Programming Intern (实习生). I wasn’t sure why this job announcement appeared on my feed. I was looking for a real job, not an internship. The fortieth birthday was coming in just a few months, and I needed to get my act together — to finally figure out what I was going to do all day. An internship? No way! I was way past that point in my life.
After fifteen years of homeschooling, my youngest two were now attending school, and I knew I needed something more. Somehow, I felt that life had passed me by and I hadn’t accomplished a single thing. I couldn’t help but read the description on the job board. “Interns will create an educational program for their local national wildlife refuge (保护区). They will take a leadership role in designing youth environmental education curriculum on the site by authoring activity booklets and website content around the refuge.”
Create an educational program for a national wildlife refuge? We had spent the last years visiting national parks all over the country with our boys and participating in programs exactly like this. Last summer, we came in first place in the first-ever Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt and visited twenty-two state parks throughout Texas. It sounded too good to be true, exactly the type of writing I’d love to be doing on a regular basis.
Then, I looked at the qualifications. “Enthusiastic people who are great at written communications.” Check. “Previous experience in environmental conservation or any science coursework.” Uncheck. I had absolutely none. I doubted my food and nutrition science classes in college were going to count for anything.
Not a single aspect of my job or educational experience matched these requirements. I figured I was too old, too unqualified … I dismissed the internship and continued looking at the “real jobs” on the job app. One morning days later, I was hiking at the local park near my kids’ school to avoid the rush-hour traffic going back home. As usual, I observed the natural beauty.
注意：
1．续写词数应为150左右；
2．请按如下格式作答。
However, I couldn’t concentrate on bird sounds like I normally did.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Two days later, I got a video interview request.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mistake or Masterpiece?
Wanda graduated from a cooking school and got a job in a new cafe. She has been working in the cafe for 6 weeks. She likes her job. The cafe belongs to Gregor who makes coffee and looks after the customers. Wanda does all the cooking. Wanda thinks Gregor is very nice, but he is also a tough boss. He wants everything to be perfect.
Today Wanda is having a bad day. Last night, she was in a terribly low mood and drank a lot of wine with her friends. Now her head hurts and she feels extremely bad. However, Gregor is very excited. “Wanda, we must try very hard today. Look at the man sitting by the window. He is Anton Wesley-Brown. He writes about food and restaurants for the newspaper! If he likes the food here, he will write a good report about our cafe!”
Wanda understands. Gregor wants the cafe to be a success. But why today? Why does this restaurant critic come today? Today’s special is very simple — a grilled pork chop (烤猪排), with cream, mustard sauce (芥末酱) and salad. “I could have cooked something wonderful if I had known that man was coming. But today I am too ill to cook better,” Wanda thinks. “Mr Wesley-Brown wants the pork chop!” Gregor comes to her and says. “OK,” Wanda replies. When the meal is ready, Gregor hurries over and takes the meal to Mr Wesley-Brown.
When Wanda is preparing for the next dish, she catches sight of a small bottle on the counter. “Why is there brown sugar here? I used salt, pepper and mustard. I didn’t use brown sugar. There is the pepper and the mustard. Where is the salt? Oh, no! I put brown sugar on the pork chop! Mr Wesley-Brown will hate it! Gregor will be very angry! I will lose my job!” Wanda becomes upset. She doesn’t know what to do.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
It’s almost noon and the cafe is busy.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Er, yes, I did put brown sugar on it. Sorry,” Wanda answers in a small voice.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
