It’s an unconventional setting. Children of varying ages are reading actively. Seated next to them are teenagers, many of them girls, staring at the Hindi alphabet(字母表)on the blackboard. In charge of this class are three young girls, not much older than their students. But when Tabassum, Tarannum and Rubina, no more than 22, start speaking, you know the difference. Their confidence takes you by surprise.

A little over 10 kilometres from Varanasi lies the village of Sajoi where illiteracy(文 盲)was quite common. It had blocked out modernity until recently, especially when it came to its women. Educating girls was considered pointless, and the possibility of women stepping out of their homes, unthinkable.

Things began to change in 2010 when Human Welfare Association (HWA), identified Sajoi for a planned intervention. HWA set up a centre in Sajoi to offer free education but the villagers needed to be convinced to join in. The organization needed volunteers who valued education. Tabassum, Tarannum and Rubina embraced the opportunity.

After completing their high school education, the girls set out on another important mission-persuading the locals to send their children to schools. “We went knocking at every door, talking to elders, “recalls Rubina. Some villagers asked them to mind their own business. “We didn’t let all this distract our attention from the main goal, ” Rubina says.

The girls honed their approach. They didn’t ask people to stop their children from working, but urged them to send them to schools for an hour or two. Slowly, children started trickling(缓 慢增加)in. Motivational Learning Centre, as the girls call it, is no replacement for school. It is there, in fact, that they create the hunger for knowledge. It also helps school-going children so they don’t lose interest and drop out.

Those who doubted the girls’ intentions now recommend the centre to others. The number of admissions to schools has steadily increased and the dropout rate in Sajoi has fallen.

【小题1】How does the author start the text?

A．By describing a typical scene.

B．By comparing different views.

C．By analyzing certain reasons.

D．By providing background information.

【小题2】What was the major obstacle for girls to receive education in Sajoi?

A．Most families had a tight budget.

B．They were engaged in working.

C．The locals didn’t value education much.

D．The educational resources were insufficient.

【小题3】What does the underlined word “honed” mean in paragraph 5?

A．Abandoned.

B．Explained.

C．Adopted.

D．Improved.

【小题4】What is the purpose of the text?

A．To explain the consequences of poor knowledge.

B．To show efforts to fight against illiteracy in India.

C．To reflect on the current educational situation in India.

D．To inform us of the urgent need for the youth to get educated.