1 . Volunteering allows us to connect with our community and make it a better place. In Indonesia (印度尼西亚), I did a lot of volunteer work to help children, the elderly and the environment.

Last year, I volunteered at a recycling (回收) center in Indonesia with my friends. As soon as we arrived, we saw huge piles of plastic (塑料) bottles on the ground. I wondered, “What are we going to do with those?”

A group of people from the recycling center welcomed us. One person said that bottles and caps (瓶盖) were made of different materials and had different uses. He said, “Today, you are going to remove (除去) the plastic covers and caps from all of these plastic bottles.” I put on my mask and gloves, sat down on a stool (凳子) and started grabbing plastic bottles and removing their plastic covers with a cutting tool.

There were straws (吸管) and trash (垃圾) inside the bottles, so I had to remove these items. Some of my friends were not comfortable doing this work and neither was I, but it was important work and was part of a larger effort to improve the environment. After we finished removing the covers and caps from the plastic bottles, we crushed (压碎) all the plastic bottles and put them all in a larger box.

After a long day, we finally finished our work. Though it was a simple job, it would have a lasting influence (影响) on our lives and our environment. That’s what volunteering is about. How meaningful it is!

2 . Have you ever heard of a famous charity called Operation Smile? We hope we can help you understand how we are trying to help children all over the world.

Operation Smile was started by a doctor and his wife. In 1982, together with some volunteers, they went to Philippines to help children who had holes in their lips (嘴唇) or inside their mouths. It was very difficult for them to eat and drink. These volunteers worked very hard. But they worried that they could not carry on with the work because they were short of money. Then they decided to start a charity so that they could help these needy children. They called it Operation Smile.

Operation Smile works in more than twenty developing countries and has cured over 10,000 children who have problems with their mouths. Operation Smile has won many prizes for its work and in 1999 they even started a special event called “The World Journey of Hope”. 5000 children in 18 countries are cured during the event.

On the other hand, Operation Smile trains local doctors and nurses in developing countries so that they can continue to help children when Operation Smile has left. As to the children with much more serious problems, they will send them to American for further treatment.

So show your kindness and generosity (慷慨) to the needy children now. You can send your donation to Operation Smile at local bank. Many thanks from the children who can smile now will come to you.

My name is Lucas. Now I work full­-time as a nurse at a hospital in Sheffield. As a child, my dream was to work in an art museum.

To make it come true, I     1     (think) about doing some volunteer work at the Sheffield Museum. Last summer, I decided to go for it. I got the telephone number of the museum through the Internet. I called it and they told me to prepare for it. A few days later, the museum called me when I     2     (prepare) for the interview (面试). In November, I     3     (join) the “Talking Tables”. There were some selected items (选定的物品). Visitors could touch them and ask questions     4     they were going around the museum. My job was to look after these items.

I     5     (remember) the experience all the time in the future.

Last summer I was a volunteer at a shelter (收容所) for the homeless, a place for homeless people to sleep at night. I wasn’t working that summer and was taking only two classes in summer school, so I had some ________ time.

Three nights a week, I helped in the kitchen of the shelter along with four other volunteers. We planned and cooked for 45 people hot meals ________ vegetables, chicken, fish and fruit. The homeless people ________ this good food because many of them usually didn’t eat well.

I ________ this volunteer work, making ________ with the four volunteers in the kitchen. One was a very nice elderly housewife, one a movie actor, another a young teacher, and the other a college student, ________ me.

I talked to a lot of the homeless people at the shelter. Their life stories ________ me with sympathy (同情). Some of them had ________ with alcohol (酒) or drugs while others only had bad luck. One woman worked ________ almost 30 years for a small company, and ________ she lost her job. She looked for a ________ job, but couldn’t find one, for she was too ________. She could do nothing but sell her furniture-sofas, chairs and tables so that she could pay for her food. The woman ________ on job hunting, but she still couldn’t find one. She had no money for her ________ and had to sleep in her car. Then she had to sell her car. Alone, ________ and homeless, she finally came to the shelter.

You’re kind and want to ______ others in your free time, right? Now, there is something ______ for you to do and you can help others at the same time. Join us and be ______!

Where are we going to work? Well, we ______ to go far. We just work in the community centre. And we have volunteer ______ for all ages. Anyone, from twelve-year-old children ______ people over seventy years old, can be a volunteer.

We can help people in many ways. Parents need volunteers to ______ children when they are busy with work. Animal lovers can help take care of ______ for our neighbour next door. The old people need someone to do some ______ for them. There is something for everyone.

“______ a volunteer, I don’t want to get anything. ______ the children’s happy faces, I’m happy, too,” says Millie, a 25-year-old teacher. “Now I don’t play computer games ______ more. I think it is cool ______ old people ______ to use computers,” says another volunteer, 15-year-old Leon.

If everyone helps out a little, we’ll have a ______ world to live in.

May Day was created to call on people to pay attention to the importance of labor (劳动). This year, our school organized     1     special activity for us on May Day.

About a week before May Day, our teacher told us that we would visit the sanitation workers (环卫工人) and experience     2     (they) daily job. After a heated discussion, we decided to help them do some cleaning and prepare some shows to bring them     3     (warm).

The day finally came. We arrived     4     the Sanitation Station on time. After a short talk, we decided to follow the workers to do some cleaning first. It was a little bit hot that day,     5     none of the workers made a complaint (抱怨) or stopped to have a rest. We were     6     (deep) moved by them. There are no good or bad jobs, and anyone who works hard should be respected.

After finishing work, we got back to the station and     7     (lay) out tools carefully. Then we presented our shows on the square. Maybe our shows were not excellent, but I could feel that our shows were     8     (spread) them happiness at that moment.

It’s really a     9     (wonder) and unforgettable May Day for me. From that experience, I learned the meaning of labor and something different. I realized that these workers shouldn’t just be     10     (stranger) on the streets. They are the people we should look up to.