A
At the office that day,Martha was left to keep her eyes open until after the lunch hour. Then Mr Max Cohen brought her a document to copy. She was so anxious she had to start afresh three times. And when he came to fetch it, all that had been achieved were the words "Memorandum of an Agreement of Sale” typed across the top of the sheet. She shrank under his impatient assurance that it did not matter in the least, and she must take her time. Her fingers were heavy and trembling, and her head was thick. To type two pages of his small neat writing into something clean and pleasant to look at seemed to her, just then, an impossibly difficult task. He went home without coming to her desk again,and she decided she would come early next morning and do it before anyone else arrived.
Mrs Buss, on her way out, asked, "Have you got any certificates?" Martha said no. She had learned to type at home. Mrs Buss said nothing, but merely nodded absent-mindedly, for her eyes were on the elegant Mrs Jasper Cohen. Martha could barely see where she was going as she left the office. What she said to herself was, "I won’t spend the rest of my life typing this stupid jargon(术语)".
She then went into the building of the ZambesiNews. She was going to see if Mr Spur, an old journalist whom she had known as a child, could offer her any kind of position. She was in the building about half an hour, and when she came out, her face was hot with embarrassment. It had been so painful she could not bear to remember what had happened. What she must remember was that she had no qualifications at all.
21. Why did Martha find her first clay at the office difficult?
A. She was too nervous to think. B. Mr Cohen was not easy to please.
C. The task given to her was very difficult. D. She was not used to working under pressure.
22. By the end of the day, which of the following was true of Martha?
A. She had decided to work overtime. B. She hadn't finished her typing work.
C. She hadn't thought she would be blamed. D. She knew Mr Cohen was disappointed in her.
23. What might be Mrs Buss's attitude towards Martha?
A. She seemed eager to help her.
B. She seemed uninterested in her.
C. She seemed to have taken a dislike to her.
D. She seemed concerned about her lack of qualifications.