志愿活動：有付出必有收獲

志愿者精神，是一種利他主義和慈善主義的精神。志愿者們無私地付出和奉獻，不求回報，但我們相信，有付出就一定有收獲。

Here is a riddle: What is available everywhere， totally free， and can make you feel great about yourself? 先來猜個謎語吧：什么東西隨處可得，完全免費，同時又能讓你自我感覺良好？

What is a Volunteer?

The word \"volunteer\"， comes from the Latin word \"valo\" or \"velle\"， meaning \"hope， determination， or willingness.\"

The well-known Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore once wrote， \"A flower sweetens the air with its perfume， yet its last service is to offer itself to you.\" Those people who dedicate themselves to help others and serve society， just as Tagore said， are like flowers devoting themselves to sweeten the lives of others. Such people， we call \"volunteers\".

So we can say a volunteer is someone who works for free for a community or for the benefit of natural environment primarily because they choose to do so. Many serve through a non-profit organization—sometimes referred to as formal volunteering， but a significant number also serve less formally， either individually or as part of a group.

Why Should I Do It?

Volunteering is fun and rewarding. No matter how old you are， what you are good at， what you are interested in， or where you live， there is a volunteer opportunity out there. However， it takes up our time， energy， and sometimes， money. It can be hard work. It can find us doing and seeing new things， which can be challenging and even a little scary. So why does anyone even go there?

Well， here are some of the things you might get in return for your giving:

What Should I Do?

Now that you know you can make a difference， what kind of volunteering should you do?

Volunteering In Community You can visit your elderly neighbors， helping them with chores. Or you can help the disabled， by volunteering to read books to the blind or run errands2) for people who cannot get around too well. Besides， you can also visit military veterans3)， who might need a friend to talk to， or someone to just listen to what they have to say. Finally， you can help those less fortunate families， by giving your unwanted stuff or donating money to a charity organization， which will then help the needed families.

Helping With School and Education If you're really good at a certain school subject， volunteer to help students who need a little extra help with it. Or you can help teachers and staff to do office work， like making photocopies or word processing， and help decorate for special events. Besides， libraries almost always need volunteers to re-shelve books， help with the computers， and assist the public. Helping out at museums， science centers， and cultural centers can also be a great way to learn while volunteering.

Environmental Protection You can volunteer to plant trees and improve natural conditions in desert areas， or to protect water sources and reduce white pollution (plastics) in highly affected areas.

Provide Voluntary Services for Large-scale Social Events In 2008 in China， you can be a volunteer for the Olympic Games.

Olympic Volunteers—Are You Ready?

The history of Olympic volunteers can be traced back to the end of the 19th century. When the first Olympiad was held， more than 900 volunteers showed up and most of their work was related to organizing the Games.

At the beginning of the revival4) of modern Olympics there was no clear definition for volunteers. The concept of Olympic Volunteers was clearly defined for the first time by the official reports issued at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. It no doubt clarified the positions of volunteers in the Olympic Organizing Committee.

People might have different reasons to volunteer for the Olympics. Some hope to contribute， some hope to make more friends and expand social relations， while some hope to see favorite sports stars ... If you do not understand the true meaning of Olympic volunteering， you will not work well.

The goals of Olympic volunteering are guarantee the smooth-going of the Games， to provide services and assistance to athletes， coaches and visitors and to help communicate and solve problems.

If you are going to volunteer in the 2008 Olympics， do you know how to be a good volunteer?

什么是志愿者？

“志愿者”的英文為volunteer，來源于拉丁文valo 或velle，意思是“希望、決心或渴望”。

印度著名詩人拉賓德拉納特·泰戈爾曾說：“花朵以芬芳薰香了空氣，但它最終的任務是把自己獻給你。”正如泰戈爾所說，那些無私幫助他人、服務社會的人們，就像花朵一樣，奉獻自己，給他人的生活帶來芬芳。這樣的人，我們稱之為志愿者。

所以，我們可以說志愿者是為了社會或自然環境的利益而無償工作的人，他們這樣做主要是出于自己的選擇。很多志愿者通過一個非營利性組織來提供服務——有時這被稱為正規的志愿活動，不過很多志愿者提供的服務并不那么正規，或以個人形式，或以團體中一員的形式進行服務活動。

我為什么要當志愿者？

志愿活動充滿樂趣，使人受益匪淺。不論你年齡大小，有何專長，有何興趣，住在何處，總會有從事志愿活動的機會。但是，志愿活動要求你付出時間和精力，有時甚至是金錢。志愿活動會很辛苦。它讓我們要去做沒有做過的新鮮事，去看沒有見過的新東西，這會給我們帶來挑戰，甚至令人有點害怕。那為什么還有人去做志愿活動呢？

作為志愿者，當你付出之后，就有可能收獲如下回報：

我能做些什么？

既然知道自己能帶來改變，那么應該從事哪種類型的志愿活動呢？

社區服務 你可以拜訪歲數大的鄰居，幫他們做點家務。你也可以幫助殘疾人，自愿給盲人讀讀書，或者為行動不便的人跑跑腿。此外，你也可以拜訪退伍老兵，他們可能需要一個朋友聊聊天，或者隨便什么人，只要能聽他們說說話就行。最后，你能幫助那些不那么幸運的家庭，捐出你的閑置物品，或者可以給慈善組織捐錢，從而幫助那些有需要的家庭。

