European Commission headquarters in Brussels
 
A less than three percent chance of getting the job. Months of studying, learning hundreds of acronyms¹ and obscure politicians' names to be able to answer tricky² quiz questions in seconds. Would you go for it?

Every year, tens of thousands of Europeans do, entering the European Union's public service job marathon. The prize is a 21st-century rarity: a highly paid job for life.

"Preparing for the competition is a big adventure, it invades all your time, your life," said a woman who took part in the competitions. "It's like a sport ... you need to train every day."

In the past five years, more than 290,000 hopefuls have applied³ for EU jobs. A mere⁴ 7,049 were eventually recruited by the 27-nation bloc's institutions, mostly based in Brussels, but also in Luxembourg and a few other EU states.

They got in at the end of a grueling process which takes at least a year, sometimes three to four, starting with a multiple choice quiz on the EU's history, financing and politics, as well as verbal and numerical reasoning tests.

"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.

 
这份工作的录用率不到3%。还要花上几个月的时间去记几百个缩写和拗口的政治人物名，以保证在应付那些刁钻的考试题时能够对答如流。你愿意试试吗？

每年，欧洲都有数万求职者为了到欧盟供职而参加这场“求职马拉松”。不过，这场比赛的“奖品”是21世纪的稀缺品：一份薪酬丰厚的终身工作。

一位有过欧盟求职经历的女士说：“准备这个应聘很冒险，它几乎占去了你全部的生活和时间。整个过程就像从事体育运动……每天都得训练。”

过去五年，共有超过29万的求职者申请过欧盟的工作。最终仅有7049人被欧盟（目前共有27个成员国）各机构录用，这些机构大多设在布鲁塞尔，也有一些设在卢森堡和其他几个成员国。

整个招聘过程会让人精疲力尽，少则持续一年，多则三四年。初试阶段主要包括选择题测试，内容涉及欧盟的历史、财政及政治，以及书面表达和数字推理测试。

39岁的德国人杰西•塞非尔特应聘过欧盟的翻译审校一职。她说：“你得是个考试型选手，仅能胜任工作还不够。”

Vocabulary: 

rarity:珍品；稀有品