VOLUNTEERING IN THE BUSH
8 March
I just got a parcel from home! It took about two weeks to arrive, and it was a bit damaged, but it was so nice to get some sweets and jam from home; I’ve been dying to have some of my favourite sweets, and it’s always nice to get mail!
So I’ve been here in the jungle for about a month now. My secondary school is a bush school. The classrooms are made of bamboo, with clay floors and roofs of grass. It takes me only a few minutes to walk to school down a dusty track covered in weeds. When I reach the school grounds, I’m greeted by a chorus of “good morning” from the boys. Unlike students in our country, these boys do not wear cotton uniforms, and many of them also have to walk a long way, sometimes for up to two hours, just to get to school.
There’s no electricity, running water or even textbooks, not to mention laptops, tablets, or other modern devices! All the students have are pencils, rubbers, and paper. I’m still trying to adapt to these conditions. I’ve had to become much more imaginative in my teaching. Science is my most challenging subject as my students have no concept of doing experiments. There is no equipment, and since there isn’t even a washroom, if I need water I have to carry it from my house in a basin! It’s important not to be too rigid about rules here, too. The other day I was showing the boys a chemistry experiment when, before I knew it, the mixture was bubbling out of the test tube spilling everywhere! The class became a circus as the boys, who had never come across anything like this before, started jumping out of the windows. Sometimes I wonder how relevant
chemistry is to these students — few will ever become chemists — and most will be going back to their villages after Year 8 anyway. To be honest, I doubt whether I’m making any difference to these boys’ lives at all.
17 April
Last weekend I made my first visit to a remote village, home to one of our students, Tombe. Another teacher and I walked for two and a half hours to get there — first, up a mountain from where we had fantastic views, and then down a shaded path to the valley below. When we arrived at the village, Tombe’s mother, Kiak, saw us coming and started crying “ieee ieee”. We shook hands with all the villagers. Everyone seemed to be related to Tombe.
Tombe’s father, Mukap, a man with a strong jaw and a wrinkled forehead, led us to his house, a low, round bamboo hut with no windows, with a door just big enough to get through, and with grass sticking out of the roof — this shows it is a man’s house. Such housing is dark inside so it took time for our eyes to adjust. Fresh grass had been laid on the floor and there was a platform for Jenny and me to sleep on. There was a fireplace in the centre of the hut. The only possessions I could see were one broom, a few saucers, a kettle, cups, pans, and a couple of jars.
Mukap built a fire outside and laid stones on it to heat. He then placed the hot stones in an empty oil drum with kau kau (sweet potato), ripe corn, and greens. He then covered the vegetables with banana leaves and left them to steam. It smelled delicious. We ate inside the hut sitting round the fire. I loved listening to the family talking softly to each other in their language, even though I could not participate much in the conversation. Luckily, Tombe interpreted for us.
Later, I noticed a can standing upside down on the grill over the fire. After a while, Tombe threw it out of the doorway. Tombe told me that the can was heated to dry out the leftover food. His family believes that leftovers attract bad spirits in the night, so any leftover food is dried up in a can and the can is then thrown out of the hut.
We left the village the next morning after many goodbyes and firm handshakes. My muscles were aching and my knees shaking as we dragged ourselves down the mountain towards home. That evening I fell happily into bed. It was such a privilege to have spent a day with Tombe’s family.
1. What’s the main idea of the text?| A．Jo went to a bush school to visit friends. |
| B．Jo’s experience as a volunteer in the bush. |
| C．Introduction of a bush school. |
| D．Introduction of Tombe’s home in the village. |
| A．Jo and another teacher visited Tombe’s home in the village. B．Getting mail from home made Jo feel nice. C．The school where Jo worked and Jo’s work at school. |
Part 2(Paras.2－3)
Part 3(Paras.4－8)
3. What’s the purpose of the author in writing the blog?
| A．To tell us her teaching life in the bush school as a volunteer. |
| B．To tell us her learning life in the bush school as a volunteer. |
| C．To tell us that she couldn’t get any money by teaching the poor students. |
| D．To tell us how happy she was in the small village. |
| A．Because they were frightened by the bubbling mixture. |
| B．Because they couldn’t stand the terrible smell of the mixture. |
| C．Because they didn’t like doing chemistry experiments. |
| D．Because they knew chemistry was not relevant to them. |
| A．Because this was Jo’s first visit to a remote village. |
| B．Because she was expressing her friendliness and warmth. |
| C．Because Jo walked for two and a half hours to get there. |
| D．Because she was afraid of strangers. |
| A．Happy. | B．Sad. |
| C．Worried. | D．Upset. |
Jo worked at a bush school whose classrooms
(1) There is no equipment, and since there isn’t even a washroom, if I need water I have to carry it from my house in a basin!
