Writing

Read the job experience narrative and then answer the questions about Lucy in the past tense.

The most important job I ever had was as a volunteer at the local hospital. I translated for Chinese-speaking patients who didn't speak English. Because I am bilingual, I helped the patients talk about their illnesses and problems. I felt good about the job because I knew I was helping the doctors and the patients. Also, I knew I was doing something that only a few people could do.

It was hard to deal with very sick patients because it made me sad. Talking to people who spoke different dialects was also very difficult. There are so many dialects of Chinese that sometimes I couldn't understand what a patient wanted to say. I usually overcame these problems through other forms of communication, such as gestures and pointing, and finding similar words in the two dialects.

The doctors and nurses were all very friendly and they appreciated my help, especially since my city has a large Chinese population. Sometimes, however, the doctors and nurses were very stressed and busy. I understood that they had a lot of work to do and did my best to help.

1		What did Lucy do at her job?
2		How did the job make her feel? Why?
3		What difficulties were there?
4		How did she overcome the difficulties?
5		What were the people that Lucy worked with like?