Reading comprehension

The Interview

Jethro gets ready for his job interview. He takes a shower. He shaves. He
brushes his teeth. He cuts his fingernails. He combs his hair. He puts on the
new suit he bought just for today.

Jethro feels confident. He is also very nervous. Here is why. Jethro

graduated at the top of his class in college. Still, Jethro knows the economy
is bad. His dad just lost his job at the bank a few weeks ago! Many people
are interviewing for the very same job. There is a lot of competition.

Jethro is still positive. He thinks he has a good chance of getting the job
at the technology company. Jethro arrives at his interview at 9:45. He is 15
minutes early. He realizes the importance of being prompt. He does not
want to be late.

“Have a seat. Mr. Stone will be right with you”, the receptionist says.

Jethro sits. He thinks about what he has learned to do in an interview.

Look people in the eye.

Give a firm handshake.
Speak clearly.

Jethro feels ready.

“Mr. Stone is ready to see you now,” the receptionist says.

Jethro takes a deep breath and walks into Mr. Stone’s office.
“Good to meet you, sir”, Jethro says and gives Mr. Stone a firm handshake
and a smile.

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 Questions

1) What kind of job is Jethro 2) What is one thing Jethro does to get
interviewing for? ready?

A. a college job I. He talks to his dad.

B. a banking job II. He calls Mr. Stone.
C. a technology job III. He combs his hair.
D. a receptionist job A. I only
B. I and II
C. III only
D. I, II, and III

3) What time is Jethro's interview? 4) What does it mean to be confident?

A. 9:30 A. to be early
B. 9:45 B. to be sure
C. 10:00 C. to be worried
D. 10:15 D. to be nervous

5) Why might Jethro be nervous ? 6) What is competition?

A. He did not do well in school.
B. He is not a very good speaker.
C. He does not like to wear suits.
D. Many others are interviewing for
the same job.
A. when people get ready to go out.
B. when people go for a job interview.
C. when people feel they are not good
enough.
D. when many people are going after the
same thing.

7) Why is it good that Jethro gets to his 8) What has Jethro learned to do in an
interview early? Interview?
A. It gives Jethro time to think. A. be positive.
B. It helps Jethro speak clearly. B. tell good jokes.

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C. Mr. Stone likes people to be early. C. talk about his college experience.
D. The receptionist asks him to be there D. look people in the eye.
early.
9) Why might Jethro be positive about 10) Which of the following can help make
getting this job? a good impression at an interview?
A. The economy is bad. I. looking people in the eye
B. He did well in school. II. wearing a new suit
C. Jethro's dad lost his job. III. being well groomed
D. He knows Mr. Stone well. A. I only
B. I and II
C. II and III
D. I, II, and III

11) What has Jethro learned to do in order 12) If you are prompt, this means you are
to be understood by an interviewer? A. positive
A. speak clearly B. intelligent
B. look people in the eye C. on time
C. give a firm handshake D. in control
D. feel confident

Have you ever felt nervous about doing something new? Explain.
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Grammar

Must and have to for Obligation

1) "have to" for objective obligation

Sometimes in life there are obligations or rules. There are things which you do
not have a choice in, like wearing a uniform at school, for example. One
structure we use to talk about these rules is have to.

Have to is NOT an auxiliary verb (it uses the verb have as a main verb).

We often use have to to say that something is obligatory.

For example:

 Children have to go to school.

 Positive

We use 'have to' to talk about things we are obliged to do.

Subject have to / has to base form of verb

I
You
have to wear a uniform.
We
get up early on Sundays.
They
study hard.
He
has to
She

The basic structure for have to is:

subject + auxiliary verb + have + to-infinitive

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Look at these examples in the Present Simple tense:

subject auxiliary verb main verb to-infinitive

have

+ She has to work.

- I do not have to see the doctor.

? Do you have to go to school?

In general, have to expresses impersonal obligation. The subject of have to is

obliged or forced to act by a separate, external power (for example, the Law or
school rules). Have to is objective. Look at these examples:

 In France, you have to drive on the right.

 In England, most schoolchildren have to wear a uniform.

