1 . In mid-August, Hou Changliang and Lei Yudan finally held their wedding ceremony at Hou’s hometown in Shaoyang, central China’s Hunan Province.

During the past 11 years, Hou has been traveling and teaching in rural schools across three provinces in Southwest China. In 2011, he signed up for a program, funded by government agencies since 2003. The programme sends col graduates to China’s underdeveloped western regions to work for one to three years in different fields, such as education, agriculture and rural management.

Born into a rural family, Hou knows how life-changing education can be for a rural kid. When most young people were competing for places in big cities, Hou headed deep into the mountains. For Hou, the most difficult aspect of teaching in a remote village was not the poor working conditions or the low income that came with it. For two years, he batted to end the alarming dropout rate among his students in Dahua, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Locals often saw little reason to support school education for their children, especially girls. “The number of students tended to decrease after winter vacations” said Hou. “After the Chinese New Year, some were brought to big cities to work when they were old enough.”

Since the 1990s, working in cities has gradually become the main way of employment for rural laborers. Working in cities becomes the most popular pat for young people from rural regions to earn an income and become independent early, but at the cost of their education.

Studies into the high drop-out rate of rural students in middle school show that students from poor families often feel anxious about the burden of education on their parents and are more likely to drop out when they have poor grades.

“If I can’t change the parents’ mind, at least I can change the mind of my students-the future parents,” said Hou.

1. What is the purpose of the programme in China’s underdeveloped western regions?

A．To develop tourism.	B．To advance education.
C．To help with the rural development.	D．To provide jobs for college graduates.

2. What problem did Hou find most difficult to solve?

A．The poor pay.	B．The fierce competition.
C．The high drop-out rate.	D．The hard working conditions.

3. What can we learn about rural students from the last two paragraphs?

A．They tend to obey their parents.	B．Their mind needs to be changed.
C．They feel great pressure to study.	D．Their grades are generally poor.

4. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．Battle for a change	B．Volunteer as a teacher
C．Poverty stands in the way	D．Education makes a difference