CUE CARD: VOLUNTEER WORK

Đề: Describe a volunteer work experience you have had.

You should say:

• what volunteer work it was

• where it was

• why you volunteered

and explain how you felt about it.

Model answer:

When I was a student in high school, I had the experience of taking part in different kinds of volunteer work from time to time, and today, I would like to talk about one such experience. It is a great topic, and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to talk about it.

Anyway, the volunteer work I want to talk about here was a work which was aimed at helping the poor and needy children at a children’s hospital in our city.

Prior to that, I had taken part in some other volunteer works, like donating our old books to our local libraries and preparing soups for the poor and elderly adults of our town, but I never really knew anything about how to help the children up until that point. So, when our school supervisor asked us to buy some oranges from the local market, we just didn’t have any idea about what we were exactly going to do with those oranges.

Some of us, of course, had thought that we were going to give those oranges to those poor children at the hospital, but when we were ordered to make juice from those oranges, we didn’t bother to guess anymore. However, soon, it became clear to us that we were going to sell the orange juice and then buy some really nice gifts for the children with the money of selling the orange juice.

Well, I decided to volunteer for the work at that time, mainly because I got really bored of my studies and some tough homework, and taking part in that volunteer work provided me with a perfect escape from that. Besides, I love to help needy people and that volunteer work gave me a perfect opportunity to do so.  

Anyway, I felt really glad and happy to have the opportunity to take part in that volunteer work, mainly because it allowed me to see some smiles on the faces of some innocent children which was just priceless. Besides, it also allowed me the opportunity to share some giggles and fun with my friends while actually trying to do a noble job for my community members, especially for children who were my age. I just felt great.

TỪ VỰNG CHỦ ĐỀ VOLUNTEER WORK

• the aged /'eidʒid/ (n): người già (old people when considered as a group)

• comfort /'kʌmfət/ (v): an ủi (to make someone feel better when they are sad or worried)

• disadvantaged /ˌdɪs.ədˈvæn.t̬ɪdʒd/ (adj): bất lợi, bất hạnh ((of people) not having the benefits, such as enough money and a healthy social situation, that others have, and therefore having less opportunity to be successful)

• fundraising /ˈfʌndˌreɪ.zɪŋ/ (adj): gây quỹ (the act of collecting or producing money for a particular purpose, especially for a charity)

• gratitude /ˈɡræt̬.ə.tuːd/ (n): lòng biết ơn (the feeling or quality of being grateful)

• martyr /ˈmɑːr.t̬ɚ/ (n): liệt sỹ (a person who suffers very much or is killed because of their religious or political beliefs, and is often admired because of it)

• orphanage /ˈɔːr.fən.ɪdʒ/(n): trại trẻ mồ côi (a home for children whose parents are dead or unable to care for them)

• raise money /reiz 'mʌni/ (v): quyên góp tiền

• philanthropist /fɪˈlæn.θrə.pɪst/ (n): nhà từ thiện (person who donates a lot of money to an organization or cause)

• hands-on experience: kinh nghiệm thực tế (knowledge or skill that someone gets from doing something rather than just reading about it or seeing it being done)

• altruism /ˈæl.tru.ɪ.zəm/ (n): lòng vị tha (willingness to do things that bring advantages to others, even if it results in disadvantage for yourself)