行行出狀元，服務也光榮

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

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

Carolyn： Oh， hi， Edward. I’m going through this list of job postings.

Edward： You don’t sound so optimistic about them.

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

Edward： Oh， don’t be so down in the dumps. Surely it’s 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： It’s a reception job in that new five-star hotel downtown.

Carolyn： A service job？ Really？ You took a service job after graduation？ ②I didn’t think you would have to stoop to that level.

Edward： Why not？ It’s a five-star hotel， not some back-alley 1）flophouse.

Carolyn： But it’s still a service job. We’re college grads， Ed. Don’t you think the service sector is beneath us？

Edward： Not in the slightest. In fact， I bet you couldn’t 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： That’s where you’re wrong. Learning facts and passing tests is completely different from working with people. Carolyn： How so？

Edward： Facts don’t have egos. Facts don’t get angry. Facts don’t 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 2）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 people’s luggage if you want to. I’m 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. ④You’ll 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： That’s 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：（正在看分類廣告）這個……不行……那個……也不行……愛德華：嗨，卡洛琳。你在干嘛呢？卡洛琳：噢，嗨，愛德華。我在看這些招聘廣告呢。

愛德華：聽起來你的情況不太樂觀?？辶眨涸谌缃襁@個就業市場，找到一份體面的工作比大海撈針還難。

愛德華：噢，別那么沮喪?？隙]有那么難的。

卡洛琳：你為什么這么肯定？你找到工作了嗎？

愛德華：事實上，我找到了。

卡洛琳：真的嗎？在哪兒？什么樣的工作？

愛德華：這是一份在市區新開的一家五星級賓館做前臺的工作。

卡洛琳：一份服務工作？真的嗎？你畢業后干一份服務工作？我沒有想到你會墮落到那個地步。

愛德華：為什么不行呢？這是一家五星級的賓館，不是什么廉價低級的旅館。

卡洛琳：但這還是一份服務性的工作。我們是大學畢業生，愛德華。你不覺得服務業對我們來說檔次太低了嗎？

愛德華：一點也不覺得。事實上，我猜你不能勝任服務業的工作，而且難以維持生計。

卡洛琳：你在說什么？我在我們班是考第三名的。我可以應付任何服務工作。

愛德華：這就是你的誤解了。知識和通過考試與和他人一起工作是完全不同的。

卡洛琳：為什么？

愛德華：知識不會有自尊，知識不會生氣。知識不會給你老板打小報告而讓你有被炒的威脅。知識只是在書本里，等著你去學習它們。

卡洛琳：這聽起來很適合我。你為什么愿意花時間去跟討厭的客人糾纏？

愛德華：因為每個地方的每份工作都需要你和他人一起共事。如果你能應付服務性的工作，那么在你（日后的）職業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幾歲的美好年華來給別人拿行李。我要把眼光放高，尋找一份管理工作。

愛德華：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驗。

愛德華：對啊。你到哪里去取得這些經驗呢？

卡洛琳：好吧，我也許要降低我的眼光一點。我想我可以接受一個初級職位。

愛德華：只要這個職位是出自一家出名的公司，對吧？也許得是一間高端的國際化公司對吧？

卡洛琳：當然！如果可能的話，我想直接與客戶接觸。這樣的話，當我申請管理職位時，他們就會知道我能讓客戶滿意。

愛德華：這聽起來是個好主意。你需要證明你能遵守所有的規定、和每個人都能好好相處、解決難題、獨立思考、很好地代表公司的（形象）。

卡洛琳：就是這樣！

愛德華：這種情況，我倒是有一份工作給你。卡洛琳：什么工作？

愛德華：一份在市區一家新開的五星級賓館做前臺的工作好可以嗎？

Smart Sentences

① Finding a decent job in this market is worse than finding a needle in a haystack—it’s like finding a needle in the ocean！ 在如今這個就業市場，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—it’s a piece of cake.

自從圣經放到網上后，搜索一句引言再也不像是大海撈針了——太容易了。

② I didn’t think you would have to stoop to that level. 我沒有想到你會墮落到那個地步。

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. 如果你能應付服務性的工作，那么在你（日后的）職業生涯中管理公司就是小菜一碟了。

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

We’ve got so many books to read this semester and I’m trying hard to keep my head above water.這個學期我們要讀的書很多，我正努力應付過去。

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

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

在期限前完成那份報告對杰伊來說太容易了。

④ You’ll 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定、和每個人都能好好相處、解決難題、獨立思考、很好地代表公司的（形象）。

think on one’s own feet： think of a solution quickly and independently（快速反應，獨立思考）。例如：

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

一名好的客服人員應該要能快速反應，獨立思考。