Do you often do volunteer work? Volunteer work is to make a contribution (贡献) to the society (社会) without asking for any money. Volunteers spend their free time helping do all kinds of things. We can see them everywhere. They offer help in hospitals, train stations, streets, old people’s homes... They help cheer up sick people, they help the old cross the street safely, they help the poor and the disabled live a good life...

Some people in China may have never done any volunteer work. They say they are always busy with work and study. However, volunteer work is an important part of life in Australia. The following two graphs (图表) are from a research in Australia. Graph l shows the participation rate (参与率) of different age groups. Graph 2 shows how many hours volunteers spent in different areas.

I own a small restaurant providing hot meals for my customers (顾客). One day, I felt uncomfortable and closed my door early. When I walked outside, an old lady sat near my door.

I invited her to come in and provided her with a hot meal. She was happy and she told me it was her birthday. I wished her a happy birthday and asked what she had gotten for her birthday. She told me that a hot meal was already enough.

I asked her how old she was and she told me about it. I felt so worried about her as she told me she had no family. Then I reached into my pocket (口袋) and pulled out all the money and asked her to help me count (数数) it. She was happy to do so. After counting the money, she was surprised and she said she hadn’t seen that much money for a very long time. I told her to count out 83 dollars and that was her birthday gift — one dollar for every year. She was so excited that it brought her to tears (眼泪). She told me it was the best gift she had ever received. As for me, it was also my best day I had ever spent. When we help others, we will make ourselves feel happy as well.

Delaney Clements was an 11-year-old girl. She had long blonde hair. Her best friend was Kamryn. They were in the same class. One day Delaney didn’t feel well. Her parents took her to hospital. The doctors checked (检查) the girl. They said that Delaney had a health problem.

Delaney was in hospital for months. It was a very difficult time for her, but she often smiled. The doctors and nurses liked her a lot, because they thought she was a very strong girl. Because of her health problem, Delaney lost all of her hair. She felt different from her classmates. Kamryn wanted to help Delaney. She shaved (剃) her head so that she looked like her friend. When Delaney saw Kamryn with no hair, she was very moved (感动的).

But there was a terrible surprise for Kamryn the next day at school. Her teachers said it was not OK to have a shaved head. They didn’t want Kamryn to come to school. Kamryn’s parents told the school Kamryn and Delaney’s story. At last, Kamryn went back to school.