Master Up.    
 


           .        ,  Generation Gap, Values, National Stereotypes .





Master Up

   



 



 ,2018



ISBN978-5-4493-6605-4

     Ridero







1. Read the text. Check the Vocabulary list while reading thetext



The Firm by J.Grisham

extract






The senior partner studied the resume for the hundredth time and again found nothing he disliked about Mitchell Y. McDeere, at least not on paper. He had the brains, the ambition, the good looks. And he was hungry; with his background, he had tobe. He was married, and that was mandatory. The firm had never hired an unmarried lawyer, and it frowned heavily on divorce, as well as womanizing and drinking. Drug testing was inthe contract. He had adegree inaccounting, and wanted tobe atax lawyer, which ofcourse was arequirement with atax firm. He looked good, on paper. He was their top choice. Infact, for this year there were no other prospects. The list was very short. It was McDeere or noone.

The managing partner, Royce McKnight, studied adossier labelled Mitchell Y. McDeere Harvard. An inch thick with small print and afew photographs, it had been prepared bysome ex-CIA agents inaprivate intelligence outfit inBethesda. They were clients ofthe firm and each year did the investigating for no fee. It was easy work, they said, checking out unsuspecting law students. They learned, for instance, that he preferred toleave the Northeast, that he was holding three job offers, two inNew York and one inChicago, and that the highest offer was $76,000and the lowest was $68,000. He was indemand. He had been given the opportunity tocheat on asecurities exam during his second year. He declined, and made the highest grade inthe class. He drank an occasional beer, but drinking was expensive and he had no money. He owed close to$23,000instudent loans. He was hungry.

Royce McKnight flipped through the dossier and smiled. McDeere was their man. Lamar Quin checked his watch. He glanced at the two partners sitting at the small conference table near the windows.

Precisely at two-thirty someone knocked on the door. Lamar looked at the partners, who slid the resume and dossier into an open briefcase.

Mitchell McDeere? he asked with ahuge smile and ahand thrust forward.

Yes. They shook hands violently.

Nice tomeet you, Mitchell. Im Lamar Quin.

My pleasure. Please call me Mitch.

He stepped inside, and quickly surveyed the spacious room.

Sure, Mitch. Lamar led him across the suite, where the partners introduced themselves. They were exceedingly warm and cordial. They offered him coffee, then water. They sat ar ound conference table and exchanged pleasantries. McDeere unbuttoned his coat and crossed his legs. He was now aseasoned veteran inthe search ofemployment, and he knew they wanted him. He relaxed. With three job offers from three ofthe most prestigious firms inthe country, he did not need this interview, this firm. He could afford tobe alittle overconfident now. He was there out ofcuriosity.

Oliver Lambert, the senior partner, leaned forward on his elbows and took control ofthe preliminary chitchat. At sixty-one, he was the grandfather ofthe firm. He was the counselor, the one the younger associates went towith their troubles. Mr.Lambert also handled the recruiting, and it was his mission tosign Mitchell Y. McDeere.

Are you tired ofinterviewing? asked Oliver Lambert.

Not really. Its part ofit. Yes, yes, they all agreed. Seemed like yesterday they were interviewing and submitting resumes and scared todeath they wouldnt find ajob and three years ofsweat and torture would be down the drain. They knew what he was going through, all right.

May Iask aquestion? Mitch asked.

Certainly,

Why are we interviewing inthis hotel room? The other firms interview on campus through the placement office.

Good question. They all nodded and looked at each other and agreed it was agood question.

Perhaps Ican answer that, Mitch, said Royce McKnight, the managing partner. You must understand our firm. We are different, and we take pride inthat. We have forty-one lawyers, so we are small compared with other firms. We dont hire too many people; about one every other year. We offer the highest salary and fringes inthe country, and Im not exaggerating. So we are very selective. We selected you. The letter you received last month was sent after we screened over two thousand third-year law students at the best schools. Only one letter was sent. We dont advertise openings and we dont solicit applications. We keep alow profile, and we do things differently. Thats our explanation.

Fair enough. What kind offirm isit?

Tax. Some securities, real estate and banking, but eighty percent is tax work. Thats why we wanted tomeet you, Mitch. You have an incredibly strong tax background

Whyd you go toWestern Kentucky? asked Oliver Lambert.

Simple. They offered me afull scholarship toplay football. Had it not been for that, college wouldve been impossible.

Tell us about your family.

Why is that important?

Its very important tous, Mitch, Royce McKnight said warmly. They all say that, thought McDeere.

Okay, my father was killed inthe coal mines when Iwas seven years old. My mother remarried and lives inFlorida. Ihad two brothers. Rusty was killed inVietnam. Ihave abrother named Ray McDeere.

