way2go! 5, Schulbuch

144 UniT 11 | Good job! Read the following excerpt from a short story by Gerald Durrell (1925–1995), which is about the author finding a job in a pet shop. Make a list of things you think Durrell needs to do to get the job. READING 9 What happens next in the story? Write a scene about Gerald Durrell getting the job in the pet shop. WRITING 10 Now read the rest of Gerald Durrell’s story. How does it differ from the scene you have written? READING 11 a The interview took place in 1939. What would be different if the story took place now? What might be the same? Make lists. b 8 overheads: Betriebskosten 9 to get in a muddle: durcheinanderkommen A job for you? Quite close to the flat where we were staying was a shop which always had my undivided attention. It was a place called “The Aquarium”, and its window was full of great tanks full of brightly coloured fish and, what was even more interesting, rows of glass-fronted boxes that contained grass snakes, great green lizards and bulbous-eyed toads. I used to gaze longingly in the window at these beautiful creatures and I had a great desire to possess them. Then, one morning, when I happened to pass the shop, my attention was caught by a notice that was leaning up against an aquarium. It said, ‘Wanted: Young, reliable assistant’. I went back to the flat and thought about it for some time. ‘They’ve got a job going in that pet shop down the road,’ I said to my mother. ‘Have they, dear?’ she said, not really taking any notice. ‘Yes. They say they want a young, reliable assistant. I … I thought of applying for it,’ I said carelessly. ‘What a good idea,’ said Larry*. ‘Then, perhaps, you could take all your animals there.’ ‘I don’t think they’d let him do that, dear,’ said my mother. ‘How much do you think they’d pay for a job like that?’ I asked. ‘Not very much, I shouldn’t think,’ said Larry. ‘I doubt that you are what they mean by reliable.’ ‘Anyway, they’d have to pay me something, wouldn’t they?’ I said. ‘Are you old enough to be employed?’ inquired Larry. ‘Well, I’m almost sixteen,’ I said. ‘Well, go and have a shot at it,’ he suggested. * Larry is the author’s older brother So the following morning I went down to the pet shop and opened the door and went in. A short, dark man with very large spectacles danced across the floor towards me. ‘Good morning! Good morning! Good morning, sir!’ he said. ‘What can I do for you?’ ‘You, um…, you want an assistant …,’ I said. ‘An assistant,’ he said. ‘Do you mean to say you want the job?’ ‘Er …, yes,’ I said. ‘Have you had any experience?’ he inquired. ‘Oh, I’ve had plenty of experience,’ I said. ‘I’ve always kept reptiles and fish and things like that. I’ve got a whole flatful of things now.’ The little man looked at me. ‘How old are you?’ he asked. ‘Sixteen … nearly seventeen,’ I lied. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘we can’t afford to pay very much, you know. The overheads 8 on this shop are something extraordinary. But I could start you off at one pound ten.’ ‘That’s alright,’ I said. ‘When do I start?’ ‘You’d better start on Monday,’ he said. ‘I think on Monday because then I can get all your cards stamped. Otherwise we get in such a muddle 9 , don’t we? Now, my name’s Mr Romilly.’ I told him my name and we shook hands rather formally. And then we stood looking at each other. It was obvious that Mr Romilly had never employed anybody before and did not know quite what the formwas. I thought perhaps I ought to help him out. ‘Perhaps you could just show me round,’ I suggested, ‘and tell me a few things that you will want me to do.’ ‘Oh, what an excellent idea,’ said Mr Romilly. ‘An excellent idea!’ Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv