VOA标准英语2012--Charitable Giving Ingrained in US Culture

Charitable Giving Ingrained in US Culture

It is Tuesday morning and cars line up at the Salvation¹ Army Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Maria and Ingrid are donating some things they don’t use any more.

“I feel awful - there are a lot of the clothes, which were never worn," said Maria, one of the donors³. "I don`t want to throw them away. They are in such good shape. I figured someone can use them,” said Maria.

“Partly it is selfishly getting rid of the things we don't need from our house but also recognizing that people could still use them," said Ingrid, the other donor². "Rather than putting them in the trash and filling up a landfill, it seems that they can go to good use.” 

Eugenius Downey, a supervisor⁴ at the drop-in center, is happy to show off the donation and sorting facilities.

“The most unusual item I have seen is a helicopter that was donated about 10 days ago," said Downey. "Working, four-foot-long scaled model helicopter with full propellers⁵ and motors, it was remote-controlled.”

So why do people give? Part of it is because they're allowed to deduct⁶ the value of their donations from their taxable income.

“There are some people who give because of the tax incentives⁷ that are there,” said Salvation Army Major George Hood⁸, but he does not think that's the main reason.

“Mostly, I think the American public helps because they want to reach out and help someone who they know is in trouble,” he added.

Hood says the tradition of generosity⁹ has deep roots in U.S. culture. And he says charities and community projects provide like-minded people with a chance to connect and build personal bonds.

Ingrid, for example, says her family volunteers at their church and goes on missions abroad. She agrees that developing relationships with others is important for her. 

“Not only do you have the closeness of serving side by side with somebody else but also you get to meet people that you probably never meet,” said Ingrid.

Hood says Americans are quick to help victims of disaster - and even quicker to help any cause where children are involved.

“Especially, during the Christmas season they love to donate clothes and toys to needy¹⁰ children," he said. "They love to come and be at the donation center and they love to give up those gifts and they love to see faces of mothers and children who receive those gifts.”

Salvation Army Major George Hood says the recent recession has affected¹¹ charities, but only to a degree.

“It's a mystery, which I haven't figured out yet," he said. "The normal giving throughout the year declined by about 6 percent for each of the last three years. But during the Christmas season when we bell-ringers on the streets with a red kettle that contribution has gone up 25 percent.”

In addition to money and used items, Americans also donate their time as volunteers. Last year, more than 64 million Americans worked as a volunteers - almost 27 percent of the entire U.S. population.

1 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

2 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

3 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

5 propellers   

n.螺旋桨，推进器( propeller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The water was thrashing and churning about under the propellers. 水在螺旋桨下面打旋、翻滚。 来自辞典例句
• The ship's propellers churned the waves to foam. 轮船的推进器将海浪搅出泡沫。 来自辞典例句

6 deduct   

vt.扣除，减去

参考例句：

• You can deduct the twenty - five cents out of my allowance.你可在我的零用钱里扣去二角五分钱。
• On condition of your signing this contract,I will deduct a percentage.如果你在这份合同上签字，我就会给你减免一个百分比。

7 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

9 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

10 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。