Jobs in those days were few and far between and for a number of years he was alternating between temporary jobs and unemployment benefits.

few 的意思是"很少的、不多的"，表示数量稀少。 and 是连词，表示并列关系。 far 的意思是"远的、遥远的"，表示距离或时间上的远。 between 的意思是"在...之间"，表示两者之间的位置或关系。 few and far between 是一个固定短语，意思是"稀少的、不常见的"，形容某事物出现频率很低或间隔时间很长。