International Volunteer: Working with Children
Thinking about volunteering abroad?
Want to take a volunteer vacation? Think about volunteering internationally working with children. It is one of the most rewarding and life-changing things you can do in your spare time. Most importantly, it can dramatically improve children's lives. Given the various and interesting programs, let me give you a general description.
What types of opportunities are available?
Whether you choose to volunteer in Africa or anywhere else, there are many children who need help, so your efforts will gratefully applaud. First, you need decide which country to work in. Many volunteer abroad to experience more of a particular area they love. Next, decide on what type of project to work on. These projects generally fall under the following topics:
Work in school as a teaching assistant, helping with basic tasks such as reading, numeracy, etc. The beauty of this is that no formal training or qualifications are required!
Teaching English to children of all ages. Usually a TEFL qualification is required, but many schools only require you to speak English to a native level.
Running sports programs in various communities. If you are active and passionate about helping children through sports, this is for you.
Running music clubs to help kids learn new skills, develop teamwork skills and, hopefully, have fun.
How do you go about organizing volunteer programs abroad?
As you see, there are varied volunteer opportunities available, depending on your personal interests. To arrange a placement, talk to volunteer overseas agencies and they can help place you in the community of your choice. Look online for agencies that look good on you!
Growing up, David Flink struggled in school—despite his smarts. He had a hard time focusing in class, and he didn't understand why he couldn't learn the way other students did.
"There was a calculation made," he said. "I could either be the silent kid or I could be the bad kid. So, I started acting out. "Flink was often asked to leave the classroom because of the disturbance he caused." At one point, my desk was literally moved to the hallway," he said. "But then I had this message sent to me that I didn't belong in a classroom."
One in five children in the United States has learning disability. At the time, Flink didn't realize he was among them, and his struggles left him feeling alone and isolated. At 11, Flink was diagnosed(诊断) with ADHD and dyslexia. With the support of his parents and the right school, Flink graduated high school and went to Brown University.
When he got to college, he found a community of students who also had learning disabilities. Together with five of them, Flink started a mentoring program for nearby elementary school students who had a learning disability. They called the program Eye to Eye.
Since 1998, Eye to Eye has grown into a nationwide non-profit organization that pairs middle school children who have a learning disability with a college or high school mentor who also has a learning disability. The organization is in 150 schools nationwide and has more than 1350 mentees, influencing middle school children each week. Eighty percent of Eye to Eye students graduate from college—an impressive rate considering children with learning disabilities are three times more likely to drop out of high school.
While Flink enjoys hearing about the academic success Eye to Eye brings to children, there's something more he finds satisfying. "When I hear that because they were in Eye to Eye, they now understand somebody else's experience better—this is what we need in America," Flink said. "We have to love each other across our difference."
By now, most people know they should be eating more vegetables. But are there ways to get more from the vegetables you already eat? A research shows that when it comes to vegetables, it's not only how much we eat, but also how we prepare them, that decides the vitamins and other nutrients(营养物) that enter our body.
Many studies show that people who eat lots of vegetables have less heart disease, and eye problems and even cancer. But raw vegetables are not always best. The researchers found that 198 Germans who eat raw food were short of lycopene(番茄红素), the matter found in tomatoes and other red vegetables. "There is an idea that raw foods are always going to be better," says Steven K. Clinton, a professor at Ohio State University. "For fruits and vegetables, sometimes a little bit of cooking can be helpful."
A number of factors decide how the vegetables do good to people's health before they reach the table, including where and how they were grown and stored before being bought. No single cooking way is best. Some nutrients are easily lost in cooking if they are cooked in different ways.
Vitamins C and B are often lost. In January, another report said that boiling was better for carrots than frying or serving them raw. Frying was the worst way to cook.
What cooked with the vegetables can also be important? When the vegetables were cooked with fat, the diners can get more nutrients. Fat can also make the taste of vegetables better, meaning that people will eat more of them. Putting on some other things that make it taste better—a little salt—can make the food taste better.
The effects of noise can reach organisms(生物体) without ears. Because of the way living things rely on each other, noise pollution may actually stop some forests from growing, a new study suggests. In a New Mexico woodland of pine trees, researchers found far fewer tree seedlings(小苗) in noisy sites than they did in quiet ones.
The study area is dotted with gas wells, some of which are quiet and some of which have compressors(压缩机) that create a constant noise. This allowed Jennifer Phillips, a behavioral ecologist at Texas A&M University-San Antonio and her colleagues to compare sites that were similar except for noise level. In areas that had been noisy for at least 15 years, the researchers found only about 13 pine seedlings, compared with 55 pine seedlings per hectare (公顷) in quiet areas.
The differences in plant growth were probably caused by changes in animal behavior, said Phillips. For example, noise might drive away certain pollinators(传粉昆虫) such as bees, bats and moths. In the case of pine trees, the problem was likely a lack of animals to disperse seeds. Pines depend on birds to carry their seeds away from the parent tree, and birds are known to avoid noise. The differences between the sites aren't yet obvious to someone walking through them, said Sarah Termondt, a botanist(植物学家) with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who helped conduct the study. That's probably because pines are slow-growing, with most of the mature trees in such woodlands being over a century old.
