1 . You’ve sized up the benefits of volunteering, looked over your schedule, and decided you have both the time and desire to give back to your community.
Identify your values.
If you’re motivated to serve the less fortunate, you might target organizations that work with housing-insecure populations, people with disabilities or members of historically disadvantaged groups. Motivations for volunteering are as diverse as the volunteers harboring them.
Try to involve the whole family.
Many parents who volunteer turn giving back into a family affair. Community service is a great way to teach kids the value of selflessness.
Once you find a well-run organization that aligns with (符合) your availability, values, talents, and objectives, work with your contact there to set a volunteer schedule that fits your life. If you’re exploring a frequent engagement — say, a weekly or biweekly commitment —think carefully about how much time you can afford to donate. It’s better to commit to shorter or less frequent volunteer hours than to take on an unmanageable workload.
| A．What motivates you to give back? |
| B．Don’t bite off more than you can chew. |
| C．Are you ready to build a list of ideal places to volunteer? |
| D．It’s also an opportunity to spend more time with your family. |
| E．Don’t overthink the process of finding opportunities to volunteer. |
| F．Whatever your motivations are, there’s an organization out there that needs your help. |
| G．Now comes the most difficult part: finding volunteer opportunities that are right for you. |
2 . Some mothers and daughters like to go shopping or walking together or picnicking as part of their bonding experience. Others become firefighters together. That’s the route that Montgomery County mother Betsy Gekonge took with her 17-year-old daughter Mokeira. The pair recently graduated from the Montgomery County Fire Academy together and received their Firefighter certificate.
The rising high school senior says she thought she’d be going to the fire academy alone. She never expected to have company. “This is quite out of my expectation because I never expected her to do it with me,” said Mokeira.
“Taking classes with my mom was fun because we could study together but also joke around. We share a lot of funny stories at family events,” Mokeira told the Montgomery County Fire Chiefs Association. “Montgomery County is a great place for new volunteers because you learn a lot from knowledgeable, professional firefighters in a positive environment. It teaches you a lot.”
Mokeira is one of the first individuals to gain her Firefighter certificate at age 17 since Pennsylvania’s law changed, making 17 —the youngest legal age to become certified instead of 18.
The pair will work as volunteer firefighters for Barren Hill Fire Company in Lafayette Hill. According to the Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Services Institute, there were 300,000 volunteer firefighters across the state in the 1970s. That number dwindled (减少) to 38,000 in 2018.
“It’s really fulfilling to volunteer and learn about fire safety that helps us and others in our daily life,” Betsy added. “I’ve built a lot of relationships in our community through volunteering.” “Our decision was primarily motivated by this, and now I have gained great satisfaction from it. It gives me a sense of purpose and I’m helping to contribute to the solution,” said Mokiera.
1. What did Betsy and Mokeira decide to do bond with each other?| A．Go shopping. | B．Take a walk. |
| C．Become firefighters. | D．Have a picnic. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Annoyed. | C．Confused. | D．Worried. |
| A．To learn fire safety skills. | B．To work as career firefighters. |
| C．To address the shortage of employees. | D．To strengthen ties with their community. |
| A．The importance of fire safety education. |
| B．A serious challenge faced by firefighters. |
| C．An inspiring example of mother-daughter job relation. |
| D．The potential for family members to volunteer together. |
1. What is the man?
| A．A radio host. | B．An English teacher. | C．A college student. |
| A．One year ago. | B．Three years ago. | C．Four years ago. |
| A．To offer well-paid jobs to the young. |
| B．To connect parents with teachers. |
| C．To help the old and students. |
| A．20. | B．200. | C．1,200. |
4 . Six-year-old Amar Lal was never concerned with what year, month, week or day it was. His routine was the same. Every morning the family would pack their belongings and move from quarry (采石场) to quarry, where they began a day’s work. As the colours of the sky changed from blue to orange to black, the family would break stones.
Needless to say, school was a distant dream as was permanent housing. But one day in 2001, Lal’s destiny changed when Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi paid a visit to the quarry.
Recalling the fateful day in 2001 when Satyarthi was conducting a gathering in his village — an education march part of the “Save Childhood Movement” — Lal says Satyarthi spotted him carrying heavy stones. A short conversation later, Satyarthi had convinced Lal’s parents that their child was meant for greater things.
