On days when there is work， I talk to the other guys． Some of them tell me that the harvest season is coming in northern California， and they say that one can earn good money there． Things haven't gone so badly in the car wash， but one afternoon I give the manager my thanks for having hired and promoted me， and with a little suitcase that night I board a Greyhound headed north． My ticket is made out for San Francisco， but I don't plan to go that far． I plan to ride until I find a place where people are harvesting， and to get off the bus there．
I sleep on the bus for a few hours that night， and in the morning， when I awake， I don't know where we are． I get up from my seat and walk down the bus aisle， looking for a Mexican or Chicano to tell me our location， but strangely enough， I don't see any among the passengers， who are all white-skinned． I pay attention to the road signs we pass， but they are not of much help． I can read the town names， but I don't know where the towns lie． A map would help me， and I decide to buy one at our next stop． Lots of things are for sale at the bus stop's gift shop， but there are no maps． I direct myself towards the shop's operator， but I run into the language barrier． The operator is an Anglo， and when I speak to him in Spanish， he says that he doesn't understand． I try to practice my very precarious （不可靠的） English with him， but it's of no use． I have a rough idea of the sound of the words that I want to say， but I can't pronounce them right． I make signs， signaling a big piece of paper and say "for California，" but he turns into a question mark， with eyes wide open， arms raised and hands extended． "Map，" I say， but I don't pronounce the word very well． "Freeways， streets，" I add， but he still doesn't understand． He points out chewing gum， candies， pieces of cake， sandwiches， soft drinks， and cigarettes， trying to guess what I'm asking for． But he doesn't show me any maps． Finally， I back out of the store， and as I leave I hear him say， "I'm sorry．"
A little before the bus leaves， I run into a Mexican-American in a hallway and I immediately ask him to help me find a map of California． We go back to the store． The Chicano asks for a map． "Ahh! Ahaaa!" the operator exclaims． Then he goes to a corner of his shelves and takes out what I've been asking for． While I am paying him， he talks to the Chicano in a joyful tone． With the map in my hands， I give the Chicano my thanks， and he explains that the store-keeper thinks that I am asking if he needs anybody to clean the floor or "mop．"



The writer decides to leave his job and go to northern California because ______ ．

A. his boss doesn't like him
B. things are going badly in the car wash
C. he thinks he can earn more money there
D. he is tired of his work

The writer wants a map in order to ______ ．

A. find the way to San Francisco
B. help him with the road signs
C. know where he is in relation to the entire trip
D. find his way back to his workplace

From the passage， we can infer that ______ ．

A. the owner of the shop does not want to sell the writer a map
B. the writer doesn't do a good job in the car wash
C. the writer is a migrant （流动的） farm worker
D. the writer is traveling with a friend who can speak English

The writer tries to make himself understood by all the following EXCEPT ______ ．

A. gestures
B. words or phrases
C. pronunciations
D. spelling the word