The study raises questions about the future of the area. "If the noise stays there long term, are we going to lose this important ecosystem of the pine which supports so much wildlife?" said Phillips. The study was published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society.
When you feel down, you are expecting to receive support or comfort from your friends. Your friends feel the same way. However, it may be not easy to cheer up your friends when you can't be by their side.
Ask if there's anything you can do to help. Different people prefer to be comforted in different ways. Ask if there's anything specific you can do to help your friends. While you're talking on the phone, say something like, "What can I do to help? I'm always here if you need anything."
This simple gesture can really brighten your friends' day. If your friends are in need of comfort, send them frequent reminders that you're thinking of them. Share something that reminded you of them. It will let your friends know that they're still important in your life even if they're far away.
List why you think they're special. Send them a list of all the reasons why you think they're amazing. Whether it is their kind and compassionate(富有同情心的) nature，their sense of style，or their ability to find the coolest music, tell them why you are so grateful to know them. After reading what you have listed, they will feel encouraged.
Send them a gift. Surprise them with something special to make their day. Arrange for flowers to be delivered to their apartment or mail them one of their favorite albums. A homemade gift, like a knitted(针织的) scarf or a piece of artwork, will lift their spirits all the same.
A. Send a gift to them to celebrate their success.
B. Thankfully, there are many ways you can help.
C. Therefore, you can visit them to cheer them up.
D. Text them to let them know they're on your mind.
E. You don't have to go all out in terms of spending.
F. If they've been down on themselves lately, they may need a reminder.
G. The question alone will show you care, and they will appreciate your kind offer.
When the host announced that my choir(合唱队) won the second place of the World Choir Game, I couldn't believe what I heard. All the 1 that we made was worthwhile. Through this unforgotten experience, I 2 much.
In the semi-finals(半决赛) , we were supposed to sing four songs. When we played the third song, I suddenly heard an unexpected 3—a girl in the alto(女低音)got quick. The other students in the alto were 4 by the girl and were getting quicker and quicker. Our choir's leader, Mrs Li noticed it and 5used her hand to keep time, but she 6.
After the song, the smile on Mrs Li's face froze and some of our members turned and tried to find the person who first got 7. My mind was blank, but quickly I realized the only thing we could do was to 8 the performance. Then with a smile, Mrs Li became a 9 again, who seemed to have totally forgot what we had done. We sang the 10 song as usual.
After the competition, I was disappointed. Just because of one person's fault, the whole choir must afford the fact that we might lose the game. I cried, but then I found nothing would change no matter how hard we 11 the girl who played poorly. 12, I came to her, encouraged her, and practiced the whole melody with her. In the finals, we got the medal because of our 13 performance.
Never blame a person when she makes a mistake, but help her to solve the problem when you are struggling 14 the same goal. No matter what you will experience with others in the future, successes or failures, 15 or tears, these will surely become your precious treasure and memory.
Not surprisingly, there are rules for using the Internet. Like the other rules in our lives, they are meant to protect us from harm and to help us to have (enjoy) experiences online. Whether you surf the Internet at school, at the library, at home, it is important that you always obey these rules.
Avoid websites where personal information (request). If you need to register at website to get certain services, use only your first name. You should not give out your real last name, address, phone number, password, or school name. If you are interested in using a website requires this information, ask a parent before you continue.
Just because you have written to someone in a chat room or over email does not mean that you know this person. Treat everyone that you meet online as a stranger, (use) the same rules for dealing with (stranger) online as you would for those you see on the street.
Don't agree (meet) in person someone you have met online unless you first get (permit) from your parents. If your parents allow you to meet this person, you should take your parents you and meet in a public place.
1）提出建议；
2）表达祝福。
注意：
1）词数 80 左右；
2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Jim,
I am sorry to hear that you are worried about your studies in senior high school.
……
Yours,
Li Hua
Often, when he came to visit, my grandfather would bring me a present. These were never the sorts of things that other people brought, such as dolls, books or toys. My dolls and toys have been gone for more than half a century, but many of my grandfather's gifts are still with me. Once he brought me a little plastic cup. I looked inside, expecting to see something special. But there was only some loose soil in it, which made me disappointed. He smiled at me affectionately. Turning around, he picked up a little teapot from my dolls' tea set and took me to the kitchen where he filled the little cup with water. Back in the living room, he put it on the windowsill(窗台) and handed me the teapot. "If you promise to put some water in the cup every day, something may happen." he told me.
At that time, I was only five years old. This whole thing made no sense to me at all. I looked at him doubtfully and asked, "Do I have to water it every day? What will happen?" He nodded to me with encouragement, "Yes, every day, dear."
And so I promised. At first, curious to see what would happen, I did not mind doing this. But as the days went by and nothing changed, it got harder and harder to remember to put water in the cup. After a week, I asked my grandfather if it was time to stop yet. Shaking his head no, he said, "Every day." The second week was even harder, and I became regretful of my promise to put water in the cup. When my grandfather came again, I tried to give it back to him, but he refused to take it, saying simply the same words, "Every day." By the third week, I began to forget to put water in the cup during the day. Often, I would remember only after I had been put to bed and would have to get out of bed and water it in the dark. But I did not miss a single day.
注意：
1）续写词数应为150左右；
2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
One morning, something amazing happened.
Paragraph 2:
This was perhaps my first lesson in the power of perseverance.
