六、閱讀理解（15分）
Ability to Work under Pressure and Cope with Varying Work Loads
In a senior secretarial job this may be, at first, one of the most difficult things to
adjust to. No two days will be the same. An ad hoc meeting can be called and a ten-page
report need to be typed for it in less than an hour; the phone may ring with repeated urgent
messages—and you will have to stay cool, calm and typing fast! That same day you may
also have to attend a meeting in the afternoon, reply to several urgent letters, confirm
arrangements for an imminent trip, chase the Accounts Office for some vital figures, send
flowers to your boss’s mother for her birthday—and find time to get out and buy a dress for
an important occasion! That is just one day, or may be a series of similar days. It may be
followed by a completely “dead” patch where you can catch up, reorganize, recharge your
batteries, go to the hairdresser—and sit and wait for the excitement to start over again.
During these flat periods, your boss may be intensely busy and so you will see next to
nothing of him either—not even for signing of the outgoing mail because there will not be
any! It takes a bit of getting used to, but the ability to remain fresh, interested and ready to
attack the next panic situation calmly and effectively is something you acquire with
practice.
A. 10%
1. adjust to a.
2. urgent b.
3. reply to c.
4. confirm d.
5. imminent e.
6. chase for f.
7. patch g.
8. flat h.
9. intensely i.
10. outgoing j.
B. : 5%
Can you see your boss very often during flat peniods? Why or why not?
Ability to Work under Pressure and Cope with Varying Work Loads
In a senior secretarial job this may be, at first, one of the most difficult things to
adjust to. No two days will be the same. An ad hoc meeting can be called and a ten-page
report need to be typed for it in less than an hour; the phone may ring with repeated urgent
messages—and you will have to stay cool, calm and typing fast! That same day you may
also have to attend a meeting in the afternoon, reply to several urgent letters, confirm
arrangements for an imminent trip, chase the Accounts Office for some vital figures, send
flowers to your boss’s mother for her birthday—and find time to get out and buy a dress for
an important occasion! That is just one day, or may be a series of similar days. It may be
followed by a completely “dead” patch where you can catch up, reorganize, recharge your
batteries, go to the hairdresser—and sit and wait for the excitement to start over again.
During these flat periods, your boss may be intensely busy and so you will see next to
nothing of him either—not even for signing of the outgoing mail because there will not be
any! It takes a bit of getting used to, but the ability to remain fresh, interested and ready to
attack the next panic situation calmly and effectively is something you acquire with
practice.
A. 10%
1. adjust to a.
2. urgent b.
3. reply to c.
4. confirm d.
5. imminent e.
6. chase for f.
7. patch g.
8. flat h.
9. intensely i.
10. outgoing j.
B. : 5%
Can you see your boss very often during flat peniods? Why or why not?