结果我递出履历表后，根本就没有回音。

西尔弗曼和其他的高年级学生在近十年内都要面临着最严峻的就业形势：雇主计划比去年减少招聘20%的应届毕业生。

玛丽琳·麦绮丝∶对大学应届毕业生来说，今年的就业市场与去年相比有很大差别。实际上，在过去几年里，他们看到的都是形势一片大好。

但大好形势已经不再，有一个地方就看得最明显--学校就业中心。去年在纽约大学里拥簇着的大量的招聘单位，今年已经看不见了。

特鲁迪·斯坦菲尔德∶我记得两年前的招聘季节长达四十天，我和同事不得不借出我们的办公室，因为招聘单位不够地方容纳。

来校园招聘的单位至少减少了20%，有的学校减少了一半。

纽约大学就业服务中心主任特鲁迪·斯坦菲尔德说，高年级的学生为此紧张不安。

特鲁迪·斯坦菲尔德∶他们在经济高速发展的时候入校。他们确信自己不但可以找到一份好工作，而且还能有三四份好工作可供选择。现在他们感觉站不稳了。

这种忧虑席卷全美国各大学校园，引发研究生院入学申请暴涨的趋势，芝加哥大学就是一例。一些大学高年级学生希望借此避过经济低潮，其他一些已经工作的人则希望重返学校充电。

二十六岁的杰里米·奥贝菲尔德申请入读芝加哥商学院。他之前所在的一家新启动的电信公司倒闭了。

杰里米·奥贝菲尔德：如果经济好转，我将继续工作，拓展那个已经启动的事业。不幸的是，事与愿违。我相信，这是我继续深造的绝好时机。

申请就读商学院的人比一年前增加了一倍多，申请资料在招生办公室里堆积如山。工作人员说，挑选过程是一项艰巨的工作。

安·麦吉尔∶我们仔细地阅读每一份申请材料。很多职员不得不放下手头的工作来帮忙，大家要加班加点地工作。

这种趋势正在蔓延。加州大学洛杉矶分校商学院的入学申请增加了90%，艾墨瑞和亚特兰大增加了80%，耶鲁增加了近60%。研究生院的工作人员说，在经济萧条期间重返学校深造是有价值的。其价值超过纯教育本身。

安·麦吉尔∶你会有其他收获，你会拥有校友关系网，你还会得到文凭，用它来向未来的雇主证明，你的态度是认真的。

学业已成的工商管理硕士生香农·瑞安今年夏天毕业，她已经找到了一份工作，但选择的机会很少。

香农·瑞安∶由于公司所能提供的职位非常有限，他们其实会要你立即答复。所以你只有三个星期去考虑一个职位的取舍，而典型的做法应该有三个月。

但是，对国内许多高年级的学生，等待和焦虑还在继续。

特蕾西·西尔弗曼∶我只想能立即拿到薪水、享受福利。因此我放宽了对工作的要求。我必须高度乐观，但是你知道，希望事情能如我所愿。

专家们说，应对目前这种工作形势的关键是要能灵活多变。不妨向雇主表明你有适应不同职位的多种技能。

注释:

1) soar v. 剧增

2) nyu: abbr. new york university （美国）纽约大学

3) crumble v. 弄碎，崩溃

4) ucla: abbr. university of california at los angeles （美国）加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校

5) credential n. 文凭，凭证

★★《2003年09月号-第42期-disc01-10》★★

cross words: dare to contest with me?

the crossword puzzle was an early 20th century invention. a 1)craze like the 2)charleston that quickly invaded the popular culture. but even newspaper editors thought it a passing 3)fad, which would end long before the film career of comedian 4)harold lloyd. they were wrong.

today lloyd is a five letter answer for silent screen star and crosswords an addiction as strong as morning coffee for millions of americans. their chief 5)enabler and daily 6)adversary, a faceless 7)foe named will shortz.

for nearly a decade, shortz has used his position to revolutionize the 8)genre, turning what used to be a straight forward educational exercise in synonyms into a mind-bending entertainment employing pop culture, history, geography and especially verbal trickery. a will shorts puzzle can be a push up for the mind or an intellectually challenging way to waste time.

interviewer: why do people do crossword puzzles?

will shortz: i think people do crosswords, first of all, to test themselves. we know once we leave school, it’s difficult for us to know how sharp our brains are. crosswords are a way to take this stuff that we know and apply it in a completely different way, and that’s satisfying.

he’s only the fourth crossword puzzle editor the times has ever had. inheriting the 9)mantle nine years ago from eugene maleska, a former classic’s teacher and school 10)superintendent whose puzzles favor the obscure. like a six letter word for a three-11)toed african tree frog. with the readership of one of its most popular features aging, they worried that the crossword puzzle would go the way of 12)canasta, a seven letter card game that your parents used to play. they wanted someone who knew as much about 13)james taylor as 14)james madison.

shortz: i keep up with rock, i watch tv, i go to a lot of movies, i travel a lot, i read voraciously. so i think i’m up on what’s happening.

he likes to use words and phrases from popular culture and brand names, be they products or performers. but his trademark is cleverness, originality and humor. using common words in an uncommon way.

shortz: take the clue: stick in the fridge in four letters. and you are thinking what could that possibly be? four-letter word for put something in the refrigerator? but the answer is oleo. ‘cause it is a stick that is in the fridge. a mind that can pick up on a 15)pun like that is going to be good at solving crosswords.

interviewer: you like words that are spelled the same way but have different pronunciations and different meanings.

shortz: i use every misleading opportunity i can.

interviewer: can you give me an example?

shortz: well, one that jumps to mind... the clue appeared to say, notable tower, in three letters. the answer was aaa, which is a notable tower, or a group that tows cars. i actually got letters from people after that puzzle appeared wondering, you know, “where’s this aaa tower?” i had to break it to them gently that it was a different sort of t-o-w-e-r.

interviewer: give me an idea of how many people read your crossword every day, or do it.

shortz: oh, the daily puzzle appears in about 150 papers around the country, and the sunday puzzle in about 300 papers. so i’m sure it must be millions and millions of people.

填字游戏--敢和我斗智吗？

填字游戏发明于二十世纪早期。它类似于“查尔斯顿快步舞”，飞快地风靡了西方社会。但在当时，即使报刊编辑也认为这只是一时热潮，生命期甚至比喜剧演员哈罗德·劳埃德的从影生涯还要短。但他们错了。

如今，劳埃德只不过是一个由五个字母组成的名字，代表过气的无声电影明星，但填字游戏却像早餐咖啡一样让无数美国人大上其瘾。他们每天斗智的对象，是一个只闻其名、不见其人的人，他叫威尔·肖兹。

肖兹花了近十年的时间来力导填字风尚，将它从过去一种纯粹的同义词教学练习转变为令人入迷的智力游戏，其中蕴涵着流行文化、历史、地理知识，尤