離開了原來的單位,我到一家網絡公司應聘編輯。憑借本人扎實的文字功底和不錯的口才,很順利就通過了面試,之后是筆試。考題非常簡單—— 一篇早已打好的稿子,誰修改得最令人滿意,就聘任誰,時間為半小時。
我拿過稿子,首先將幾個明顯的錯別字改過來。通讀一遍,略作思忖,便大刀闊斧地刪改起來。緊張的二十多分鐘過去了,我終于改完了稿子,看看被我修改得滿紙鮮紅的稿子,我大大地松了一口氣,從頭到尾地檢查一遍,覺得萬無一失了,才放下筆。我抬起頭來,突然發現其他的應聘者并不像我這般緊張和忙碌,他們桌面上的稿子基本上見不到紅顏色,而且大家都用一種嘲諷的目光看著我,還有我面前那篇修改得滿目瘡痍的稿子。我心中一驚:難道我有什么地方做的不對嗎?我忙拿起稿子又看了一遍,終于在稿紙的背面看見一行不起眼的小字:此稿選自《海明威》。
我不禁呆住了,難怪大伙兒都用那種眼光看我,原來在他們眼里我是一個自不量力的大傻瓜!一個大作家的文章,在我看來竟還會有這么多不滿意的地方?我又尋思:可這篇文章的確有好些令人不滿意的地方啊,又怎么可能……還是相信自己的判斷吧!
就在這時,時間到了,秘書小姐將稿子都收起來,進了主任室。1分鐘、2分鐘、3分鐘……我心中像十五只吊桶打水七上八下,忐忑不安,按照常理,我肯定沒戲了。正在胡思亂想之時,女秘書出來對我說:“主任請你進來面談。”
主任對我微微一笑,說:“你被錄用了!不好意思,這次筆試是我讓打字員跟大家開了個小玩笑,故意把一些與文稿內容不相關的文字打印在了稿紙的背面。”我心頭的一塊石頭終于落地了。
having quitted my job, i applied to a net company for the post of editor. i passed the interview easily because i had a good grounding in literary studies and i was good at expressing myself. next came the written examination, which turned out to be rather simple——the applicants were asked to correct a typed manuscript. he who did the best work in half an hour would get the job.
after i received the manuscript, i put right some wrongly written characters first. then i scanned it, thought for a moment and started deleting and changing it drastically. i had busied myself with the work for over twenty minutes before i finally finished it. seeing the manuscript full of corrections in red ink, i felt deeply relieved. i did not put down my pen until i checked the whole article and felt it most satisfactory. i raised my head. suddenly i noticed that others did not work as busily as i did and i saw very few red marks in their examination papers on the desks. besides they were sneering at me and threw a contemptuous look at the paper i had drastically corrected. i was taken by surprise. did i do anything wrong? i scrutinized the manuscript again. at last i saw on its back a line of easily neglected words?押 this manuscript is selected from hemingway.
i was stunned. now i understood why others threw a contemptuous look at me. it seemed to them that i was simply a fool having an excessively high opinion of myself. how could i find so many weaknesses that needed improving in the work by a great author? but i thought there were really many weaknesses in the manuscript. how could it be...still i ought to have confidence in my judgment!
time was up at that moment. the woman secretary collected our papers and went into the director's office. as the watch ticked away the minutes, i sat there feeling uneasy. judging from the ordinary standards, i would fail in the written examination. while i was thinking if there was any possibilities of my getting the job, the secretary came to tell me that the director wanted to talk to me in the office.
with a smile he said, ″ you get the job. i am sorry to tell you that i had told the typist to type on the back of the paper some words completely irrelevant to the manuscript. i had deliberately played a joke on the applicants.″ i felt as though a load had been taken off my mind at last.