Passage 3

　　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.

　　56. 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

　　57. 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

　　58. 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

　　59. 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

　　60. 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

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