Задача по теме: "Понимание в прочитанном тексте запрашиваемой информации"

The best job in the world              

Ben Southall has liked extreme experiences and adventures since he was very young. He can well remember the first time he read Robinson Crusoe and the first time his mother punished him for his attempt to fly to the North Pole. Nevertheless, at the age of 34 he lived peacefully in a small town in Hampshire, UK, and had an ordinary job as a charity fundraiser*.

His income was very modest, enough to live on but no more. Also, it was not regular. So Ben looked for an extra job to make his dream of travelling come true. Once, looking through a local paper, he came across an advertisement. The Tourist Queensland company needed applicants for ‘the best job in the world’ that combined money and pleasure — being caretaker of an island. The position involved living on a small island near Australia.

In January the number of people from Europe visiting Australia was very small. That is why the company started the worldwide advertising campaign to increase the flow of tourists. They planned to find someone who would write a weekly Internet blog from Hamilton Island, on the Great Barrier Reef. The job also expected the person to explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, swim, make friends with the locals and generally enjoy the tropical climate and lifestyle. That’s a dream job, isn’t it? So, Ben decided to try his chance and sent in an application for the job.

Though Tourism Queensland managers confessed that they had not expected global interest, the popularity of the vacancy was tremendous. More than thirty thousand applicants from almost every country of the world except a few African states joined the programme. Hundreds of people looked through the online job description every day. Ben was really surprised to find his name in the list of sixteen final applicants. The lucky sixteen were sent to Hamilton Island, the inhabited island of the Whitsunday chain, north-east of Australia, for four days. The finalists had to demonstrate their abilities to blog and interview people. Also, there was a swimming test and a barbecue cooking test.

When the sixteen finalists returned to Sydney, Tourism Queensland arranged a TV reality show to announce the winner. On the stage, each of finalists had to give a talk as a potential caretaker of Hamilton Island. When it was Ben’s turn, he said the job was the greatest honour and a childhood dream for him. He promised to do his very best.

Standing on the stage under the lights, Ben could hardly believe that he was the winner. It was a job with a hundred thousand dollar salary for half a year! It seemed incredible. The company also provided a luxury villa with a swimming pool, and a golf cart. The new caretaker was supposed to travel around the 60 islands of the Reef regularly, as well as take part in meetings, conferences and other media events. Like Robinson Crusoe, Ben made reports and kept a diary which he hoped to be published one day.

*A fundraiser - человек, занимающийся сбором средств на благотворительные нужды.