At the Northstar career fair, Iris wore a visitor badge（证件）/bædʒ/ and carried a workshop（工作坊）/'wә:kʃɒp/ portfolio. Her calling（职业使命）/'kɒ:liŋ/ was product design, and her resume（简历）/ri'zju:m/ claimed she could accomplish（完成）/ә'kʌmpliʃ/ almost anything. It promised expertise（专门知识）/.ekspә:'ti:z/ in knitting, digital art, and exhibit planning, with an approximate（大致的）/ә'prɒksimәt/ completion time for every task. She hoped her easy-going（随和的）/easy-going/ manner and enthusiasm（巨大的热情）/in'θju:ziæzәm/ would make a good impression（留下好印象）/meɪk ə gʊd ˌɪmˈprɛʃən/, but recruiter Theo saw a grave（严重的）/greiv/ shortcoming: the claims were broad while the evidence was a blur（模糊不清）/blә:/.

Theo asked her to be honest about（如实说明）/bi ˈɑnəst əˈbaʊt/ what she had actually done. Iris showed a woven pad（软垫）/pæd/, a knit（编织）/nit/ cover, a nickel（镍）/'nikl/ fitting, and a powder（粉末）/'paudә/ container whose diameter（直径）/dai'æmitә/ she had measured. She had helped steer（引导）/stiә/ a student team, execute（执行）/'eksikju:t/ a safety test, and condense（精简）/kәn'dens/ its findings into a feasible（可行的）/'fi:zәbl/ report. She also described a gravitation（万有引力）/ˌgrævɪˈteɪʃən/ workshop where a model giant（巨人）/'dʒaiәnt/ appeared to float. The project had gained local fame（名望）/feim/, but she admitted that another student had designed its mechanism. Iris realized that clear limits made her contribution more credible.

Theo pointed to a nude（裸体）/nju:d/ figure in an outdated（过时的）/.aut'deitid/ advertisement and said, “Can you erase（抹去）/i'reis/ this image and prepare a forthcoming（后续的）/'fɒ:θ'kʌmɑŋ/ version that respects the audience?” Iris replied, “I can revise it on the spot（当场）/ɔn ðə spɑt/, but I will not assure（保证）/ә'ʃuә/ you that a rushed change is perfect.” Ms. Wu added, “A competent（能干的）/'kɒmpitәnt/ candidate should take feedback into account（把反馈纳入考虑）/teɪk ˈfidˌbæk ˈɪntu əˈkaʊnt/ without becoming miserable（痛苦的）/'mizәrәbl/.”

Iris removed the image, adjusted the mainstream（主流）/'meinstri:m/ message, and used a fragment（片段）/'frægmәnt/ of customer research to explain the new scope（范围）/skәup/. She added a pad around the product, changed a sideways（横向的）/'saidweiz/ label, and omitted（省略）/әu'mit/ a nuisance（烦人的事物）/'nju:sns/ animation that could startle（惊愕）/'stɑ:tl/ users. When a display wheel began to bump（碰撞）/bʌmp/ the table, she leaned（俯身）/li:n/ forward and fixed it rather than pretending not to notice. She did not weave（编造）/wi:v/ excuses. The test could turn out to be（结果是）/tərn aʊt tɪ bi/ less about artistic goodness（优美）/'gudnis/ than diligent（勤勉的）/'dilidʒәnt/ judgement under pressure.

Theo offered counsel（建议）/'kaunsәl/ instead of（而不是）/ˌɪnˈstɛd əv/ immediate rejection. He said she had merit（优点）/'merit/, optimism（乐观）/'ɒptimizm/, and the ability to excel（表现出色）/ik'sel/, but should not let praise deprive（剥夺）/di'praiv/ teammates of credit. Iris was not a dropout（退学学生）/'drɒpaut/; she had completed the program and could prove it. She agreed to follow up on（跟进核实）/ˈfɑloʊ əp ɔn/ every claim, acquaint（使了解）/ә'kweint/ Northstar with the real team, and undo（撤销）/.ʌn'du:/ exaggerated wording. Her peer（同伴）/piә/ promised to confirm the facts. The setback（挫折）/'setbæk/ did not end her vocation（职业）/vәu'keiʃәn/; in the long run（从长远看）/ɪn ðə lɔŋ rən/, it helped her recruit（赢得）/ri'kru:t/ trust. After her honeymoon（蜜月）/'hʌnimu:n/ with impressive language was over, she could distinguish a realistic promise from idle（无谓的）/'aidl/ hope. She left the fair keen to improve, not seeking a toll（费用）/tәul/-free route to success.