(2) The class became a circus as the boys, who had never come across anything like this before, started jumping out of the windows.
(3) His family believes that leftovers attract bad spirits in the night, so any leftover food is dried up in a can and the can is then thrown out of the hut.
2 . The saying “Choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” puts a great deal of pressure on people who are trying to choose a right career. Can you really find one that is so enjoyable that it won’t even feel like work?
Well, no matter how much effort you put into picking an occupation, there are days when it will feel like work. However, sometimes you will think “I would do this even if I didn’t get paid.” The trick is to choose a career that has many more great days than ones that aren’t so great.
First, what matters most in finding a job is to learn as much as possible about yourself, for example, your advantages and disadvantages. If you think you know all there is to know, the results of self-assessment will be eye-opening. A career development professional, for example, a career adviser, can help you with this step but don’t be discouraged if you can’t afford to hire one.
Next, you should learn about the occupations on your list. The results of your self-assessment will include a list of occupations that are suitable for you, but the quest (追求) for the right career doesn’t end here. While some of the occupations may be nearly perfect for you, others may be all wrong. Even though they are a good match for your personality type, interests, values and talent, they may be unsuitable in other ways. For example, the job duties may not appeal to you, or the required education or training could be more than you are willing to complete.
The third is to make an informed decision by exploring each of the careers on your list. Read descriptions of the occupations and ignore your preconceived (事先形成的) ideas. Unless you have personal experience or have done prior research, there’s still a lot to learn before you can decide whether a career would be right for you.
After narrowing down your list to just a few careers, it is time to dig a little deeper. Continue your research by conducting informational interviews with people who take up the occupations you are seriously considering. Asking their advice can help you make a wiser decision.
1. What is the most important factor as to finding a career?2. Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．How to Make an Informed Decision | B．How to Choose a Right Career |
| C．How to Know Yourself Better | D．How to Make a List of Careers |
3 . I have been studying literature all the time. When someone asked me if I made the wrong choice by devoting myself to studying literature, I was deep in thought.
A good friend of mine took every single literature class she could in college and decided early on that she wasn’t cut out to be a teacher. Her parents were concerned because she wasn’t really focused on becoming something that would pay the bills. In order to alleviate their concerns, she took a course in library science and told them she would regard library science as a career path. But she ended up taking a job as a communications assistant at a midsize company and eventually became the director of communications. She put her literature studies to work in making company materials and has benefited a lot from that.
Another friend turned his love of Hemingway’s writings into inspiration for his artworks. Most people don’t stay at one job for their entire career. I can’t tell you how many teachers I worked with over the years give up teaching to paint houses, work in an advertising company, start his or her own business and so on. A degree is important to get your foot in the door. But I think you should choose your job on the basis of what you’re really interested in, and no one says you have to do something for the rest of your work life.
Colleges generally don’t clue you in on the possible career paths available to you with your particular studies, but some are getting far better with guiding students towards the possibilities. Your reading, writing and analytical skills would be great advantages in some jobs, so don’t think that your love of literature is going to leave you with few choices. So I don’t feel sad to devote myself to studying literature.
1. What does the underlined word “alleviate” in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Express. | B．Relieve. | C．Deepen. | D．Raise. |
4 . I arrived at the hospital in Old Fangak in April 2019, during the dry season. I was there to work as the project coordinator — responsible for all the nonmedical aspects of the hospital: things like supplies, security, and staffing.
My first impression was that it is a very isolated area. There used to be about 5,000 people around there, but now there are more than 20,000, since many families came in to escape armed conflict in recent years. Seeing the place for the first time, I remember thinking that it was exactly the kind of place to do humanitarian work.
There are no roads or cars, only boats. The water is often at chest level, so friends or family sometimes have to carry people with medical needs from the villages to the hospital, or they send word and we send a boat as an ambulance. This happens almost every day, sometimes three times a day. There is no phone network, so people usually send the strongest person available to walk fast and inform us that someone needs medical care, or they ask fishermen or commercial boats on the river to tell us.
People rely heavily on humanitarian food distribution several times a year. Most do subsistence farming, but it is often not enough and there are few paid jobs. This year the rainfall has been less than in previous years. We are worried about a food shortage and there is a risk of flooding as everyone lives near the water.
I had been planning to stay for nine months, but then I offered to stay another three months, to see every season of the year. I kept working to understand the culture, to better understand the context and the needs of the people we were serving. I felt very motivated because we managed the main medical center in the region. The needs and the relevance of our work are obvious. I enjoyed the assignment! It was challenging and interesting, and almost never boring. On the outside it looks like a small community hospital project, but it is a great example of why MSF is needed, and why I joined MSF.
1. What was the first impression of the author on Old Fangak?| A．It is a very unique place. | B．It is badly in need of help. |
| C．It is worth a visit. | D．It is a place full of friendly people. |
