Outside View
Every year, millions of young people take time out to help others as volunteers. Many of them do this during a gap year[间隔年(源自英国)] between finishing school and starting in higher education. Volunteers learn to solve problems, work together as a team and develop their personalities. Communities in need get help they couldn’t afford to pay for. In Britain, one of the main agencies for voluntary work is Raleigh International[雷励国际(具有教育性质的国际慈善团体)]. It arranges for thousands of people, aged between 17 and 25, to help out in their own country or abroad. This group of 100 people has just arrived at the base camp[大本营,基地] in Costa Rica[哥斯达黎加(中美洲国家)]. In the next ten weeks, they are taking part in three different projects. One of the projects is environmental, one community-based and one an adventure project. But first, they have training for the conditions they will encounter. For the environmental project at Curu[库鲁(地名，法属圭亚那城市)], the volunteers are going to help to build an artificial reef from recycled materials. This forms a protective environment for the fish to breed and feed. It helps the local economy of commercial fishing and protects the natural reefs from overfishing and destruction. The community project is in one of the poorest rural areas in the world. In the village of El Porvenir[埃尔波韦尼尔(地名,哥斯达黎加村庄)], volunteers are going to make bricks. They’re going to help to build a storehouse for the important sesame crop. If they have more storage, the villagers will be able to make more money from selling sesame. Volunteers also take part in a survival activity. Tomorrow, this group is trekking to the summit of Costa Rica’s highest mountain, Mount Chirripo[奇里波山]. At the end of the ten weeks, the volunteers are proud that their efforts have helped to improve the lives of the people and the environment of Costa Rica and Nicaragua[尼加拉瓜(中美洲国家)].
Answers:
1. Example Answers:
1 They are volunteers /university students/gap-year students. Or this might be some sort of leadership camp.
2 In the first photo, people on a raft are trying to move something on the river. It looks like the sort of blocks used to protect coastlines or river banks. In the second photo, people are digging. They might be doing some archaeological research, or making something from the earth—actually, it looks like they are making mud bricks. In the third photo, people are now carrying the object in the first photo along the shore. In the fourth photo, people are gathering at the shelter in the countryside. There is a camp in the fifth photo. They seem to be putting up some sort of structure. In the last photo, a large brick is being put into place. So it looks like I was right about the second photo. They were making mud bricks.
3 New facilities are being given to them.
4 They learn to cooperate and engage in some physical labour.
2. Answers:
Age range of volunteers at Raleigh International: 17 to 25
Number of people arriving at base camp: 100 people
Length of stay: ten weeks
Type of project at Curu: environmental
Type of project in El Porvenir village: community
Type of project on Mount Chirripo: adventure
3. Answers:
1(d) 2(d) 3(b) 4(b) 5(a)
4. Answers:
(1) during a gap year
(2) Communities in need get help
(3) arranges for
(4) taking part in
(5) protective environment
(6) breed and feed
(7) build a storehouse
(8) a survival activity
5. Example Answers:
1 The creation of an artificial reef sounds like a project which would not be carried out without outside help. It will assist in protecting an important food source for the local community. The storehouse will, of course, also be useful.
2 Although it looks like hard work, the young people will probably enjoy the reef building as most youngsters like boats and splashing around in water. Brick-making is probably rather dull and construction work quite slow and demanding. Of course, the trek will offer some great views and interesting sights along the way.
3 Physically they will be tired and no doubt have some very sore muscles. The heat may also be a problem for some.
6. Example Answer:
The video clip is about student volunteers, who are perhaps between school and university. It features a group of volunteers going to Costa Rica. They take part in three projects. One is environmental, and consists of building an artificial reef to increase the number of fish in the area, and so help the local fishermen. The second is a community project. The volunteers build a storehouse for village farmers so they can store some of their crops and sell them. They also have an adventure activity, in this case, climbing a famous mountain. As a result of their experiences, the young people should benefit by improving their problem-solving and teamwork skills, developing their characters and gaining satisfaction from helping others.
