During the long vacation I was accepted as a trainee bus conductor.I found the job fiercely demanding even on a short ro
During the long vacation I was accepted as a trainee bus conductor.I found the job fiercely demanding even on a short route with a total of about two dozen passengers.I pulled the wrong tickets,forgot the change and wrote up my log (行程记录) at the end of each trip in a way that drew hollow laughter from the inspectors.The inspectors were likely to check at any time.A conductor with twenty years' service could be dismissed if an inspector caught him accepting money without pulling a ticket.
It was hot that summer:100° Fahrenheit (华氏) every day.Inside the bus it was 30° hotter still.It was so jammed inside that my feet weren't touching the floor.I couldn't blink (眨眼睛) the sweat out of my eyes.There was no hope of collecting any fares.
In these circumstances I was scarcely to blame.I didn't even know where we were,but I guessed we were at the top just before Market Street.I pressed the bell,the doors closed,and the bus surged forward.There were shouts and yells from down the back,but I thought they were the angry cries of passengers who had not got on.Too late I realized that they were coming from within the bus.The automatic doors at the back of the bus had closed around an old lady's neck as she was getting on.Her head was inside the bus.The rest of her,carrying a shopping bag was outside.I knew none of this at the time.
When I at last signaled the driver to stop,he crashed to a halt and opened the automatic doors.The woman dropped to the road.Unfortunately,the car behind turned out to be full of inspectors.Since it would have made headlines if a university student had almost half-killed a woman of an advanced age,I was given the opportunity to leave quietly.
1.What do we learn about the inspectors in the first paragraph?
A.They found the writer amusing.
B.They never wore uniforms.
C.They were feared by employees.
D.They distrusted older employees.
2.Why was the writer unable to do his job properly?
A.He wasn't tall enough.
B.The buses were too fast.
C.People avoided paying.
D.He couldn't move.
3.The old lady in the incident described ________.
A.was injured
B.fainted
C.was dragged
D.hit her head
4.When the incident with old lady happened,________.
A.the writer had already decided to give up the job
B.the writer's employers wanted to avoid publicity
C.the writer was offered the chance to continue
D.the consequences were as the writer expected
5.What is the writer's attitude now to the job?
A.He feels responsible for the incident that ended it.
B.He thinks that he was unfairly treated by the inspectors.
C.He is ashamed that he was incapable of doing it properly.
D.He believes that it was an impossible job to do well.
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the same passage or dialog.
C
B
C
B
D