Volunteering and its Surprising Benefits

In today's busy society, it can be hard to think about finding time to volunteer. _____ , the benefits of volunteering are enormous（巨大的）, both to you and to the community. The right match can help you find friends, reach out to the community, learn new skills and even _____ your career. Volunteering can even help protect your mental and physical health.

One of the better-known benefits of volunteering is the ____ on the community. Unpaid volunteers are often the glue（胶水） that holds a community together. Volunteering allows you to ____ your community and make it a better place.

One of the best ______ to make new friends and strengthen existing relationships is to _____ to a shared activity together. Volunteering is a great way to meet new people, _____ if you are  new to an area. Volunteering also strengthens your ____ to the community and broadens your support network, ___ you to people with common interests, neighbourhood resources, and fun and fulfilling activities.

 ___ some people are naturally outgoing,others are _____ and have a hard time meeting new people. Volunteering gives you the _____ to practise and develop your social skills, since you are meeting regularly with a group of people with _____ interests. Once you have motivation, it's easier to branch out and  make more friends and contacts.

Volunteering can provide a healthy boost （激励）to your self-confidence, self-esteem and life satisfaction. You are doing good for others and the community , which ______ a natural sense of accomplishment. Your ____ as a volunteer can also give you a sense of pride and identity. And the better you feel about yourself, the more ______ you are to have a positive view of your life and future goals.

 _____ the risk of depression is another important benefit of volunteering. A key ____ in depression is social isolation（孤立）. Volunteering _____ you in regular contact with others and helps you develop a solid support system, which ______ protects you against stress and depression when you' re going through challenging times.

On International Children's Day, some orphans （孤儿）from the Wuhan Welfare Institute for Children 【小题1】（take）to the park. An elderly westerner was with them. The children were eager to tell him everything that was going on. They held him by the hand and called 【小题2】（he） Grandpa. This man was Professor William Dorrity, from Florida, US

The Dorritys have been working hard 【小题4】（improve）the conditions at the Welfare Institute since they came. They often take children on day trips, 【小题5】（bring）along with them all kinds of food for the kids to enjoy. They 【小题6】（recent）bought audiphones（助听器）for four orphans 【小题7】 hearing problems and small tape recorders for three blind children. They also bought a wheelchair for ten-year-old Tan Jun, 【小题8】 suffers from a brain problem. When spring came, the Dorritys took the children for 【小题9】 outing. "We love China and we love children, " Dorrity said, "【小题10】 we are happy to do this. "

   I live in an apartment building in a planned community, including private roads. I have lived in this _______ of mostly professionals and retirees for over three years, but I had met only a few of my _______.

After the _______ had stopped falling, we were left to _______ ourselves because the city and state services didn't work. I went out to the parking lot to dig out my and my girlfriend's _______. I took a large metal piece of my desk to _______ as a shovel. After about 30 minutes of digging, some of the neighbors _______ with snow shovels and told me if I helped them, they would _______ me. I agreed and we dug out each other's cars. The streets were _______ due to a state of emergency declared by the governor, so we had ________ to go.

As I said, I only know my ________ neighbor, one who is elderly. But we all (we were 10 guys, all together, in the beginning) put our heads together and figured out who was too ________ or too ill to dig themselves ________ and went about, as a team, helping them. ________ the day went on, more and more people ________ us, men and women. We became an army of snow ________. Our only motivation was concern for the people who were ________ and our growing friendship.

Everyone was concerned for each other. Someone asked me if I had enough ________ to get by. It was typical of the spirit of the day. I ________ a lot of friends that day and we were planning a party to be held at the club house in spring.

Kindness and ________ for others has countless rewards!

   Rome had the Forum. London has Speaker’s Corner. Now New Yorkers have Liz and Bill.

Liz and Bill, two college graduates in their early 20s, have spent a whole year trying to have thousands of people talk to them in subway stations and on busy street corners. And just talk.

Using a 2-foot-tall sign that says “Talk to Me”, they attract conversationalists（健谈的人）, who one evening included a psychotic, and men in business suits.

They don’t collect money. They don’t push religion. So what’s the point?

“To see what happens,” said Liz. “We simply enjoy life with open talks.”

Shortly after the September 11 attacks, they decided to walk from New York City to Washington, a 270-mile trip. They found they loved talking to people along the way and wanted to continue talking with strangers after their return.

“It started as a crazy idea,” Liz said. “We were so curious about all the strangers walking by with their life stories. People will talk to us about anything: their jobs, their clothes, their childhood experiences, anything.”

Denise wanted to talk about an exam she was about to take. She stopped by for the second time in two days, to let the two listeners know how it went.

Marcia had led her husband to catch a serious disease. “That was very heavy on my mind,” Marcia said. “To be able to talk about it to total strangers was very good,” she explained.

To celebrate a year of talking, the two held a get-together in a city park for all the people they had met over the past year. A few hundred people appeared, as well as some television cameramen and reporters.

They will plan more parties or try to attract more people to join in their informal talks. Some publishers have expressed interest in a book, something the two say they’ll consider before making a decision.