最安静的地方
The Quietest Place
Name: ________________ Date: ________
离面试还有五分钟，楼上开始钻墙。
陈一抱着电脑跑进卧室。声音更大了。他又跑进厨房、卫生间，最后站在门口，不知道该往哪儿去。
这时，电梯到了。里面没人。他走进去，电梯门关上后，世界突然安静了。
他试了试网络。能用。
陈一拿出纸和笔，写下：“请不要说话，我在面试。”他把纸举在电脑后面，接通了视频。
“你好，请先介绍一下自己。”
“我叫陈一，我……”
“三楼到了。”
门开了。一位阿姨提着一袋蔬菜走进来，看见纸，马上点头。她连按按钮都小心了起来。
“我以前主要做……”
“五楼到了。”
这次进来一个男人和一条狗。男人看懂了，狗没看懂。
“汪！”
面试官停下来：“你那边方便吗？”
陈一看着屏幕，又看了一眼正忙着拉住狗的男人，终于说：“不太方便。我找了一个安静的地方，但它一直在上下移动。”
面试官笑了：“那我们十分钟后再聊？”
陈一在一楼出了电梯。保安看见他手里的纸，伸手指向旁边的小办公室：“来这儿吧。我正好要出去。”
十分钟后，视频又接通了。
“这次可以了，”陈一坐下来，“这里不会到三楼。”
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 声音 | shēngyīn | sound; voice |
| 卫生间 | wèishēngjiān | bathroom; restroom |
| 最后 | zuìhòu | finally; in the end; last; final |
| 该 | gāi | that; the said (as in 该公司) |
| 电梯 | diàntī | elevator; lift |
| 世界 | shìjiè | world |
| 突然 | tūrán | suddenly; abruptly; sudden; unexpected |
| 安静 | ānjìng | quiet; peaceful; calm |
| 试 | shì | to try; to test |
| 用 | yòng | to use; use; usefulness |
| 纸 | zhǐ | paper |
| 先 | xiān | first; in advance |
English (for the teacher)
Five minutes before the interview, someone upstairs started drilling into the wall.
Chen Yi ran into the bedroom with his computer in his arms. The noise got louder. He ran into the kitchen, then the bathroom, and finally stood in the doorway, unsure where to go.
Just then, the lift arrived. There was nobody inside. He went in, and once the lift doors closed, the world suddenly became quiet.
He tested the internet connection. It worked.
Chen Yi took out paper and a pen and wrote, ‘Please don’t speak. I’m in an interview.’ He held the paper up behind his computer and connected to the video call.
‘Hello. Please introduce yourself first.’
‘My name is Chen Yi, and I…’
‘Third floor.’
The doors opened. A woman carrying a bag of vegetables came in, saw the paper and immediately nodded. She even became careful when pressing the buttons.
‘My previous work was mainly…’
‘Fifth floor.’
This time, a man and a dog came in. The man understood. The dog didn’t.
‘Woof!’
The interviewer paused. ‘Is now a good time for you?’
Chen Yi looked at the screen, then at the man struggling to hold the dog back, and finally said, ‘Not really. I found a quiet place, but it keeps moving up and down.’
The interviewer laughed. ‘Shall we talk again in ten minutes, then?’
Chen Yi got out of the lift on the ground floor. A security guard saw the paper in his hand and pointed towards a small office nearby. ‘Come in here. I’m just about to go out.’
Ten minutes later, the video call connected again.
‘It’s all right this time,’ Chen Yi said as he sat down. ‘This place won’t arrive at the third floor.’