Finding a Job
At sixteen Ron Mackie might have stayed at school, but the future called to him excitedly. "Get out of the classroom into a job, " it said, and Ron obeyed. His father, supporting the decision, found a place for him in a supermarket. "You're lucky, Ron," he said. "For every boy with a job these days, there's a dozen without. " So Ron joined the working world at twenty pounds a week.
For a year he spent his days filling shelves with tins of food. By the end of that time he was looking back on his school days as a time of great variety and satisfaction. He searched for an interest in his work, with little success.
One fine day instead of going to work Ron got a lift on a lorry going south. With nine pounds in his pocket,a full heart and a great longing for the sea, he set out to make a better way for himself. That evening, in Bournem0uth, he had a sandwich and a drink in a care run by an elderly man and his wife. Before he had finished the sandwich, the woman had taken him on for the rest of the summer, at twenty pounds a week, a room upstairs and three meals a day. The ease and speed of it rather took Ron's breath away. At quiet times Ron had to check the old man's arithmetic in the records of the business.
At the end of the season, he stayed on the coast. He was again surprised how straightforward it was for a boy of seventeen to make a living. He worked in shops mostly, but once he took a job in a hotel for three weeks. Late in October he was taken on by the sick manager of a shoe shop. Ron soon found himself in charge there;he was, the only one who could keep the books.
36. Why did Ron Mackie leave school at sixteen?
A. His father made him leave
B, He had reached the age when he had to leave.
C. He left because he was worried about the future.
D. He left because he wanted to start work.
37. What did Ron's father think about his leaving school?
A. He thought his son was doing the right thing.
B. He advised him to stay at school to complete his education.
C. He did not like the idea, but he helped Ron to find work.
D. He knew there was a job for every boy who wanted one.
38. It took about a year .for Ron to realize that
A. he worked well because he was interested in the job.
B. his work at the supermarket was dull.
C. being at work was much better than going to school.
D. the store manager wanted to get rid of him.
39. Why did Ron leave the supermarket?
A. He knew he would find work in Bournemouth.
B. He took a job as a lorry driver.
C. He gave up the job because he felt unwell.
D. He wanted to work at the seaside.
40. Ron was able to take over the shoe shop because
A. he got on well with the manager there.
B. he knew how to keep the accounts of the business.
C. he had had experience of selling books.
D. he was young and strong.