Passage Three
Mr. Bascomb was upset. At time like this he wished he had never become a candidate for mayor. Everything had gone wrong that morning. Even before leaving the house, he had received a telephone call from his election campaign manager asking for money. This made him angry and he left the house in a bad mood. When Mr. Bascomb arrived at the office, he could feel his head swinging. He reached for medicine but the bottle was empty. He had forgotten to pick up some medicine at the drug store. Mr. Bascomb looked at his watch. He was to deliver a campaign speech before a group of business men at the club at 11 o'clock. He had given a rough draft of his speech to Barbara the day before and asked her to type it out for him. Just then, the telephone rang. It was Barbara. She explained that her car had broken down and she couldn't be at work until 12 o'clock. Mr. Bascomb was desperate. He didn't know what to do. He was very nervous when he arrived at the club. He couldn't remember anything he had planned to say to his audience. He started talking about himself and his problems instead of talking about the problems of the city. Most of the people in the audience were bored. By the time Mr. Bascomb finished his speech, almost everyone had fallen into sleep or left the room.
Questions 18 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.
18. What did Mr. Bascomb's election campaign manager ask for?
19. Why couldn't Barbara come to work before 12 o'clock?
20. What did Mr. Bascomb talk about at the club?