助學支教 如果你特別擅長學校的某個科目，那就自愿幫助需要額外輔導的學生。或者你可以幫助老師和教職員工打理辦公室的事務，比如復印、處理文檔以及幫忙裝飾以迎接特殊的活動。此外，圖書館幾乎總是需要志愿者將書籍重新擺放上架、操作電腦以及幫助公眾。在博物館、科技館和文化館幫忙也是一種很好的邊從事志愿活動邊學習的途徑。

保護環境 你可以自愿去植樹、治理沙漠、保護水源、清除污染嚴重地區的白色垃圾塑料等。

為大型活動提供志愿服務 在2008年的中國，你可以成為一名奧運志愿者。

奧運志愿者——你準備好了嗎？

奧運會志愿者的歷史可以追溯到19世紀末，早在第一屆現代奧運會舉行時就出現了900 多名志愿者，他們大多數從事的是與奧運會組織相關的外圍工作。

在現代奧運會復興之初并沒有對志愿者做出明確界定，奧運會志愿者這個概念第一次被清晰地界定出來，是在1992年巴塞羅那奧運會的官方報告上。這無疑明確了志愿者在奧運會組委會中的地位。

參與奧運會志愿服務，每個人的動機可能各有差異。有人希望自己能為奧運會出一份力；有人希望能借此多結交朋友，擴大自己的社交領域；也有人希望可以更近距離看到自己喜愛的體育明星……但是，如果你不能明確奧運會志愿服務的真正目的，你的工作便無法很好地進行。

奧運志愿活動的目標在于確保奧運會的順利進行，為運動選手、教練和觀眾提供服務和協助，適時溝通和解決問題。

如果你將在2008年奧運會期間參與志愿服務，你知道如何做一個優秀的志愿者嗎？

* 探索和學習新鮮事物

* 結交新朋友

* 獲得在今后生活中能對你有所幫助的重要技能和經驗

* 發展能幫助你找到工作、開拓事業的關系

* 更多地了解社會和世界

* 感到別人需要你，覺得自己很重要

* 建立自信和自尊

* 做事助人帶來滿足感

* 開動了腦筋，鍛煉了身體，培養了創造性

* 活躍起來，更加健康

* 緩解壓力

* Exploring and learning new things

* Making new friends

* Gaining important skills and experience that will help you later

in life

* Making connections that can lead to a job or career

* Seeing more of your community and world

* Feeling needed and important

* Building confidence and self-esteem1)

* Feeling satisfaction at getting things done and helping others

* Using your mind， body， and creativity

* Getting active and healthier

* Relieving stress

1. 耐心

事實上，有些志愿工作可能看上去瑣碎而無趣。它并不像你想的那樣有趣和豐富多彩，有時候可能還會使你感覺疲憊不堪和枯燥乏味。因此，要做一名奧運志愿者，我們需要的不僅僅是一腔熱情，還需要更多的耐心和敬業精神。

2. 培養能力

在奧運會期間服務并不是一項簡單的工作。志愿服務工作本身有一定的程序、原則和方法，而它對志愿者的知識、技能和職業態度也有嚴格的要求。作為一名奧運志愿者，除了明確上文提到的志愿服務的目的外，還需要熟悉工作運行程序，了解相關知識，掌握必要的技能。

3. 工作精益求精

除了具備所需的技能外，志愿者還需要在人際關系、處理危機和突發事件、救護傷殘人士和團隊合作等方面持續完善自己的能力，以很好地應對各種各樣的突發危機。

總體來說，每一位志愿者都應該做好準備，完善自己的綜合能力從而做到最好，通過合作、奉獻、包容和責任心來解決所有的問題。

1. Being Patient

Actually some voluntary work may seem trivial and uninteresting. It is not so interesting and colorful as you imagine and sometimes it even makes you exhausted and bored. Therefore， to be an Olympic volunteer， what we need is not only enthusiasm， but patience and commitment to your duty.

2. Being Capable

Serving at the Olympics is not an easy job. It has certain procedures， principles and methods， and also strict requirements of knowledge， skills and professional attitudes. As an Olympic volunteer， besides understanding the above-mentioned goals， you also have to acquaint yourself with operational procedures， obtain related information and necessary skills.

3. Striving to Do Your Best

In addition to being equipped with required skills， volunteers should continuously improve their abilities in personnel relationships， crisis or emergence management， aiding the disabled， and team work， so as tomanage all kinds of emergent crises well.

In general， volunteers should be prepared and improve comprehensive abilities to do their best， and solve all problems through cooperation， contribution， acceptance and responsibility.

2012 London Olympic Games

2012倫敦奧運會

奧運會結束北京之行后，將會乘坐“Olympic FriendShip”號，“移師”倫敦。為此，倫敦人民做了哪些努力？

Before the bid was won， it was estimated that around 68% of the UK population wanted the Olympics to come to Britain. The Mayor of London and the Government have pledged (保證給予)￡2.4 billion to the Games.

It has been proposed that a ship， called \"Olympic FriendShip\"， be launched at the Beijing Games in 2008， which will sail around the world before arriving in London to herald (公布，宣布) the 2012 Games.

There will be a total of 9.6 million tickets on sale for the London 2012 Olympics. By 2013， the 3，600 homes in the Olympic Village will be put on the market for sale and the building of an additional 5，400 new homes will begin.

LOCOG (倫敦奧組委) and volunteer organizations are aiming to recruit as many as 250，000 volunteers in the run-up to 2012.

Many of the facilities established for the Games will be relocated to other parts of the UK subsequent to (在……之后的) the events， including the swimming and training pools， arenas (室內運動場) and sports equipment.`