Zadanie 6. (0-8)
Przeczytaj dwa teksty związane z pracą. Wykonaj zadania 6.1.-6.8. zgodnie
z poleceniami.
Tekst 1.
AN INTERVIEW AT RUNWAY
She did not stand up to greet me. Although she was not smiling, she did not appear particularly
intimidating. She seemed rather gentle and somewhat shrunken behind her huge desk. She
did not invite me to sit down, but I felt confident enough to claim one of the uncomfortable black
chairs that was facing her. She was watching me intently, mentally noting my attempts at grace
and propriety. She spoke first.
“What brings you to Runway, Andrea?” she asked in her upper-crust British accent, never
taking her eyes away from mine.
“Well, I’ve been told you need an assistant,” I started, my voice a little shaky. When she
nodded, my confidence increased slightly. “And now, after my meeting with Emily, I feel that
I have a clear understanding of the kind of person you’re looking for, and I’m confident that I’d
be perfect for the job,” I said. She looked amused for a moment.
It was at this point that I began to want the job desperately, in the way people want things
which they consider unattainable. It might not be like getting into law school or having an essay
published in a campus journal, but it was, in my mind, a real challenge - a challenge because
I was an imposter, and not a very good one. I had known the moment I stepped out of the lift
and into the office space of the Runway floor that I didn’t belong. My clothes and hair were all
wrong, though more glaringly out of place was my attitude. I didn’t know anything about fashion
and I didn’t care. At all. And therefore, I had to have this job. Besides, a million girls would die
for such an opportunity.
I continued to answer her questions with a straightforwardness and confidence that surprised
me. There wasn’t time to be intimidated. Then she inquired whether I spoke any foreign
languages. When I told her I knew Hebrew, she paused and said icily, “Hebrew? I was hoping
for French, or at least something more useful.” I almost apologized, but stopped myself.
“Unfortunately, I don’t speak a word of French, but I’m confident it won’t be a problem.”
“It says here that you studied at Brown University?”
“Yes, I was an English major, concentrating on creative writing. Writing has always been
my passion.” So cheesy! I reprimanded myself. Did I really have to use the word “passion”?
“So, does your affinity for writing mean that you’re not particularly interested in fashion?”
“Of course not. I adore fashion,” I lied rather smoothly. “I’m looking forward to learning even
more about it. I think it would be wonderful to write about fashion one day.
Things progressed with the same relative ease until she asked her final question, “Which
magazines do you read regularly?” I leaned forward eagerly and began to speak, “Well, I only
subscribe to The New Yorker and Newsweek, but I regularly read The Buzz. Sometimes Time,
but it’s dry as dust, and U.S. News, which is too conservative. As a guilty pleasure, I’ll skim
Chic, and since I’ve just returned from my travels, I read all of the travel magazines…”
“And do you read Runway, Andrea?” she interrupted, looking at me more intently than before.
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It had come so unexpectedly, that for the first time that day I was caught off-guard. I didn’t lie
or attempt to explain.
“No.”
After ten seconds of stony silence, she called for Emily to escort me out.
Na podstawie: The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
W zadaniach 6.1.-6.4. z podanych odpowiedzi wybierz właściwą, zgodną z treścią
tekstu. Zakreśl jedną z liter: A, B, C albo D.
6.1. From the text we learn that
A. the interviewer disapproved of Andrea’s sense of humour.
B. Andrea waited patiently for the interviewer’s permission to sit down.
C. Andrea felt that she did not fit in at the place where she was applying for a position.
D. the interviewer’s attitude discouraged Andrea from talking about her strengths.
6.2. Which of the following does Andrea consider a mistake made during the interview?
A. telling the truth about her knowledge of foreign languages
B. using a certain word when describing her attitude toward writing
C. lying about her interest in fashion
D. admitting that she didn’t read Runway
6.3. Which of the following took Andrea by surprise?
A. one of the questions the interviewer asked
B. the accent with which the interviewer spoke
C. the fact that the interviewer expected an apology
D. a comment the interviewer made about Andrea’s education
6.4. Andrea’s attitude at the interview shows that she is
A. arrogant and impatient.
B. reserved and suspicious.
C. determined and ambitious.
D. intimidated and overcautious.
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Tekst 2.
TO INTERVIEW OR NOT TO INTERVIEW?
A friend of mine once had a curious experience at a job interview. Excited about the possible
position, she arrived five minutes early and was immediately shown into the interview room by
the receptionist. Following an amicable, easy-going discussion with a panel of interviewers,
she was offered the job. Afterwards, one of the interviewers remarked how impressed she was
that my friend had been so composed after showing up 25 minutes late for the interview. As it
turned out, the start time my friend had been given by the company’s receptionist was wrong
by half an hour. My friend was so calm because she didn’t know she had turned up late. She
isn’t the type of person who would remain cool if she knew she was late, so the
misunderstanding turned out really well for her. Of course, the interviewers could have also
concluded that her calmness was a sign of disrespect. Either way, they would have been wrong
to draw conclusions about her future performance in her work based on her attitude at the
interview. In this case, thankfully, the outcome was favourable to the applicant.
My friend’s experience is merely an example of a much more widespread problem. Many
employers now like to use free-form, unstructured interviews so as to “get to know” a job
candidate. Such interviews are also increasingly popular with admissions officers at
universities. But this style of interview can lead interviewers to form strong but unjustified
impressions.
One solution is to develop an interview protocol based on a careful analysis of what is being
looked for in the candidate. Interviews should be structured so that all candidates receive the
same questions, a procedure which makes interviews more reliable and more predictive of job
success. Employers should make sure to include a number of questions which test specific
job-related skills.
Na podstawie: www.nytimes.com; www.theguardian.com
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Uzupełnij zdania 6.5.-6.8. zgodnie z treścią tekstu, tak aby jak najbardziej precyzyjnie
oddać jego sens. Luki należy uzupełnić w języku angielskim.
6.5. During the interview the author’s friend wasn’t aware that she
6.6. It was the company’s receptionist who
6.7. According to the author, the decision to hire the interviewee was based
6.8. In the last paragraph, the author suggests how to
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kwalifikowana jako „nie w pełni zgodna z argumentacją przedstawioną w rozwinięciu”,
jeśli np.
• zdający pomija w rozwinięciu kwestie zasygnalizowane w tezie, np. uwzględnia w tezie
oba elementy tematu - wygodę i motywację, a w rozwinięciu omawia tylko jeden z nich
lub w tezie porównuje walory zajęć online z zajęciami w klubie fitness, a w rozwinięciu
nie odnosi się w ogóle do zajęć w klubie fitness;
• zdający wprowadza w rozwinięciu argumenty, które są sprzeczne z tezą (np. teza
zapowiada omawianie pozytywnych stron udziału w zajęciach fitness przez internet,
a w rozwinięciu przedstawione są również negatywne strony takiej aktywności).
Podanie argumentów sprzecznych z postawioną tezą jest akceptowane pod
warunkiem, że zdający wskazuje na poglądy innych osób po to, żeby wyjaśnić,
dlaczego się z nimi nie zgadza, np. Many of my friends say that working out online is
ineffective but I don’t agree. For me this is a reasonable option for people who either
have little time or money.