《英语泛读I》十四周课后作业

A. order B. badly C. transferred D. fortunately E. waved F. honored G. moved H. casual I. servant J. differently K. Because L. numerous M. respectful N. So O. plenty

Last year I left a professional position as a small-town reporter and took a job waiting tables. As someone paid to serve food to people, I had customers say and do things to me I suspect they’d never say or do to their most _1___ acquaintances. One night a man talking on his cell phone __2__ me away, then beckoned (示意) me back with his finger a minute later, complaining he was ready to __3__ and asking where I’d been.

I had waited tables during summers in college and was treated like a peon (勤杂工) by __4__ of people. But at 19 years old, I believed that I deserved inferior treatment from professional adults. Once I graduated I took a job at a community newspaper. From my first day, I heard a __5___ tone from everyone who called me. I assumed this was the way the professional world worked—cordially.

I soon found out __6___. I sat several feet away from an advertising sales representative with a similar name. Our calls would often get mixed up and someone asking for Kristen would be ___7__ to Christie. The mistake was immediately evident. Perhaps it was because money was involved, but people used a tone with Kristen that they never used with me.

It is my job title that made people treat me with courtesy. __8__ it was a shock to return to the restaurant industry.

It’s no secret that there’s a lot to put up with when waiting tables, and __9___, much of it can be easily forgotten when you pocket the tips. The service industry, by definition, exists to cater to others’ needs. Still, it seemed that many of my customers didn’t get the difference between server and __10___.

I’m now applying to graduate school, which means someday I’ll return to a profession where people need to be nice to me in order to get what they want. I think I’ll take them to dinner first, and see how they treat someone whose only job is to serve them.

II Summarize the subject of this essay, the writer’s attitude to it, and how he has come to this conclusion. “I'm a little worried about my future，”said Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate．He should be so lucky．All he had to worry about was whether to have an affair with Mrs Robinson．In the sixties，that was the sum total of post-graduation anxiety syndrome．

Hoffman's modern counterparts are not so fortunate．The Mrs Robinsons aren't sitting around at home any more，seducing graduates．They are out in the workplace，doing the high-powered jobs the graduates want，but cannot get．For those fresh out of university, desperate for work but unable to get it，there is a big imbalance between supply and demand．And there is no narrowing of the gap in sight．

The latest unemployment figures show that 746,000 of 18-24 year-olds are unemployed— a record rate of 18 per cent．Many of those will have graduated this summer．They are not panicking yet，but as the job rejections mount up，they are beginning to feel alarmed．

Of course，it is easy to blame the Government and，in particular, the target that Labour has long trumpeted---50 per cent of school-leavers in higher education．That was not too smart．The Government has not only failed to meet its target—the actual figure is still closer to 40 per cent— but it has raised expectations to unrealistic levels．

Parents feel as badly let down as the young people themselves．Middle-class families see their graduate offspring on the dole(救济金)queue and wonder why they bothered paying school fees．Working-class families feel an even keener sense of disappointment．For many such families，getting a child into university was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream．It represented upward social and financial mobility．It was proof that they were living in a

dynamic，economically successful country．That dream does not seem so rosy now．

Graduate unemployment is not，ultimately, a political problem ready to be solved．Job-creation schemes for graduates are very low down in ministerial in-trays．If David Cameron's Conservatives had a brilliant idea for guaranteeing every graduate a well-paid job，they would have unveiled it by now．It is a social problem，though a more deep-seated social problem than people perhaps realize．