Where ishe?

Im afraid thats none ofyour business.

Im sorry, the managing partner said softly.

Mitch, our firm is inMemphis, Lamar said.

Does that bother you?

Not at all. Im not fond ofcold weather.

Have you ever been toMemphis?

Well have you down soon. Youll loveit.

Mitch smiled and nodded and played along. Were these guys serious? How could he consider such asmall firm insuch asmall town when Wall Street was waiting?

How are you ranked inyour class? Mr. Lambert asked.

Top five. That was enough ofan answer for all ofthem.

Why did you select Harvard?

Actually, Harvard selected me. Iapplied at several schools and was accepted everywhere. Harvard offered more financial assistance. Ithought it was the best school. Stilldo.

Youve done quite well here, Mitch, Mr. Lambert said, admiring the resume. The dossier was inthe briefcase, under the table.

Thank you. Ive worked hard.

You made extremely high grades inyour tax and securities courses.

Thats where my interest lies.

Weve reviewed your writing sample, and its quite impressive.

Thank you. Ienjoy research.

Tell us about your wife, Royce McKnight said. It was astandard, non sacred area explored byevery firm.

Her name is Abby. She has adegree inelementary education from Western Kentucky. We graduated one week and got married the next. For the past three years shes taught at aprivate kindergarten near Boston College.

And is the marriage-

Were very happy. Weve known each other since high school.

Mitch, our firm frowns on drinking and chasing women. We put business ahead ofeverything. We work very hard. And we make plenty ofmoney, Oliver Lambertsaid

Ican live with all that.

We reserve the right totest any member ofthe firm for drug use.

Idont use drugs.

Good. Whats your religious affiliation?

Methodist.

Good. Youll find awide variety inour firm. Catholics, Baptists, Episcopalians. Its really none ofour business, but we like toknow. We want stable families. Happy lawyers are productive lawyers. Thats why we ask these questions. Mitch smiled and nodded. Hed heard this before. The three looked at each other, then at Mitch. This meant they had reached the point inthe interview where the interviewee was supposed toask one or two intelligent questions. Money, that was the big question, particularly how it compared tohis other offers. If it isnt enough, thought Mitch, then it was nice tomeet you fellas. If the pay is attractive, then we can discuss families and marriages and football and churches.

But, he knew, like all the other firms they had toshadowbox around the issue until things got awkward and it was apparent they had discussed everything inthe world but money. So, hit them with asoft question first.

What type ofwork will Ido initially? They nodded and approved ofthe question. Lambert and McKnight looked at Lamar. This answer washis.

We have something similar toatwo-year apprenticeship, although we dont call it that. Well send you all over the country totax seminars. Your education is far from over. Youll spend two weeks next winter inWashington at the American Tax Institute. As far as practicing law, it wont be very exciting for the first two years. Youll do alot ofresearch and generally boring stuff. But youll be paid handsomely.

How much?

Lamar looked at Royce McKnight, who eyed Mitch and said, Well discuss the compensation and other benefits when you come toMemphis.

Iwant aballpark figure or Imay not come toMemphis.

He smiled, arrogant but cordial. He spoke like aman with three job offers. The partners smiled at each other, and Mr. Lambert spoke first.

Okay. Abase salary ofeighty thousand the first year, plus bonuses. Eighty-five the second year, plus bonuses. Alow-interest mortgage so you can buy ahome. Two country club memberships. And anew BMW. You pick the color, ofcourse.

He tried toconceal asmile, but it was impossible. He chuckled.

Thats incredible, he mumbled. Eighty thousand inMemphis equalled ahundred and twenty thousand inNew York.

Mitch thought about this for asecond and figured bythe time he was thirty he could be well over ahundred thousand, maybe close totwo hundred thousand. At the age ofthirty! They watched him carefully and knew exactly what he was calculating.

Tell me about your firm.

Its an impressive firm, Mitch, Oliver Lambert said, and were very proud ofit. Were small and we take care ofeach other. We dont have the cutthroat competition the big firms are famous for. Were very careful whom we hire, and our goal is for each new associate tobecome apartner as soon as possible. Toward that end we invest an enormous amount oftime and money inourselves, especially our new people. It is arare, extremely rare occasion when alawyer leaves our firm. It is simply unheard of. We go the extra mile tokeep careers on track. We want our people happy. We think it is the most profitable way tooperate. Ihave another impressive statistic, Mr. McKnight added. Last year, for firms our size or larger, the average turnover rate among associates was twenty-eight percent. At Bendini, Lambert & Locke, it was zero. Year before, zero. Its been along time since alawyer left our firm. They watched him carefully tomake sure all ofthis sank in. They explained as best they could, for now. Further explanation would come later.



