Have you taken any volunteer works?

　　No, I haven’t. I know it’s pretty common in foreign countries, but here in China, believe it or not, high school students basically spend every waking hour studying, so we don’t have time for volunteer work.

　　Do you know any volunteers?

　　Well, to be honest, I don’t know any volunteers personally, but I do heard a lot about them in my city, I mean, they are contributing in different areas in our society. For example, at opening ceremonies of some important social events where lots of people get together, like marathon or film festivals, there would be volunteers guiding the crowd or keep everything in order.

　　How do you define volunteer work?

　　In my opinion, that’s the kind of work that doesn’t require any payment or reward, volunteers offer help to those people in need, like old people living in nursing homes, disabled people or children with serious diseases, even homeless cats and dogs. And there are also volunteers who did a lot to protect the environment. This kind of work is honorable.

　　Is volunteering worth the time it takes?

　　Yeah, definitely. Devoting yourselves to volunteer work is absolutely time well spent, ‘cause what you are doing makes things easier for others. And those volunteers will also feel fulfilled, ‘cause they know they are doing something valuable.

　　Why do you think people volunteer?

　　Well, ‘cause it’s the kind of work that’s worth doing. Helping others can increase our sense of self-worth, it just feels good knowing that we can contribute a little to the society. And many people say that volunteer work gives their life a sense of purpose.

　　语言点解析：

　　believe it or not = (informal) used to introduce information that is true but that may surprise people例如：

　　Believe it or not, he asked me to marry him!

　　personally = by a particular person rather than by somebody acting for them例如：

　　All letters will be answered personally.

　　Do you know him personally (= have you met him, rather than just knowing about him from other people)?

　　I'll deal with the matter personally.

　　He's no longer personally involved in the day-to-day running of the company.

　　order = the state that exists when people obey laws, rules or authority例如：

　　The army has been sent in to maintain order in the capital.

　　Some teachers find it difficult to keep their classes in order.

　　The police are trying to restore public order.

　　honorable = deserving respect and admiration例如：

　　a long and honorable career in government

　　fulfilled = feeling happy and satisfied that you are doing something useful with your life例如：

　　He doesn't feel fulfilled in his present job.

　　self-worth = a feeling of confidence in yourself that you are a good and useful person = self-esteem 例如：

　　Praise your child to increase her sense of self-worth.

　　purpose = meaning that is important and valuable to you例如：

　　Volunteer work gives her life (a sense of) purpose.

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