Carolyn： （looking through the classifieds） This one…no…That one…no…

Edward： Hi， Carolyn. What are you up to？

Carolyn： Oh， hi， Edward. Im going through this list of job postings.

Edward： You dont sound so optimistic about them.

Carolyn： ①Finding a decent job in this market is worse than finding a needle in a haystack—its like finding a needle in the ocean！

Edward： Oh， dont be so down in the dumps. Surely its not as difficult as that.

Carolyn： What makes you so sure？ Have you found a job yet？

Edward： As a matter of fact， I have.

Carolyn： Really？ Where？ What kind？

Edward： Its a reception job in that new five-star hotel downtown.

Carolyn： A service job？ Really？ You took a service job after graduation？ ②I didnt think you would have to stoop to that level.

Edward： Why not？ Its a five-star hotel， not some back-alley flophouse.

Carolyn： But its still a service job. Were college grads， Ed. Dont you think the service sector is beneath us？

Edward： Not in the slightest. In fact， I bet you couldnt hack it in a service job to save your life.

Carolyn： What are you talking about？ I got the third highest marks in our class. I can take whatever a service job throws at me.

Edward： Thats where youre wrong. Learning facts and passing tests is completely different from working with people. Carolyn： How so？

Edward： Facts dont have egos. Facts dont get angry. Facts dont call your boss and threaten to get you fired. They just sit there on the page， waiting for you to learn them.

Carolyn： That sounds good to me. Why would you want to spend your time messing with pesky customers？

Edward： Because every job， everywhere， requires that you work with people. ③If you can keep your head above water in a service job， then managing office politics later in your career will be a breeze.

Carolyn： Well， whatever. You can spend your twenties carrying other peoples luggage if you want to. Im keeping my sights high and looking for a management job.

Edward： Any luck with that？

Carolyn： Well， there are a few listings here， but they all require a few years working experience.

Edward： Exactly. And where do you hope to get that experience？

Carolyn： Well， I may have to lower my sights a bit. I guess I could accept an entry-level position.

Edward： As long as the position is in a well-known company， right？ Maybe a high-class， international brand？

Carolyn： Of course！ And if possible， I would like to be able to interact with clients directly. That way， when I apply for a management position， they will know I can please the clients.

Edward： That sounds like a good idea. ④Youll need to show that you can follow all the guidelines， get along with everyone， solve difficult problems， think on your feet， and represent the company well.

Carolyn： Thats exactly right！

Edward： In that case， I have exactly the job for you. Carolyn： What is it？

Edward： How about a reception job at that new five-star hotel downtown？

卡洛琳：（正在看分類(lèi)廣告）這個(gè)……不行……那個(gè)……也不行……

愛(ài)德華：嗨，卡洛琳。你在干嘛呢？

卡洛琳：噢，嗨，愛(ài)德華。我在看這些招聘廣告呢。

愛(ài)德華：聽(tīng)起來(lái)你的情況不太樂(lè)觀(guān)。

卡洛琳：在如今這個(gè)就業(yè)市場(chǎng)，找到一份體面的工作比大海撈針還難。

愛(ài)德華：噢，別那么沮喪?？隙](méi)有那么難的。

卡洛琳：你為什么這么肯定？你找到工作了嗎？

愛(ài)德華：事實(shí)上，我找到了。

卡洛琳：真的嗎？在哪兒？什么樣的工作？

愛(ài)德華：這是一份在市區(qū)新開(kāi)的一家五星級(jí)賓館做前臺(tái)的工作。

卡洛琳：一份服務(wù)工作？真的嗎？你畢業(yè)后干一份服務(wù)工作？我沒(méi)有想到你會(huì)墮落到那個(gè)地步。

愛(ài)德華：為什么不行呢？這是一家五星級(jí)的賓館，不是什么廉價(jià)低級(jí)的旅館。

卡洛琳：但這還是一份服務(wù)性的工作。我們是大學(xué)畢業(yè)生，愛(ài)德華。你不覺(jué)得服務(wù)業(yè)對(duì)我們來(lái)說(shuō)檔次太低了嗎？

