内容正文:
1. 优秀品行(人与自我)
3.1 优秀品行,正确的人生态度,公民义务与社会责任
3.1.1必修三Unit 2: Making a difference
Understanding ideas
The Well that Changed the World
As a six-year-old Canadian schoolboy, Ryan had trouble believing the words spoken by his teacher that many people in developing African countries couldn’t get enough clean water. He looked across the classroom at the drinking fountain. It was very close—only ten steps away. So, Ryan asked himself, “Why do some African children have to walk ten kilometres to get water every day? And why is the water so dirty that it makes them sick?” Young Ryan thought, “Life is easy for me, but hard for those people. Why don’t I help?”
At first, his plan was to earn money to build a single well somewhere in Africa. He cleaned windows and did gardening for his family and neighbours. He soon reached his first target of $70, but when he gave the money to a charity, he was told that it actually cost $2,000 to build a well. Seventy dollars was only enough for a hand pump. Ryan understood that a hand pump wouldn’t help the children. What they needed was a well dug near their homes.
Two thousand dollars was a lot of money, but Ryan didn’t give up. He was determined to help other children have clean water. He started to ask for help from his classmates and neighbours and persuaded them to donate money. At the same time, a friend of Ryan’s mother helped make his story go public. After several months, Ryan had raised the $2,000, with which a well was built near a primary school in Uganda. The children at the school no longer needed to walk for hours to get water. They were grateful to him and invited him to visit.
In Uganda, Ryan at last saw the finished well with his own eyes. But that was not all. He also saw hundreds of delighted students who had turned out to welcome him. They sang and danced happily. Some even offered him food and gifts. At first Ryan was nervous, but soon a great warmth filled him. He really had made a difference for these children. He broke