Suppose you become a leader in an organization. It's very likely that you'll want to have volunteers to help 

with the organization's activities. To do so, it should help to understand why people undertake volunteer work and

what keeps their interest in the work.

       Let's begin with the question of why people volunteer. Researchers have identified several factors that 

motivate people to get involved. For example, people volunteer to express personal values related to unselfishness, 

to expand their range of experiences, and to strengthen social relationships. If volunteer positions do not meet these 

needs, people may not wish to participate. To select volunteers, you may need to understand the motivations of the 

people you wish to attract.

         People also volunteer because they are required to do so. To increase levels of community service, some 

schools have launched compulsory volunteer programs. Unfortunately, these programs can shift people's wish of

participation from an internal factor (e.g., “I volunteer because it's important to me”) to an external factor (e.g., “I

volunteer because I'm required to do so”). When that happens, people become less likely to volunteer in the future.

People must be sensitive to this possibility when they make volunteer activities a must.

          Once people begin to volunteer, what leads them to remain in their positions over time? To answer this 

question, researchers have conducted follow-up studies in which they track volunteers over time. For instance, one 

study followed 238 volunteers in Florida over a year. One of the most important factors that influenced their 

satisfaction as volunteers was the amount of suffering they experienced in their volunteer positions. Although this

result may not surprise you, it leads to important practical advice. The researchers note that attention should be 

given to “training methods that would prepare volunteers for troublesome situations or provide them with 

strategies for coping with the problem they do experience”.

         Another study of 302 volunteers at hospitals in Chicago focused on individual differences in the degree to 

which people view “volunteer” as an important social role. It was assumed that those people for whom the role of 

volunteer was most part of their personal identity would also be most likely to continue volunteer work. 

Participants indicated the degree to which the social role mattered by responding to statements such as 

“Volunteering in Hospital is an important part of who I am.” Consistent with the researchers' expectations, they

found a positive correlation (正相关) between the strength of role identity and the length of time people continued 

to volunteer. These results, once again, lead to concrete advice: “Once an individual begins volunteering, 

continued efforts might focus on developing a volunteer role identity.... Items like T-shirts that allow volunteers to 

be recognized publicly for their contributions can help strengthen role identity”.

    Master painter Zhang Daqian (1899-1983) was well known for having a large number of friends and students. Among them, painter Li Qiujun was special.

    They got to know each other through Li's elder brother, who was one of Zhang's best friends.

    They admired each other's artistic talent and became confidants, which resulted in a romantic relationship.

    In 1948, Zhang produced Spring Clouds Amid Autumn Landscape, a mountain-and-water ink painting featuring gongbi (meticulous brushwork), as a gift for Li's 50th birthday.

    A year later, Zhang permanently departed from the mainland, and traveled and exhibited around the world before settling down in Taipei in 1976.

    After leaving the mainland, he often said that he missed Li, who died in Shanghai in 1973.

    Spring Clouds Amid Autumn Landscape will be auctioned in Hong Kong on Oct 4.

    The painting not only marks a friendship between the two painters, but it deserves special attention because it shows Zhang at the top of his game as he sought to master the mountain-and-water style, according to C.K. Cheung, head of Sotheby's Chinese painting department.

    Sotheby's will auction the work at its major autumn sale, which runs from Oct 1 to 5.

    Cheung says the painting's composition and Zhang's attention to details reflect his incorporation of traditional touches, especially from Song Dynasty (960-1279) paintings, while also developing his own style.

    You may not know a lot of people when you start high school. Maybe your friends from middle school are going to a different high school. Even if you know other freshmen(新生), you still feel nervous that you don't know any upper-classmen. How are you going to make friends among this sea of unknown faces?

    Most high schools hold a freshman orientation(训练) before school actually starts. These are helpful not only because you learn your way around the building and get to meet some of your teachers, but you also get to meet fellow freshmen. That way, when you show up on your first day of school, you may already recognize a few familiar faces.

    When you talk to people at orientation, you'll probably find that a lot of them are feeling just like you are. They're all new to the school and don't know what to expect. Talking about a common concern with your classmates can help you develop friendships.

    The work in high school is something freshmen are probably worried about. The work in high school builds on what you learned in middle school, giving you a more advanced knowledge of many subjects. So you may find you have more work to do or that it's a bit more challenging. If you ever find your work too difficult, teachers can give you extra help.

    High school also has more after-school activities than middle school did, such as clubs, music and theater groups and sports teams. This is a good time to explore your interests and try new things.

    Middle school taught you the basics of academics, time management, and social skills while providing you with a little extra support and guidance. High school gives you the chance to learn how to be more independent and responsible.

    You may be familiar with those quotes, but seldom can you associate these quotes with those outstanding women behind them, not to mention the great work they did.

    “Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.”

—Anne Frank (1929 — 1945)

    Hiding from the German forces, Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl, was gifted a diary by her father when she was 13. However, her diary was published after her death in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the age of 15. The diary served as a unique eye-witness account of life during Holocaust (mass murder of about six million Jews during World War II) and it became one of the world's most read books.

    “Not all of us can do great things• But we can do small things with great love.”

—Mother Teresa (1910 — 1997)

    Mother Teresa, the Nobel Peace Prize winner (1979), aimed at looking after those children who had nobody to look after them through her own order “the Missionaries of Charity”. She worked tirelessly towards her goal until her ill-health forced her to step down in March 1997, after which she took her last breath in September 1997.

    “If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.”

—Margaret Thatcher (1925 — 2013)

    Margaret Thatcher was loved and hated equally for some of her policies but she never compromise (妥协). She was known as “the Iron Lady” for her leadership style. From being a grocer's daughter to graduating from Oxford University to becoming a banister, she went on to become Britain's first and to date, only female Prime Minister elected in 1979 and the country's fifth longest serving leader.

    “I knew someone had to take the first step and I made up my mind not to move.”

—Rosa Parks (1913 — 2005)

    Also known as “the first lady of civil rights”, Rosa Parks was a pioneer of civil rights in a racially segregated Alabama in 1950s. In 1955, she refused to give away her seat to a white passenger in a bus, disobeying the bus driver's orders. This act of hers sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott that crippled the state capital's public transport system.

    In the US, many people prefer sports and sports are not just for fun. They're almost a “religion”. Thousands of sports fans buy expensive tickets to watch their favorite teams and athletes play in person. Other fans watch the games at home, sticking to their TV sets, never missing a game. Many a wife becomes a “sports widow”during her husband's favorite season. Americans devotion to sports has created a new class of wealthy people: professional athletes. Sports stars often receive million dollar salaries. Some even make big money by appearing in advertisements for soft drinks, shoes and almost everything.

    Sports are an important part of American culture. Throughout their school life, Americans learn to play many sports. Many students try out for the school teams. Athletic events at universities attract scores of fans and benefit the whole community. Many people also enjoy noncompetitive activities, like hiking, cycling, horseback riding, camping or hunting.

    Many sports were imported from other countries. Europeans brought tennis, golf, bowling and boxing to America. Football and baseball came from other Old World games. Only basketball has a truly American origin. Americans export sports fever as well. Satellites broadcast games to sports fans around the globe. NBA is a good example. The names of American superstars like basketball great Michael Jordan have become household words all over the world.

    Compassion（同情）is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into action. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it's not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register（收款机）with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash, had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.

    I couldn't help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if fortune had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn't allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.

    Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable, “Charge it to me,” was all he said.

    What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.