A. technique B. processes C. tested D. procedure E. typically F. small G. competent H. gain I. vague J. affluent K. suggest L. ruin M. complain N. mention O. positively With unemployment tide throughout the rich world, more and more young people are seeking internships. Many firms, nervous about the future, are reluctant to hire permanent staff until they have 1 them. Intern-recruitment agencies are popping up to help. Inspiring Interns, a London firm, boasts that it can provide 2 interns within three days. It 3 300 applicants a day, and claims that 65% of the interns it has placed have been hired. Many intern candidates have no previous job experience and only a 4 notion of what work involves. Inspiring Interns screens them with personality tests, coaches them on interview 5. Many internships are unpaid; the firm charges employers ￡500 a month for each intern plus 10% of the starting salary if an intern is hired permanently. Some 6 that unpaid internships are exploitative. They also worry that only well-heeled youngsters can afford to work for nothing. If an internship is the first step on the career ladder, the less 7 will never climb it. Others disagree. They think anything that gives people an opportunity to 8 experience is a good thing. Official statistics about internships are not enough, but surveys by the National Association of Colleges and Employers 9 that they work quite well. The average hourly wage for an intern studying for a bachelor's degree in America is $16.21, though arty organisations 10 pay nothing. Most important, more than 60% of interns in America are eventually offered full-time jobs. Staff who first work as interns are also more likely to stick around than those who do not.