 John has to wear a tie at work.

 In each of the above cases, the obligation is not the subject's opinion or idea.
The obligation comes from outside.

We can use have to in all tenses, and also with modal auxiliaries. We conjugate
it just like any other main verb. Here are some examples:

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 subject auxiliary main to-
verb verb infinitive
have

Past Simple I had to work yesterday.

Present I have to work today.

Simple

Future I will have to work tomorrow.

Simple

Present She is having to wait.

Continuous

2) "don’t have to" for absence of obligation

To express lack of necessity (also called absence of obligation), speakers usually

use "don't have to"

 Negative

We use 'don't have to' to talk about things we have a choice about, things we
aren't obliged to do.

Subject don't / doesn't have to base form of verb

I
You
don't have to drive fast.
We
get up early.
They
buy all these things.
He
doesn't have to
She

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had to in the Past Simple

Had to is used to talk about necessity and obligation that existed in the
past. Had to is the past tense form of have to.

Affirmative Negative
Pronouns Questions
sentences sentences

I, he, she, it, I had to go to I did not have Did I have to go

we, you, they work. to go to work. to work?

3) "must" for subjective obligation

We often use must to say that something is essential or necessary, for example:

 I must go.

Must is a modal auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb.

The basic structure for must is:

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

must base

The main verb is always the same form: base

Look at these examples:

subject auxiliary verb main verb

must base

I must go home.

You must visit us.

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 We must stop now.

In general, must expresses personal obligation. Must expresses what

the speaker thinks is necessary. Must is subjective. Look at these examples:

 I must stop smoking.

 You must visit us soon.

 He must work harder.

 In each of the above cases, the "obligation" is the opinion or idea of the
person speaking. In fact, it is not a real obligation. It is not imposed from
outside.

It is sometimes possible to use must for real obligation, for example a rule or a
law. But generally we use have to for this.

We can use must to talk about the present or the future. Look at these
examples:

 I must go now. (present)

 I must call my mother tomorrow. (future)

We cannot use must to talk about the past. We use have to to talk about the
past.

4) "must not" for prohibition

We use must not to say that something is not permitted or allowed, for
example:

 Passengers must not talk to the driver.

Must is an auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb.

The basic structure for must not is:

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 subject + must not + main verb

The main verb is the base verb.

Look at these examples:

subject auxiliary main verb

must + not

I mustn't forget my keys.

You mustn't disturb him.

Students must not be late.

NB: like all auxiliary verbs, must CANNOT be followed by to. So, we say:

 You mustn't arrive late. NOT You mustn't to arrive late.

Must not expresses prohibition - something that is not permitted, not

allowed. The prohibition can be subjective (the speaker's opinion) or objective
(a real law or rule). Look at these examples:

 I mustn't eat so much sugar. (subjective)

 You mustn't watch so much television. (subjective)

 Students must not leave bicycles here. (objective)

 Policemen must not drink on duty. (objective)

We can use must not to talk about the present or the future:

 Visitors must not smoke. (present)

 I mustn't forget Tara's birthday. (future)

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We cannot use must not to talk about the past.

 How to form questions with “must” ?

As we said earlier, in English, must is used when we are talking about

obligations. Unlike other verbs in English which usually adopt the verb “to
do” as an auxiliary, must does not. In fact, to create the interrogative
form of must, all we have to do is invert the subject and “must” and
our interrogative is formed.
Examples:

 Must we go to the cinema tonight?

 Must they come for dinner?
 Must you behave that way?

Must + Subject + Verb

 There’s something very important about must and have to. The positive forms are
very similar in meaning, but the negative forms are completely

 different.Mustn't is a negative obligation (= it is important that you do NOT do

something) while Don't have to is an absence of obligation.

 Mustn't = it is prohibited; it is not allowed

 Don't have to = no obligation; you are not required to do something, especially if
you don't want to.

 You must not drink that. (= it is forbidden to drink that; it is not allowed)
 You don't have to drink that. (= you don't need to drink that but you can if you want)
 You mustn't tell John (= Do not tell John)
 You don't have to tell John (= you can tell John if you want to but it is not necessary)

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