单项选择题

Of all things in the world, I most dislike filling up forms. In fact, I have a positive horror of it. Applying for a driving license, registering for an evening course, booking a holiday abroad — everything nowadays seems to involve giving information about one’’s personal life and habits that has little or nothing to do with the matter in hand. When applying for a job, it may be of some obscure interest to a perspective employer to learn that I collect stamps or had measles as a child. But why should he conceivably want to know that my father was a tobacconist to live in Foreland and died when he was 82 The authorities that require one to fill up forms frequently demand answers to questions that one would hesitate to put to one’’s intimate friends. The worst of it is that, when confronted with such questions, my mind goes blank and I can hardly remember my own date of birth, let alone my nationality. Have I ever suffered from a serious illness Have I What do they mean by "serious" I had my tonsils (扁桃腺) out in hospital when I was eight, and my mother always assured me I was delicate, but my father contended I was born lazy. Do I suffer from any personal defects Well, I wear contact lenses and my upper teeth are not my own. But perhaps the word "defects" applies to my character. Am I supposed to admit that I like gambling and find it difficult to get up in the morning, both of which are true Of all, I mink job applications are the worst — education, previous experience, posts held, given dates. Terrified by the awful warning about giving false declarations, which appears at the bottom of the form, I struggle to remember what exams I passed and how long I worked for what firms. However hard I try, there always seems to be a year or two for which I cannot satisfactorily account and which, I am certain, if left blank, will give the impression that I was in prison or engaged in some occupation too dubious (可疑的) to mention. Even when the form is safely posted, there is no relief as I hourly await the summons from some furious official to explain the discrepancies (差异，矛盾) on my form. It is because _________ that I dislike filling forms.