新标准大学英语综合教程4教师用书(外研社)(9)

trying to find work – it is just that they don’t like their parents nagging them. So they are a bit rebellious

against their parents, but no more than that.

3 Jack “walked into the university careers service and straight back out again”. What does this suggest

about Jack’s character?

It suggests that Jack is not very determined. As soon as he saw the queue he left without waiting and

without trying to ask about jobs or careers.

4 Jack spent the summer “hiding”. Hiding from what? Why are quotation marks used?

Probably this means he was hiding from the world of work, staying at home and not looking for a job.

The quotation marks tell us that he wasn’t literally hiding, he just spent a lot of time at home.

5 How is Mrs Goodwin’s point of view affected by her own personal experience?

In one way her experience hasn’t affected her attitude: She left school and went immediately to a job

(without going to university) and has been working full-time since then and yet she is sympathetic and

takes a soft line.

6 How is Lindenfield’s point of view affected by her own personal experience?

Her personal experience was that she worked in a bar before finding her first proper job as an aerial

photographic assistant. So she says such work is a great networking opportunity. If new graduates are

good at such work and bright, cheerful and polite, they will soon be promoted. Her personal experience

thus reflects – or perhaps has created – her point of view.

7 What would the first two paragraphs have focused on if they had been presented from the point of view

of the students rather than the parents?

The first two paragraphs would have focused on the need for the new graduates to rest for a bit after

their hard studies. It is OK for students to relax with the TV or to socialize with friends for a while, then

they can start a serious search for employment after that.

Active reading (2)

If you ask me