
  ah la:linterj:                                   (a cry of surprise, pity,pain,joy,dislike， 		
                                      etc.) 啊
  grunt /  vt.                                    咕哝着说出
  unpleasantly ad.                           令人不愉快地
  stale / a.                                       not fresh 不新鲜的
  cabbage / n.                                 卷心菜
  cnunb / n.                                    very small, broken piece of bread or cake 
                                                           面包屑；糕饼屑	
  carpet / n.                                    heavy woven material for covering floors 
                                                            or stairs 地毯	
  certificate /  n.                              证（明）书
  bloodshot / a.                             （眼睛）充雪的
  vital / a.                                        very necessary; of the greatest importance 	
                                                             必不可少的，极其重要的 
  mumble / vt.                                 speak ( words) unclearly 含糊地说
  attach /  vt.                                   give (to) ; fasten (to) 把...给予；系，贴
  importance n.		                       the quality of being important
   obviously / ad.                              it can be easily seen; plainly 明显地，显然
    obvious a. 
   consist (of) /  vi.                            be made up ( of ) 组成，构成
  range / vi.	                               vary between certain limits (在一定范围内)变动 	
  cricket / n.                                    板球
  set-up n.                                       arrangement
   dismay / vt.                                    make discouraged or afraid 使灰心；使害怕
  algebra /                                        代数学
  geometry / n.                                 几何学
  incompetent /a.                              completely unskillful; not good enough at 
                                                             doing a job, etc.无能力的；不胜任的
    competent a.                              opposite of incompetent
   leisure / n.                                      free time; time which one can spend as one
                                                             likes 闲暇；悠闲
  salary / n.                                      fixed (usually monthly) pay for regular 
                                                             work 薪水
  plns /  pre.                                     with the addition of 加（上）
  protest / vi.                                    express a strong objection 抗议；反对
  straw / n.                                       稻草；麦杆
  prospect /n.                                   sth. expected or considered probable;
                                                             possibility 期望中的事；展望；前景
  constitute / vt.                                form; make up; be  组成，构成
  ultimate / a.                                    greatest; utmost; last or final 最大的；
                                      终极的；最终的
  indignity / n.                                   injury to one's dignity; insult 侮辱

                             Phrases & Expressions

   be short of                         not having enough of 缺少
  smell of                              have, give out the smell of 有…的气味
  judging by                          forming an opinion based on
   attach importance to           consider important 重视
  in common                        shared with someone else 共有的 , 共同的
  consist of                          be made up of
   in turn                                one after another 轮流

                             Proper Names

  London /                            伦敦（英国首都）
 Croydon /                          克洛伊登（英国地名）