Việc tìm kiếm một căn hộ tốt ở Dublin ở một mức giá mà bạn có thể đủ khả năng là giống như tìm vàng trong cơn sốt vàng. Cách tốt nhất là bởi liên hệ cá nhân: nếu bạn biết một người biết ai đó đã để lại một nơi, mà thường làm việc. Nhưng nếu như Jo, bạn đã chỉ vừa mới đến ở Dublin, có là không có cơ hội của bất kỳ số liên lạc cá nhân, không ai nói với bạn rằng bedsit của họ sẽ được bỏ trống vào cuối tháng. Không, nó là một vấn đề tạm trú tại một nhà nghỉ và tìm kiếm. Jo, Dublin là một chỗ trống rất lớn. Cô thực sự cảm thấy cô ấy đã bước vào không rõ khi cô ấy đã vào xe lửa để đi và làm việc ở đó. Cô không hỏi mình, tại sao cô ta có ở nơi đầu tiên. Nó đã được giả định tất cả mọi người đi xung quanh với tại trường học cô muốn đi. Ai sẽ ở trong một thành phố với, back of beyond, kết thúc của thế giới, gậy? Đó là tất cả các cô đã nghe trong nhiều năm qua. Họ tất cả sẽ nhận ra, thoát ra, nhìn thấy một số cuộc sống, nhận được một số sống ở, có một loại thực sự tồn tại, và một số người khác trong lớp học của cô đã đi xa thị trấn Ennis hoặc Limerick, nơi một chị hay Dì sẽ xem họ định cư tại. Nhưng trong số năm Jo's, không ai trong số họ đã đi đến Dublin. Cô ấy tiêu đề ra trên riêng của mình.Jo's mother thought it would be great if she stayed permanently in the hostel. It was run by nuns, and she would come to no harm. Her father said that he hoped they kept the place warm; hostels were well known for being freezing. Jo's sisters, who worked in a hotel as waitresses, said she must be off her head to have stayed a whole week in a hostel. But Jo didn't know they were all still thinking about her and discussing her, as she answered the advertisement for a flat in Ringsend. It said, 'Own room, own television, share kitchen, bathroom.' It was very near the post office where she worked and seemed too good to be true. Please, please let it be nice, let them like me, let it not be too dear!There wasn't a queue for this one because it wasn't so much 'Flat to Let', more 'Third Girl Wanted'. The fact that it said 'own television' made Jo wonder whether it might be too high a class for her, but the house did not look in any way overpowering. An ordinary red-brick terraced house with a basement. But the flat was not in the basement, it was upstairs. And a cheerful-looking girl with a college scarf, obviously a failed applicant, was coming down the stairs. 'Desperate place,' she said to Jo. 'They're both awful. Common as dirt.' 'Oh,' said Jo and went on climbing. 'Hello,' said the girl with 'Nessa' printed on her T-shirt. 'Did you see that toffee-nosed girl going out? I can't stand that kind, I can't stand them.' 'What did she do?' asked Jo. 'Do? She didn't have to do anything. She just poked around and pulled a face and sort of giggled and then said, "Is this all there is to it? Oh dear, oh dear," in a posh accent. We wouldn't have her in here, would we, Pauline?'Pauline had a psychedelic shirt on, so colourful it almost hurt the eyes, but even so it was only slightly brighter than her hair. Pauline was a punk, Jo noted with amazement. She had seen some of them on O'Connell Street, but hadn't met one close up to talk to. 'I'm Jo, I work in the post office and I rang.' Nessa said they were just about to have a mug of tea. She produced three mugs; one had 'Nessa' and one had 'Pauline' and the other one had 'Other' written on it. 'We'll get your name put on if you come to stay,' she said generously.1 What does 'it' paragraph 1 refer to?A the accommodation available B finding accommodation C getting advice on accommodation D the shortage of accommodation 2 What do we learn about Jo's schoolfriends in paragraph 2?A They would have liked to be as independent as Jo was. B They had more self-confidence than Jo had. C They had made Jo feel that she ought to leave her home town. D They were not as happy as Jo was to move to a new town. 3 What impression do we get of Jo's home town?A It was an uninteresting place in the middle of the countryside. B It was a place where people struggled to earn a living. C It was a place where the population had fallen greatly. D It was an unfriendly place, where young people were treated badly. 4 What did Jo think about the flat in Ringsend before she saw it?A that she was likely to be able to afford it B that the advertisement for it was confusing C that it might not be as suitable for her as it first sounded in the advertisement D that it did not really have all the facilities mentioned in the advertisement 5 What do we learn about the girl who passed Jo on the stairs?A She was upset that she was not going to live in the flat. B She liked neither the flat nor the other girls living there. C She had not been seriously intending to live in the flat before seeing it. D She had not realised that other people were already living in the flat. 6 What is meant by 'toffee-nosed' in paragraph 5 ?A feeling superior B being curious about others C strange-l
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