10 . Charity is simple in theory: A heart warms, a hand reaches out. In practice, though, charity can become a troubled mix of motives and consequences. Giving can be driven by guilt, duty, praise, or perhaps the hope that giving will somehow make up for past cruelty or ignorance. Too little charity is far less than valuable. Too much can cause over-reliance, which makes the receiver continuously ask for more.
Giving from the heart is good. But critics have long worried about misdirected charity that does more harm than good. In his 2012 book, Harmful Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Solve the Problem), Robert Lupton, an experienced social worker of 40 years of community work in inner-city Atlanta, argues that charity must not do for the poor what they can do for themselves.
Due to emergencies such as natural disasters, the afterward financial aid is greatly welcome. Mr. Lupton advocates it should focus on the development of self-supporting. The task can be carried out via, for instance, offering micro-loans, hiring local builders and suppliers, and trying to found self-supported, locally owned and operated factories. What seldom works, he argues, are untargeted handouts from far-off providers and the sudden arrival of inexperienced volunteer-tourists hoping to earn personal reputation by digging wells or mending roofs that locals are perfectly able to take care of themselves.
Getting charity right isn’t easy. But from money raising to the rising in volunteering among Millennials(千禧一代), from the increasing worldwide willingness to give to the efforts by charity organizations to become more effective and fruitful, there is strong evidence that human beings’ ability of taking care of others is growing along with their ability to help without harming.
Charity can be as simple as holding the door for a stranger and as complex as a global campaign to get rid of malaria(疟疾). Charity works best when it returns the weak to strength, and helps a small town shaken by an earthquake get back on its feet. A successful charity is one that eventually is no longer needed.
1. What can we know about charity in paragraph 1?
| A．Charity is simple in both theory and practice. |
| B．Some charity providers are cruel or ignorant. |
| C．There is much less charity than needed. |
| D．Charity may result in dependence. |
2. Why have critics worried about misdirected charity?
| A．It may have a bad impact on receivers. | B．It may cause hurt to social workers. |
| C．It can be driven by guilt and duty. | D．It may help less to the poor. |
3. What can be a proper way to give charity in time of natural disasters?
| A．Hiring local workers. | B．Founding advanced factories. |
| C．Building houses for victims. | D．Giving untargeted handouts. |
4. What can we learn from paragraph 4?
| A．It’s easy to give charity without harming. |
| B．Millennials enjoy earning personal reputation. |
| C．There appears ability promotion in giving charity. |
| D．Charity organizations are spreading all over the world. |
5. What is the writing purpose of the text?
| A．To appeal for more charity. |
| B．To advocate getting charity right. |
| C．To introduce the process of performing charity. |
| D．To criticize unjust motives and results for charity. |