“I vividly recall Satyarthi asking my parents whether I went to school. But not my parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents had ever been to school. They looked at him with a puzzled look because a nomadic (游牧的) lifestyle was the only one we knew. Work was all we were taught to do,” the 27-year-old lawyer Lal shares.
His parents were interested by this “angel” who assured them that a better world lay outside this quarry — a world where their children could play, laugh and learn. They decided to trust Satyarthi. And several days later, Lal went to Satyarthi’s centre for children. Thus began Lal’s second chapter of life.
“My education at Satyarthi’s centre taught me that child labour is a serious problem and children around India are subjected to cruelty under the banner of ‘work’. I was really grateful that I was given a chance at a new life which thousands of children dreamed of. I wanted to give other children the same.”
Since Lal graduated as a lawyer in 2018, he has been working with Satyarthi on cases and practical assistance, and in turn, giving hope to many more children.
1. How was Lal’s life before meeting Satyarthi?| A．He worked as a labourer. | B．He led a comfortable life. |
| C．He was abused in the family. | D．He liked to observe the sky. |
| A．An advocate for children’s rights. | B．An owner of a big quarry. |
| C．A Nobel Prize winner in medicine. | D．An expert in children’s behavior. |
| A．They felt annoyed. | B．They were confused. |
| C．They felt unhappy. | D．They were disappointed. |
| A．Grateful and generous. | B．Reliable and determined. |
| C．Ambitious and modest. | D．Lucky and responsible. |
1. How do students celebrate Earth Day?
| A．By holding a celebration. |
| B．By doing some clean-up. |
| C．By promoting a volunteer job. |
| A．Two hours. | B．Three and half hours. | C．Four hours. |
| A．Go there with parents. |
| B．Complete an online form. |
| C．Bring their own gloves. |
6 . Founder is turning ownership of the company after nearly 50 years into two entities (实体) that will help fight the climate crisis.
Patagonia is a private company based in Ventura, California, which sells outdoor clothing and equipment, and was founded in 1973. Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard, who has previously expressed his unwillingness at gathering wealth, is giving away his company. The outdoor clothing company will now be in the hands of a trust and a nonprofit organization. All future profits will be donated to help fight climate change, the company announced Wednesday.
“It’s been a half-century since we began our experiment in responsible business,” Chouinard said. “As the business leader In ever wanted to be, I am doing my part” He added, “Instead of taking value from nature and turning it into wealth, we are using the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the resources. We’re making Earth our only shareholder. I am dead serious about saving this planet.”
Chouinard and his family will be turning over their entire ownership share into two newly created entities. Those entities will ensure that the company’s values will continue to be upheld—and that Patagonia’s profits are used to combat climate change.
“If we have any hope of a thriving planet 50 years from now, it demands that all of us should do all we can with the resources we have. We want to both protect the purpose of the business and immediately and continuously release more funding to fight the environmental crisis. We believe this new structure delivers on both and we hope it will inspire a new way of doing business that puts people and the planet first.” Chouinard said in a statement Wednesday.
This nonprofit organization will make sure that the company’s annual profits, about $100 million per year, will be used to protect nature and biodiversity, support thriving communities and fight the environmental crisis.
1. What is the goal for donating Patagonia?| A．To maximize shareholder value. |
| B．To turn the structure of the company. |
| C．To use its profits for protection of nature. |
| D．To become a leader in the business world. |
| A．Limiting. | B．Interesting. | C．Promising. | D．Rewarding. |
| A．Kill two birds with one stone. | B．Helping others is a virtue. |
| C．Rose presented, smell remained. | D．Actions speak louder than words. |
| A．His pursuit of success. | B．His social responsibility. |
| C．His rich life experiences. | D．His great business talent. |
7 . Fifth-graders gathered around a large tank inside their school’s greenhouse. Plants hang overhead, and trays of seedlings (幼苗) fill the shelves. Small silver fish pop their heads out of the water as Blanka, 10 years old, holds out food. “If you put your finger in a little bit, they might bite it. It doesn’t hurt; it just feels funny,” explains Blanka.
At Manzo Elementary Schools in Tucson, raising fish at school was one small answer to a big problem faced by many people in the neighborhood — food insecurity. While the students could have breakfast and lunch at school, their families often struggled to provide dinner. The teachers came up with an idea: could the students raise food at school for the neighborhood?
