Man and Society人与社会 社会服务与人际交往

阅读理解

Passage 1

Every morning at 5 am when most people are asleep， a single figure would be busy in the kitchen， cooking meals for the needy folks of Singapore until the rest of the volunteers and the four full-time cooks arrive. Day in and day out， Mr Tony Tay and his team prepare， cook， pack and deliver the food to various parts of the island. This team of caring volunteers from all walks of life work tirelessly to bring a smile to the less privileged， bringing warmth and kindness into their lives.

During one of his visits to collect vegetables and distribute them to a less-privileged neighborhood， his wife noticed that the elderly folk did not take the vegetables. Upon asking for the reason， one replied that she could not cook and thus only ate the rice delivered to her. Mrs Tay then offered to cook for her， and that single meal initiated Willing Hearts， which has since served nearly 650，000 meals and counting.

Since the organization’s early days， volunteers have learned how to cook， interact with people from all walks of life， pick up different languages， gain greater knowledge about social issues， and most importantly， build strong bonds with one another. Through Willing Hearts， Mr Tay hopes to expose the younger generation to the country’s backyard， to allow them to see and experience firsthand what goes on behind closed doors. This is to encourage them to become more compassionate individuals who understand the importance of taking care of the elderly， and be inspired to promote unity （团结） within their own families. His best gift during the course of this journey is seeing how younger volunteers help and feed the less privileged. One volunteer， he proudly tells us， has been inspired to start his own program to help the needy.

As a non-profit organization， Willing Hearts relies heavily on donations and food collections. Although the volunteers at Willing Hearts may be a small and irregular group， they are always on the lookout for the poor to extend their assistance to them.

1. What word best describes Mr Tay’s job according to Paragraph 1？

A. Professional. B. Demanding. C. Well-paid. D. Urgent.

2. What inspires Mr Tay to found Willing Hearts？

A. Visits to the neighborhood. B. Smiles from the less privileged.

C. Encouragement from his wife. D. One service to an old lady.

3. What does the underlined word “compassionate” in Paragraph 3 mean？

A. Qualified. B. Sympathetic. C. Wealthy. D. Dynamic.

4. What is the main purpose in setting up Willing Hearts？

A. To pick up different languages. B. To enhance unity within society.

C. To encourage youths to help the needy. D. To strengthen the bond between people.

Passage 2

Growing up in Kenya， Lesein Mutunkei， together with his family， always celebrated significant occasions by planting trees， which motivated him to protect the environment. It’s what the now 18-year-old soccer player treasures， especially since Kenya has an ongoing problem with deforestation （森林退化）.

Mutunkei follows in the footsteps of the late Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai who founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977. This initiative has resulted in the planting of over 51 million trees to date.

In 2018， Lesein decided to start a movement of his own. He started by planting one tree for every goal he scored during a football match. He called it Trees4Goals， and it has grown so much that he now plants 11 trees， one for each member of his team， every time he scores. Through this， he wants to inspire young people， specifically his fellow athletes， to follow in his footsteps， take nature conservation seriously， and promise to plant trees every time they score. As a result， some of them have adapted this practice for their sports. “Seeing that they’re taking that responsibility because of the project I started， for me， that is the biggest achievement，” he said.

The initiative has caught the attention of English football club Arsenal and Kenya’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry， which he now works with regularly and gets advice from.

Like Green Belt Movement， Trees4Goals， which has planted 5，500 trees so far， has made it. While Lesein has received some recognition for his initiative， he sets his sights on making it a worldwide phenomenon. “Football is a universal game， and climate change is a universal problem，” he explains. “It has the power to unite， educate and inspire my generation to create a safer and greener future.” This is why he wants to work with the world’s biggest football federation FIFA.

As for what others can do to fight deforestation or other environmental concerns， the teenager says it’s important to just get involved in some way， no matter how small.

1. What made Lesein get interested in environmental protection？

A. The influence of his family. B. Wangari Maathai’s huge assistance.

C. The demand of the football team. D. His fellow athletes’ encouragement.