The Meaning of Volunteering Reading Answers

Gayathri Author

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19-09-2025

The Meaning of Volunteering reading answers

The Meaning of Volunteering Reading Answers practice test and answers with explanations are given here for your reference. The reading passage has nine paragraphs along with 13 questions. The questions are divided into three categories: locating information form, multiple choice form, and sentence endings form.

Table of contents:

Solution for The Meaning of Volunteering

For your knowledge, we have given the Meaning of Volunteering Reading Answers in the table below.

Answer Table

1. I 5. E 9. C 13. A
2. D 6. A 10. A  
3. G 7. D 11. E  
4.C 8. B 12. C  

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The Meaning of Volunteering Reading Answers are given here for your practice, and it will help you improve your comprehension skills. To solve the questions easily, highlight the keywords and important details provided in the passage. 

Passage

We have given The Meaning of Volunteering Reading reading passage. Read the passage and answer all the questions (1-13). Inspect your answers with The Meaning of Volunteering Reading Answers with location.

The Meaning of Volunteering

  1. Volunteering, some might mistakenly think, embraces a plethora of people from all walks of life as well as activities, but data from the other side of the world suggest otherwise. A 2001 survey on who participated in volunteering by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the United Kingdom (UK) revealed that people in higher-income households are more likely than others to volunteer. In England and Wales, 57 percent of adults with gross annual household incomes of £75,000 or more, have volunteered formally (such as raising or handling money for a charity or being a member of a committee) in the 12 months prior to the survey date. They were almost twice as likely to have done than those living in households with an annual income under £10,000.
  2. As well as having high household incomes, volunteers also tend to have higher academic qualifications, be in higher socio-economic groups, and be in employment. Among people with a degree or postgraduate qualification, 79 percent had volunteered informally and 57 percent had volunteered formally in the previous 12 months. For people with no qualifications, the corresponding proportions were 52 percent and 23 percent. But voluntary work is certainly not the exclusive preserve of the rich, nor should it be. Does the answer not lie perhaps in the fact that the rich tend to have money to allow them the time to become involved in voluntary work compared to less well-off people?
  3. A breakdown in the year 2000 of the range of volunteering activities taken from The Australian Bureau of Statistics gives an idea of the scale of activities in which people are typically involved. Eleven sectors are given ranging from Community and Welfare, which accounted for just over a quarter of the total hours volunteered in Australia, to Law/justice/politics with 1.2 percent at the other end of the scale. Other fields included sport/recreation, religious activities, and education, followed by 21.2 percent, 16.9 and 14.3 percent respectively. Foreign/international volunteer work accounted for 2.4 percent of the total hours. The data here also seem to point to a cohort of volunteers with expertise and experience.
  4. The knock-on effect of volunteering on the lives of individuals can be profound. Voluntary work helps foster independence and imparts the ability to deal with different situations, often simultaneously, thus teaching people how to work their way through different systems. It, therefore, brings people into touch with the real world; and, hence, equips them for the future.
  5. Initially, young adults in their late teens might not seem to have the expertise or knowledge to impart to others that say a teacher or agriculturalist, or nurse would have, but they do have many skills that can help others. And in the absence of any particular talent, their energy and enthusiasm can be harnessed for the benefit of their fellow human beings, and ultimately themselves. From all this, the gain to any community no matter how many volunteers are involved is immeasurable.
  6. Employers will generally look favorably on people who have shown an ability to work as part of a team. It demonstrates a willingness to learn and an independent spirit, which would be desirable qualities in any employee. So to satisfy employers’ demands for experience when applying for work, volunteering can act as a means of gaining experience that might otherwise elude would-be workers and can ultimately lead to paid employment in the desired field.
  7. But what are the prerequisites for becoming a volunteer? One might immediately think of attributes like kindness, selflessness, strength of character, ability to deal with others, determination, adaptability and flexibility, and a capacity to comprehend the ways of other people. While offering oneself selflessly, working as a volunteer makes further demands on the individual. It requires a strength of will, a sense of moral responsibility for one’s fellow human beings, and an ability to fit into the ethos of an organization or community. But it also requires something which in no way detracts from the valuable work done by volunteers and which may seem at first glance both contradictory and surprising: self-interest.
  8. Organizations involved in any voluntary work have to be realistic about this. If someone, whatever the age, is going to volunteer and devote their time without money, they do need to receive something from it for themselves. People who are unemployed can use volunteer work as a stepping-stone to employment or as a means of finding out whether they really like the field they plan to enter or as a way to help them find themselves.
  9. It is tempting to use some form of community work as an alternative to national service or as punishment for petty criminals by making the latter for example clean up parks, wash away graffiti, and work with victims of their own or of other people. This may be acceptable, but it does not constitute volunteer work, two cardinal rules of which are the willingness to volunteer without coercion and working unpaid.

Questions

Questions 1-6

Reading Passage has nine paragraphs A-I. 
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

  1. a description of what does not satisfy the criteria for volunteer work
  2. the impact of voluntary work on the development of individuals
  3. the requirement for both selflessness and self-interest in volunteers
  4. various areas in which people volunteer
  5. the benefit of voluntary work for the young
  6. a mistaken view of volunteering

Questions 7-10

Choose the correct letters A, B, C, or D.

