Suppose you become a leader in an organization. It's very likely that you'll want to have volunteers to help with the organization's activities. To do so, it should help to understand why people undertake volunteer work and what keeps their interest in the work.

Let’s begin with the question of why people volunteer. Researchers have identified several factors that motivate people to get involved. For example, people volunteer to express personal values related to unselfishness, to expand their range of experiences, and to strengthen social relationships. If volunteer positions do not meet these needs, people may not wish to participate. To select volunteers, you may need to understand the motivations of the people you wish to attract.

People also volunteer because they are required to do so. To increase levels of community service, some schools have launched compulsory volunteer programs. Unfortunately, these programs can shift people's wish of participation from an internal factor (e. g. , “I volunteer because it's important to me”) to an external factor ( e. g. ,“I volunteer because I'm required to do so”). When that happens, people become less likely to volunteer in the future. People must be sensitive to this possibility when they make volunteer activities a must.

Once people begin to volunteer, what leads them to remain in their positions over time? To answer this question, researchers have conducted follow-up studies in which they track volunteers over time. For instance, one study followed 238 volunteers in Florida over a year. One of the most important factors that influenced their satisfaction as volunteers was the amount of suffering they experienced in their volunteer positions. Although this result may not surprise you, it leads to important practical advice. The researchers note that attention should be given to “training methods that would prepare volunteers for troublesome situations or provide them with strategies for coping with the problem they do experience”.

Another study of 302 volunteers at hospitals in Chicago focused on individual differences in the degree to which people view “volunteer” as an important social role. It was assumed that those people for whom the role of volunteer was most part of their personal identity would also be most likely to continue volunteer work. Participants indicated the degree to which the social role mattered by responding to statements such as “Volunteering in Hospital is an important part of who I am. ” Consistent with the researchers’ expectations, they found a positive correlation (正相关) between the strength of role identity and the length of time people continued to volunteer. These results, once again, lead to concrete advice: “Once an individual begins volunteering, continued efforts might focus on developing a volunteer role identity... Items like T-shirts that allow volunteers to be recognized publicly for their contributions can help strengthen role identity”.

28．People volunteer mainly out of       .

A．academic requirements                     B．social expectations

C．financial rewards                                   D．internal needs

29．What can we learn from the Florida study?

A．Follow-up studies should last for one year.

B．Volunteers should get mentally prepared.

C．Strategy training is a must in research.

D．Volunteers are provided with concrete advice.

30．What is most likely to motivate volunteers to continue their work?

A．Individual differences in role identity.     B．Publicly identifiable volunteer T-shirts.

C．Role identity as a volunteer.                        D．Practical advice from researchers.

31．What is the best title of the passage?

A．How to Get People to Volunteer.           B．How to Study Volunteer Behaviors.

C．How to Keep Volunteers’ Interest.        D．How to Organize Volunteer Activities.

【答案】

28.B

29.D

30.C

31.A

【解析】

试题分析：讲述志愿者为什么自发去服务社会，并通过3个实验研究志愿者的意图。

28.B细节理解题。结合第二段第三句是“…people volunteer to express personal values related to unselfishness，to expand their range of experiences，and to strengthen social relationships．”可知，人们做志愿工作主要是出于表达无私的个人价值观、拓展自身的经验、加强社会关系等内在需求。故正确答案为B。

31.A主旨大意题。结合文章第一段“Suppose you become a leader in an organization．It’s very likely that you’ll want to have volunteers to help with the organization’s activities．To do so，it should help to understand why people undertake volunteer work and what keeps their interest in the work．”可知，文章是为想找志愿者的组织领导者提供意见，并从两个方面展开，说明想让人们去做志愿者首先要了解人们做志愿者的动机，还要知道人们是依靠什么维持对志愿工作的兴趣。由此可知，本文通篇围绕着如何让人们去做志愿者这一话题。故正确答案为A。

【名师点拨】

抓主线，概括中心

要注意不是所有的段落都有主题句，有时主题句暗含在句中。阅读这样的文章，就需要自己根据文章的细节来分析，概括出段落的主题，从而推导出文章的主旨。分析的方法是：先弄清该段落主要讲了哪几方面的内容，这些内容在逻辑上有什么联系，然后加以归纳形成主题。比如第31小题A主旨大意题。结合文章第一段“Suppose you become a leader in an organization．It’s very likely that you’ll want to have volunteers to help with the organization’s activities．To do so，it should help to understand why people undertake volunteer work and what keeps their interest in the work．”可知，文章是为想找志愿者的组织领导者提供意见，并从两个方面展开，说明想让人们去做志愿者首先要了解人们做志愿者的动机，还要知道人们是依靠什么维持对志愿工作的兴趣。由此可知，本文通篇围绕着如何让人们去做志愿者这一话题。故正确答案为A。