Page 27 - Journeys B1+ (Workbook)

3 Quick-Tempered

What do you see when you look at this picture? How does it make you feel? Which colour stands out
the most?
There are numerous personality tests which you can take online in which you look at a series of ten
or twelve images, choose the option which best suits you and, magically, find out exactly what you’re
like on the inside.
Perhaps if the blue stands out most in the image above, it means you’re an easy-going person, happy
to go with the flow. Maybe, if you look and see an exotic landscape, you’re ambitious – ready to travel
the globe and see everything the world has to offer. Or, does it bring out a more negative sensation?
Are you annoyed by the randomness of it?
While you may think that this kind of analysis is crazy, companies sometimes use a form of personality
test when interviewing candidates for a job. Employers in big business will be looking for people who
score high in certain areas; for example, they probably want hard workers who are determined to do
their best for the company. And, while they’re probably looking for people who are willing to take risks,
these people also need to be sensible enough to know which risks to take. In a different environment,
though, other characteristics will be more important, such as being patient if working with children or
animals.
However, although these tests can be fun, it’s important to be cautious and not to rely too heavily
on the results. Although you may have a dominant personality trait, you will have aspects of many
different characteristics, and it would be dangerous to put people into a narrow category without
considering everything else which makes them who they are.
Imagine if you attended a school like Hogwarts from Harry Potter. The Sorting Hat does a similar job of
reading people and categorising them into different houses. In the series, characters generally fit the
nature of the house they’re sorted into. Gryffindors are brave while Slytherins are bad-tempered. But,
how would that work in reality? Do you think certain aspects of your personality may become stronger
if you were forced into a certain group?
So, next time you take one of those tests, have fun, laugh about the results, but take everything you
read with a pinch of salt.

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