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 （利他主義） . 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 “l(fā)imited 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 .

1 ． 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

2 ． 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

3 ． 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

4 ． 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

5 ． 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

1 ． A 。

2 ． B 。

3 ． A 。

4 ． C 。

5 ． B 。