How to Interview People
Interviewing is one of those skills that you can only get better at．You will never again feel so ill at ease as when you try it for the first time，you'll probably never feel entirely comfortable trying to get from another person answers that he or she maybe too shy to reveal．But at least half of the skill is mechanical（机械的）．The rest is instinct（天赋），which can all be learned with experience．
The basic tools for an interview are paper and two or three well-sharpened pencils．But keep your notebook or paper out of sight until you need it．There's nothing less likely to relax a person than the arrival of someone with a note-taking pad．Both of you need time to get to know each other．Take a while just to chat，judging what sort of person you're dealing with， getting him or her to trust you．
Never go into an interview without doing whatever homework you can．If you are interviewing a town official，know his voting record．If it's an actor，know what plays he has been in．You will not be liked if you inquire about facts that you could have learned in advance．
Many beginning interviewers are afraidt hat they are forcing the other person to answer questions and have no right to inquire about his personal secrets．The fear is almost 100 percent unnecessary．Unless the person really hates being interviewed，he is delighted that somebody wants to interview him ．
Most men and women lead lives that are uninteresting，and they grasp any chance to talk to an outsider who seems eager to listen．
This doesn't necessarily mean that it will go well．In general you will be talking to people who have never been interviewed before，and they will get used to the process（程序）awkwardly（笨拙地），perhaps not giving you anything that you can use．Come back another day；it will go better．You will both even begin to enjoy it—proof that you aren't forcing your victim to do something he doesn't really want to．
（Words：349 Minutes：6）
1．The word“reveal”could best be replaced by_________．
A．ask B．question C．give D．seek
2．According to the passage，during an interview notebooks or paper should _________．
A．never be used
B．be used only when necessary
C．be kept at home
D．be given to the interviewer
3．The writer of the passage suggests that before interviewing a person，you should_________．
A．have sharpened your pencil well and get your notebooks ready
B．visit a town official and meet an actor
C．read as many book as possible
D．make good preparations
4．It can be inferred from paragraph 4 that most men and women_________
A．are afraid to meet interviewers．
B．hate being interviewed．
C．like being interviewed．
D．fear to speak to outsiders．
5．According to the passage，if a person being interviewed is too uneasy to give you anything useful，what should you do？
A．Arrange another interview．
B．Give him or her a bad score．
C．Wait until he or she calms down．
D．Try to make him or her trust you．
答案讲解与说明：
1．C。“reveal”本意为“揭露，揭示”，这里是指被采访者说一些事，讲一些东西。只有“give”有这个意思。
2．B。根据第二段的前两句，作者建议只有在必要时再拿出笔记或纸张。
3．D。答案在第三段第一句话。本句话字面意思为做一些家庭作业，其实含义就是做一些准备工作。
4．C。根据第四段和第五段的内容。
5．A。根据最后一段，如果被采访人不能提供有用的东西，那么“Come back another day；it will go better”，意思为“换一天再来或再安排一个时间，情况会好点。”
