Pictures in the British papers this week of Prince William , Prince Charles's 18-year-old son , cleaning toilets overseas , have led to a surge of altruism （利他主义） . Raleigh International , the charity that organized his trip , has seen inquiries about voluntary work abroad rise by 30% . But the image of idealistic youth that William presents no longer reflects the reality of the volunteer force . It's getting older and older .
Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) has about 2000 volunteers in the field around the world . After a dip in interest in the mid-1990s , applications to work abroad are at record levels . Last year 7 , 645 people submitted applications , and 920 successfully negotiated the VSO selection process and were sent abroad . When the organization was founded in l959 , the average volunteer was in his early 20s . Now , the average age is 35 , and set to rise further .
Partly , that is because there are more older people who want to do VSO . More people take early retirement ； more , says the chief executive of VSO , “still feel that they have more to give and are in good health” . And the demands of the African and Asian countries where most of the volunteers go are changing , too . Their educational standards have risen over the past couple of decades , so they want people with more qualifications , skills and experience .
BESO (British Executive Service Overseas) recruits executives and businessmen with at least 15 years' experience for short-term contract work overseas . It organizes 500 placements ( 工作安置 ) a year , and at the moment supply is surpassing demand . A BESO spokesman said that the organization is “limited by funding rather than a lack of volunteers” .
Enthusiastic but unqualified students do not impress as much as they once did alongside accountants , managers and doctors . The typical volunteer , these days , has been in full-time employment for at least five years and is highly qualified . And the profession which provides the biggest portion of volunteers is education — headmasters and school inspectors as well as classroom teachers .
1 ． According to the passage , the volunteers .
A ． are getting older and older B ． are becoming fewer
C ． are inexperienced and unqualified D ． are mostly students
2 ． All the statements are true about Prince William EXCEPT that .
A ． his trip has triggered a surge of altruism
B ． his trip was organized by a government institution
C ． he presents the image of idealistic youth
D ． he is not a representative volunteer in age
3 ． From the second paragraph we can know that .
A ． the number of applications to work abroad declined in the mid-1990s
B ． the average volunteer now is not much older than forty years ago
C ． of those who have submitted applications a majority have been chosen and sent abroad
D ． there were more applications to work aboard in the early 1990s than in the late 1990s
4 ． There are more older people who want to do VSO because .
I ． more people take early retirement
II ． more older people feel they are in good health
III ． the foreign countries where the volunteers go want people with more qualifications , skills and experience
A ． II only B ． I only C ． I , II and III D ． I and II
5 ． According to the last paragraph , the typical volunteer now may be .
A ． an enthusiastic but unqualified young student
B ． a highly qualified headmaster or teacher
C ． an executive or businessman with at least 15 years' experience
D ． a well-experienced accountant , manager , or doctor
1 ． A 。
2 ． B 。
3 ． A 。
4 ． C 。
5 ． B 。
