Text A

Be a Volunteer

----Experience of a Volunteer at the Sydney Olympics 　　

　　The Sydney Olympics offered me an opportunity to learn more about staging a major multi-sport event and this knowledge, I felt, would stand me in good stead as I developed the media services that would be needed for our Salt Lake City Winter Games in 2002.

　　I also decided that working as a volunteer would give me a greater understanding of a whole range of issues which is why I joined the ranks of those working in the front line.

　　But little did I suspect just how much the experience would offer me such powerful feelings and a strong sense of pride—emotions which influence the many memories that I took away with me when I left Sydney .

　　As a woman volunteer, I am not usually keen on uniforms, but from the moment I put on my Sydney volunteer's uniform I felt I was part of something important, something big that could well be a once-in–a-lifetime experience. I immediately bonded with others in the same uniform and as we passed each other in the street dressed in our colorful outfits, we smiled and said “G'day” to each other and those greetings continued throughout the two weeks of the Olympics.

　　My job was as a supervisor in the Main Press Center where I managed 800 journalists' desks, the telephones, the banks of televisions and other volunteers, many of whom were media students. Our shifts were eight hours long and often overnight as the Center was open 24 hours, but we generally stayed longer out of choice as the work was important and exciting. Without us the journalists would not get their articles back to their home new desks and the stories if the emotional highs and lows of the competitors would never reach the outside world.

　　As volunteers, we all felt our work was a valuable contribution to the success of the Olympics and we reveled in the compliments we received. We worked hard and we had fun. We made new contracts and friends from all over the world and we learned new skills which we will never lose.

　　When the Olympics finished, all the volunteers---- 47,000 of us---- were invited to take part in a parade through the streets of Sydney . Many of us did this, and thousands and thousands of people came out to cheer our efforts, Being part of that experience brought tears to many eyes.

　　The Olympics was marvelous, and the work I went to do is relevant and valuable to the job I do now. But the experience of being involved in such a massive event and the recognition we were given for our efforts is what I will remember forever.

Text B

Johnny the Explorer

　　By the time he was seven, Johnny used to vanish from home two to three times a year. Sometimes he covered quite long distances on foot. On other occasions he got on a bus or even a train, and simply sat there until someone asked for his ticket. Generally the police brought him home. “Why do you do it?” they used to ask. “You aren't unhappy at home, are you…” “Of course not,” Johnny replied. “Then why?” “I just like seeing places,” Johnny told them.

　　Johnny continued to “see places” although everyone tried to stop him. His parents used to watch him closely, and so did his teachers; but sooner or later Johnny managed to slip away. As he grew older, his favorite trick was to hide on a long distance truck. Sometimes he used to travel hundreds of miles before anyone discovered him.

　　It is hardly surprising that eventually Johnny managed to get on board a plane. He was twelve at the time. It was a cargo plane and, a few hours later, Johnny found himself in Cairo . How did he get on board? No one knows! According to Johnny himself, it was easy: he just went into the airport, walked along some corridors and got on board the nearest plane.

　　In spite of all this, Johnny did well at school. He enjoyed maths and languages and, perhaps not surprisingly, he was especially good at geography. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” his teachers asked him. Johnny did not take long to answer that question. “An explorer !” he answered. “But it's difficult to become an explorer in this modern age.” they tried to tell him. “unless you go into space!” But it was no use: Johnny knew what he wanted!

　　Just before he left school, Johnny saw a notice in one of the daily papers. An expedition was about to go to Brazil to travel up the Amazon River . There were vacancies for three young people “willing to work hard and with a sense of adventure.” Johnny applied, and, two months later, he was on his way to Brazil .