2. Answer the following questions about the text, use the words and expressions from the Vocabulary list.

1. Why did the senior partner ofthe law firm inMemphis consider Mitchell Y.McDeere tobe their best prospect for the year?

2. Why did ex CIA agents do investigating for the firm for nofee?

3. What did they find out about Mitch while investigating his background?

4. Why did Mitch think he could afford tobe alittle overconfident at the interview?

5. What did you learn from the text about Oliver Lamberts position inthe firm?

6. What did Oliver Lambert think all interviewees went through when being interviewed for ajob?

7. How did Royce McKnight, the managing partner explain toMitch the difference between their firm and other law firms?

8. What activities was the firm involvedin?

9. What questions was Mitch asked at the interview?

10. What did Mitch tell his interviewers about his educational background (his family, his wife, his religious affiliation)?

11. What type ofwork was Mitch todo initially if he joined the firm?

12. What compensation and benefits was Mitch offered?

13. Why was Mitch impressed bythe offer?

14. What kind ofclients did the firm deal with?

15. What career prospects did the firm offer Mitch?

16. Why did the firm invest alot oftime and money intheir new people?

17. What did Mr. Lambert tell Mitch about the history oftheir firm?




Questions for Discussion


18.Do you think Mitch will accept the offer?Why?

19. Considering Mitchs behaviour during the interview, do you think he fancies such ajob?

20. Could you trace how Mitchs attitude and behaviour changed during the interview?

21. Would you take up such ajob offer if you were Mitch? Why/ whynot?




3. Study the vocabularylist


		frown intrans. ,  
		Eg. critics frown at theidea

		womanize  
		womanizer . 

		degree  ( ),   
		tohold adegree on   - 
		Eg. Hes got adegree on accounting and securities.
		,
		toa(certain) degree  , -
		E.g. different indegree, but not inkind

		choice 
		top choice  
		tohave big/little/low choice  / 
		tohave no choice  

		outfit . , , , 
		Eg. private intelligence outfit
		, , 

		fee , ,
		for nofee
		tuition fee, admissionfee
		Eg.The fee is reasonable  

		offer , 
		job offer  
		tohold ajob offer   
		Eg. He turned down an offer torun the company.

		demand ,
		tobe indemand  
		tobe on demand , 

		cheat . c,  
		Eg. He cheated on the exam and got D onit.
		,   

Eg. They asked 300bucks torepair my plasma TV, and Isuspected they cheated onme.

		preliminary 
		associate () 
		Eg. He started as an associate at alaw firm.
		pride 
		take pride insmth  -
		Eg. He took pride inhis service for the country.
		exaggerate 
		Eg. He tends toexaggerate when he talks about his accomplishments
		selective 
		Eg. This organization has ahighly selective admission process
		profile  , , 
		tokeep alow profile  
		high profile -,
		advertise  ,  
		Eg. advertise for asecretary
		occasion 1. , 
		Eg. On what occasion did they visit London?
		 ()
		It was quite an occasion.    .
		opening . d
		screen over   , 
		apply  
		apply for ajob   .
		sample 
		totake asample  
		reserve . 
		Eg. We reserve this book for you     .
		reserve . , 
		stay/be on reserve  
		shadowbox ,  
		apparently 
		apprenticeship 
		mortgage 
		low-interest mortgage    
		togo an extra mile .   ,    -.
		turnover rate  
		cutthroat , 




4. Retell the text as if you were 1) Mitchell Y.McDeere 2) Royce McNight







5. Find English equivalents inthe text for the following sentences


     .

 ,  ,     .

    .

    .

     .

    .

     .

,       ,  ,          .

    頖     .

,     ,    ,           .

       .

 ,    .

 ,     .

       ,    ?

 ,    ,      .

    ,  , ,  .

   ,     

   ,   .

  ,  ,     .

    .

  !

   ,  ,    .




6. Fill inthe gaps with prepositions from the list below. owe fees estate submit on inofwith


		1. Dont think the manager will approve your decision.
		2. The firm frowns divorce, drinking and drugs.
		3. They deal only with rich clients who pay their healthy
		4. How much money do you them?
		5. Applicants usually their resumes.
		6. The firm is involved indifferent activities: tax, securities, real and banking.
		7. How long have you been the firm?
		8. They take pride.paying top dollar totheir employees.




7. Give equivalents for the following words and phrases


Tohold adegree  tuition fee top choice indemand  selective  頖  ⠖ tokeep toalow profile on occasion ofones birthday cheat on somebody  堖 frown on something




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