Unit 4: Caring For Those In Need - Reading

Read the passage about the Agent Orange project, and choose the correct answer A, C or D for each question. All of our Viet Nam volunteer projects are focused on working for and with children. Projects range from working with sick kids in hospitals, looking after children in Buddhist temples, to providing much needed non-formal education to Ha Noi’s disadvantaged youth. Volunteers will be provided with full orientation and assistance throughout the project. The Agent Orange project opened more than 15 years ago to care for war veterans and children suffering from the effects of Agent Orange. Since then, it has grown into a complex of 11 houses that care for a total of 120 children and 40 veterans. The village is supported by a highly committed and dedicated base of supporters who volunteer their time, energy and resources to its projects. From 1962 to 1971, during the war with Viet Nam, American forces sprayed well over 40 million liters of the chemical defoliant, Agent Orange, over Southern Vietnam. However, Agent Orange had not been adequately tested. The chemicals released during the 1960s inflicted a legacy of suffering on the Vietnamese. Precise figures are difficult to agree, but there is no question that millions of people were exposed to the chemical. In the wake of this exposure came liver damage, cancer, heart diseases, reproductive disorders and severe birth defects. The Agent Orange project is always in need of volunteers. Many of the people who back the organization spend time raising funds in North America and Europe, and that leaves plenty more work to be done on the ground in Ha Noi. Regardless of how volunteers lend a hand to the community, their efforts directly help those who have been affected by Agent Orange to live normal, happy and fulfilled lives. As with any undertaking of this size, there’s always a great deal to be done, and that leaves plenty of opportunity for volunteers to dig in.

Read the passage, and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D for each question. Approximately one in two thousand people in Viet Nam has a significant hearing loss. Students who have been deafened in early childhood can be very different to students who have lost hearing later in life in terms of educational disadvantage. For example, their range of vocabulary may be limited, which in turn may affect their level of English literacy. Deaf and hard of hearing students can sometimes prefer visual learning strategies. This can be a challenge in an environment where much essential information is delivered exclusively by word of mouth. Students with a hearing loss may need to use assistive technology to participate in class. This assistive technology can be the laptop where software such as Skype can be used to deliver interpreters or captioning. For some, it will be in the form of listening devices. For others, it will be a combination of technology that includes both listening devices and computer based software. The impact of hearing loss can cause delays in receiving learning material. Students who need information transcribed from tape must sometimes wait for a significant period of time for this to happen. This needs to be considered in terms of developing suitable timelines for the completion of work for each student. Students with hearing loss may appear isolated in the learning environment. The possibility for social contact and interaction with other students is often limited, and this isolation or separateness may have an impact on learning. Participation and interaction in tutorials may be limited. Students who cannot hear the flow and nuances of rapid verbal exchange will be at a disadvantage.