"You have to be the type for exams, you can't just be good for the job," said Jasmine Seiffert, a 39-year-old German who tried to get a job as an EU proof-reader.

39岁的德国人杰西•塞非尔特应聘过欧盟的文字校对员一职。 她说：“你得是个考试型选手，仅能胜任工作还不够。”

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Michael Seiffert is based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and Alan Kogut at the Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland.

迈克尔·塞弗特在加州帕萨迪纳市的喷气推进实验室工作，艾伦·科格特在马里兰州的戈达德太空飞行中心工作。

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Ms Seiffert's tone is dreadfully sober, but her writing is solid and carefully wrought.

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That happens in the course of the three stories which make up Rachel Seiffert's excellent novel.

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Like Mr Bezmozgis, Ms Seiffert uses some of the same characters from story to story, which helps draw the collection together.

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