It wouldn’t be easy. Being in a desert region, water was a scarce resource in Tucson. Apart from that, the soil doesn’t always have the nutrients plants need to grow, so the students would need to add a natural fertilizer. Inspired by the Aztecs’ ancient practice of chinampas, floating farms on lakes near Mexico City, Counselor Moses Thompson introduced an aquaponics (鱼菜共生) system where fish waste served as fertilizer for the plants, while the plants’ roots purified the water in the fish tank. Apart from fish, other animals played an important part in supporting the students’ mission to feed their neighbors. Chickens laid eggs, and visiting pollinators (传粉者) like bees and butterflies helped transform flowers into vegetables.
Once the students had harvested enough food, it was time for Market Day. They offered vegetables as donations to people in the neighborhood and sold eggs and fish to raise funds for fish food and chicken feed. “We can plant good food and have fun while we’re doing something important,” says Blanka. “I’m so happy to be at this school.”
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．What the greenhouse ecosystem looks like. | B．How fifth-graders observe fish. |
| C．Whether feeding fish is funny. | D．Where plants are grown. |
| A．To teach students about fish. |
| B．To bring in income for the school. |
| C．To attract more students to the school. |
| D．To handle food shortage in the neighborhood. |
| A．Fish waste fertilized the plants. | B．Chickens helped purify water. |
| C．Plants provided food for fish. | D．Pollinators helped carry vegetables. |
| A．Tolerant. | B．Favorable. | C．Skeptical. | D．Uncaring. |
1. In which year did the man start to volunteer?
| A．2014. | B．2020 | C．2015. |
| A．To find a good way to kill time. |
| B．To put his experience and knowledge to use. |
| C．To develop a new hobby. |
| A．Being a guide. |
| B．Offering food to the homeless. |
| C．Teaching in local schools. |
| A．Free education. | B．A sense of purpose. | C．Love for life. |
9 . With amazing Christmas lights and some very special guests, Pallion Action Group kicked off the festive season in style after another year of giving much-needed support to the Sunderland community.
“We’ve got wreath making, our singers and dancers and, of course, a visit from Santa. This event brings out so much enthusiasm in the community,” said organizer Karen Noble. “We’ll also go and surprise anyone we know who’s going to be lonely at Christmas.”
Pallion has been at the heart of the community here since 1993, but the past couple of years have seen people increasingly struggling financially and feeling lonely. “This time last year, people were in great poverty,” said Karen. “But if we’ve done our job properly, they’ve become more financially resilient (可迅速恢复的) or less lonely and we should be helping different people this year. And a lot of those who were helped last year are volunteering for us now. People are so kind — we get loads of homemade thank-you cards. But I think the biggest thanks we get is knowing we’ve helped somebody to the point where they’re independent and getting on with life.”
Karen and the team organize a wide range of activities, from after-school clubs and cookery sessions to line dancing and computer classes to keep older people connected. But all this wouldn’t be possible without funding from People’s Health Trust, with money raised through The Health Lottery (彩票). Every time you play The Health Lottery, not only could you win up to £100,000, but you’re also helping to raise much-needed funds that go straight to the heart of the community. “So playing The Health Lottery is not just the chance to win a prize. You could be making a real difference,” said Karen.
1. What can we know about Pallion Action Group from the first two paragraphs?| A．It needs much support. |
| B．Its main task is holding festivals. |
| C．It cares for the community. |
| D．It offers a chance to visit Santa. |
| A．It is of no use. | B．It has paid off. |
| C．It needs improving. | D．It is not satisfactory. |
| A．By funding from an organization. |
| B．By raising money themselves. |
| C．By receiving donations from different people. |
| D．By receiving money from the government. |
| A．Sensitive and skeptical. | B．Ambitious and energetic. |
| C．Talented and intelligent. | D．Caring and enthusiastic. |
1. Why is the man in the park?
| A．To volunteer for a government department. |
| B．To do research for a school project. |
| C．To offer tours to visitors. |
| A．Natural disasters. | B．Online advertising. | C．Tourists’ visiting. |
| A．Sign a form. | B．Offer a cash donation. | C．Join in some online activities. |
