Level 3 · Reading series
Lesson 58 · The Interview I Practiced Twice
Audio track 58
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
I practiced for a school interview with my older sister. She asked, “What do you want to study next year?” I answered with a sentence I had memorized: “I want to develop many skills for the future.”
“Which skill?” she asked. I could not answer. We tried again. This time, I said, “I want to learn how to explain science clearly. Last month, I helped a younger student understand our experiment, and I enjoyed it.”
The second answer was not perfect, but it belonged to me. I still did not know exactly what job I wanted. My sister said I did not need to pretend that I did. I only needed to say what I had done and what I wanted to try next.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
我和姐姐练习学校面试。她问：‘明年你想学什么？’我答了一句背下来的话：‘我想为将来培养多方面的能力。’
‘哪方面的能力？’她追问。我答不上来。我们重来一次。这回我说：‘我想学着把科学知识讲清楚。上个月，我帮一位低年级学生理解我们的实验，那件事让我很开心。’
第二个回答并不完美，却是我自己的。我仍不确定将来具体想做什么工作。姐姐说，不必装作已经知道答案；只要说出自己做过什么，接下来还想尝试什么。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- interview
- 面试；主人公为入学问答做准备。
- memorize
- 背诵；第一句是事先记下的。
- develop
- 培养；原回答说要发展能力。
- skill
- 能力；姐姐追问具体是哪一种。
- try again
- 再试一次；换成自己的经历回答。
- explain clearly
- 讲清楚；想学习解释科学。
- experiment
- 实验；曾帮低年级学生理解。
- belong to me
- 属于自己；第二句来自真实经历。
- exactly
- 确切地；他还不确定未来职业。
- pretend
- 假装；不必装作知道所有答案。
Background notes (Chinese)
面试回答不必使用空泛又漂亮的套话。一个亲身经历的小例子，比‘培养各种能力’更能说明兴趣；对暂时不确定的未来，也可以诚实表达。