愛(ài)德華：一點(diǎn)也不覺(jué)得。事實(shí)上，我猜你不能勝任服務(wù)業(yè)的工作，而且難以維持生計(jì)。

卡洛琳：你在說(shuō)什么？我在我們班是考第三名的。我可以應(yīng)付任何服務(wù)工作。

愛(ài)德華：這就是你的誤解了。知識(shí)和通過(guò)考試與和他人一起工作是完全不同的。

卡洛琳：為什么？

愛(ài)德華：知識(shí)不會(huì)有自尊，知識(shí)不會(huì)生氣。知識(shí)不會(huì)給你老板打小報(bào)告而讓你有被炒的威脅。知識(shí)只是在書(shū)本里，等著你去學(xué)習(xí)它們。

卡洛琳：這聽(tīng)起來(lái)很適合我。你為什么愿意花時(shí)間去跟討厭的客人糾纏？

愛(ài)德華：因?yàn)槊總€(gè)地方的每份工作都需要你和他人一起共事。如果你能應(yīng)付服務(wù)性的工作，那么在你（日后的）職業(yè)生涯中管理公司就是小菜一碟了。

卡洛琳：好吧，隨便吧。如果你愿意，你可以用20幾歲的美好年華來(lái)給別人拿行李。我要把眼光放高，尋找一份管理工作。

愛(ài)德華：那你找到了嗎？

卡洛琳：好吧，這里有一些職位，但是它們都要求有幾年的工作經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

愛(ài)德華：對(duì)啊。你到哪里去取得這些經(jīng)驗(yàn)?zāi)兀?/p>

卡洛琳：好吧，我也許要降低我的眼光一點(diǎn)。我想我可以接受一個(gè)初級(jí)職位。

愛(ài)德華：只要這個(gè)職位是出自一家出名的公司，對(duì)吧？也許得是一間高端的國(guó)際化公司對(duì)吧？

卡洛琳：當(dāng)然！如果可能的話(huà)，我想直接與客戶(hù)接觸。這樣的話(huà)，當(dāng)我申請(qǐng)管理職位時(shí)，他們就會(huì)知道我能讓客戶(hù)滿(mǎn)意。

愛(ài)德華：這聽(tīng)起來(lái)是個(gè)好主意。你需要證明你能遵守所有的規(guī)定、和每個(gè)人都能好好相處、解決難題、獨(dú)立思考、很好地代表公司的（形象）。

卡洛琳：就是這樣！

愛(ài)德華：這種情況，我倒是有一份工作給你。

卡洛琳：什么工作？

愛(ài)德華：一份在市區(qū)一家新開(kāi)的五星級(jí)賓館做前臺(tái)的工作可以嗎？

Smart Sentences

① Finding a decent job in this market is worse than finding a needle in a haystack—its like finding a needle in the ocean！ 在如今這個(gè)就業(yè)市場(chǎng)，找到一份體面的工作比大海撈針還難。

find a needle in a haystack： search for a hard-to-find thing（海底撈針）。例如：

Since the Bible was put online， searching for a quote is no longer like finding a needle in a haystack—its a piece of cake.

自從圣經(jīng)放到網(wǎng)上后，搜索一句引言再也不像是大海撈針了——太容易了。

② I didnt think you would have to stoop to that level. 我沒(méi)有想到你會(huì)墮落到那個(gè)地步。

stoop to sth.： degrade oneself or condescend to doing something（屈尊，墮落）。例如：

They have stooped to using gimmicks in order to get their way.

他們墮落到為達(dá)到目的而耍小花招的地步。

③ If you can keep your head above water in a service job， then managing office politics later in your career will be a breeze. 如果你能應(yīng)付服務(wù)性的工作，那么在你（日后的）職業(yè)生涯中管理公司就是小菜一碟了。

keep ones head above water： manage to survive（使自己免于麻煩，湊合）。例如：

Weve got so many books to read this semester and Im trying hard to keep my head above water.這個(gè)學(xué)期我們要讀的書(shū)很多，我正努力應(yīng)付過(guò)去。

a breeze： sth. that takes little effort（不費(fèi)吹灰之力的事）。例如：

Finishing the report before the deadline is a breeze for Jay.

在期限前完成那份報(bào)告對(duì)杰伊來(lái)說(shuō)太容易了。

④ Youll need to show that you can follow all the guidelines， get along with everyone， solve difficult problems， think on your feet， and represent the company well. 你需要證明你能遵守所有的規(guī)定、和每個(gè)人都能好好相處、解決難題、獨(dú)立思考、很好地代表公司的（形象）。

think on ones own feet： think of a solution quickly and independently（快速反應(yīng)，獨(dú)立思考）。例如：

A good customer service representative should be able to think on his feet.

一名好的客服人員應(yīng)該要能快速反應(yīng)，獨(dú)立思考。