7. The ONS survey was done to find out

  1. why people undertook volunteering
  2. how many people participated in volunteering
  3. how many rich people did volunteer work
  4. which people were involved in volunteering

8. The ONS survey found that people with university qualifications were 

  1. as likely to volunteer as those with no qualifications
  2. more likely to volunteer than those with no qualifications
  3. less likely to volunteer than those with no qualifications
  4. the only group likely to do formal volunteer work

9. It is suggested that rich people volunteer as a result of having

  1. clearer goals
  2. fewer children
  3. more spare time
  4. greater guilt

10. Volunteer work benefits people by teaching them how to

  1. function in systems
  2. communicate clearly
  3. deal with failure
  4. overcome shyness

Questions 11-13

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F below.

11. One of the requirements of being a volunteer is being able to - ____

12. Volunteering can be used as a way for the unemployed to - ____

13. Employers in general tend to - ____

  1. consider workers with volunteer work experience an asset.
  2. gain a very well-paid job.
  3. gain access to a job in a field of interest.
  4. benefits most from volunteer work.
  5. understand how people behave.
  6. want much younger workers.

Answers for The Meaning of Volunteering with Explanations

The Meaning of Volunteering Reading Answers with explanations are given below for your acknowledgment.

(Note: The text in Bold mentions the location and keywords for the justification. The lines in italics show the referring lines of the passage.)

1. Answer: I

Explanation: The whole paragraph I states that It is tempting to use some form of community work as an alternative to national service or as punishment for petty criminals by making the latter for example clean up parks, wash away graffiti, and work with victims of their own or of other people. This may be acceptable, but it does not constitute volunteer work, two cardinal rules of which are the willingness to volunteer without coercion and working unpaid.

2. Answer: D

Explanation: The whole paragraph D explains that The knock-on effect of volunteering on the lives of individuals can be profound. Voluntary work helps foster independence and imparts the ability to deal with different situations, often simultaneously, thus teaching people how to work their way through different systems. It, therefore, brings people into touch with the real world; and, hence, equips them for the future.

3. Answer: G

Explanation: 2nd, 3rd, and 4th line of paragraph G depicts that While offering oneself selflessly, working as a volunteer makes further demands on the individual. It requires a strength of will, a sense of moral responsibility for one’s fellow human beings, and an ability to fit into the ethos of an organization or community. But it also requires something which in no way detracts from the valuable work done by volunteers and which may seem at first glance both contradictory and surprising: self-interest.

4. Answer: C

Explanation: 2nd, 3rd, and 4th line of paragraph C indicates that Eleven sectors are given ranging from Community and Welfare, which accounted for just over a quarter of the total hours volunteered in Australia, to Law/justice/politics with 1.2 percent at the other end of the scale. Other fields included sport/recreation, religious activities, and education, followed by 21.2 percent, 16.9 and 14.3 percent respectively. Foreign/international volunteer work accounted for 2.4 percent of the total hours.

5. Answer: E

Explanation: The whole paragraph E describes that Initially, young adults in their late teens might not seem to have the expertise or knowledge to impart to others that say a teacher or agriculturalist, or nurse would have, but they do have many skills that can help others. And in the absence of any particular talent, their energy and enthusiasm can be harnessed for the benefit of their fellow human beings, and ultimately themselves. From all this, the gain to any community no matter how many volunteers are involved is immeasurable.

6. Answer: A

Explanation: 1st line of paragraph A narrates that Volunteering, some might mistakenly think, embraces a plethora of people from all walks of life as well as activities, but data from the other side of the world suggest otherwise. 

7. Answer: D

Explanation: 2nd line of paragraph A notifies that A 2001 survey on who participated in volunteering by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the United Kingdom (UK) revealed that people in higher-income households are more likely than others to volunteer.

8. Answer: B

Explanation: 2nd and 3rd line of paragraph B cites that Among people with a degree or postgraduate qualification, 79 percent had volunteered informally and 57 percent had volunteered formally in the previous 12 months. For people with no qualifications, the corresponding proportions were 52 percent and 23 percent.

9. Answer: C

Explanation: The last line of paragraph B justifies that Does the answer not lie perhaps in the fact that the rich tend to have money to allow them the time to become involved in voluntary work compared to less well-off people?

10. Answer: A

Explanation: 2nd line of paragraph D reveals that Voluntary work helps foster independence and imparts the ability to deal with different situations, often simultaneously, thus teaching people how to work their way through different systems.

11. Answer: E

Explanation: 2nd line of paragraph G mentions that One might immediately think of attributes like kindness, selflessness, strength of character, ability to deal with others, determination, adaptability and flexibility, and a capacity to comprehend the ways of other people.

12. Answer: C

Explanation: 3rd line of paragraph H says that People who are unemployed can use volunteer work as a stepping-stone to employment or as a means of finding out whether they really like the field they plan to enter or as a way to help them find themselves.

13. Answer: A

Explanation: 1st line in paragraph F proves that Employers will generally look favorably on people who have shown an ability to work as part of a team. It demonstrates a willingness to learn and an independent spirit, which would be desirable qualities in any employee.

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Gayathri Author

About Author Gayathri Nagarajan

Gayathri, a trusted study-abroad expert, with expertise in standardized tests like IELTS, TOEFL, PTE, GRE, and GMAT. With a strong tech background from SASTRA University, she excels in software testing and has a passion for content writing and digital marketing. She aids students in finding the perfect academic fit, offering guidance on course selection, LOR and SOP writing. She remains up-to-date with the latest trends in higher education, delivering credible, accurate information on international education, including courses and test prep materials. As a trusted Study abroad expert at Kanan International, explore her latest blogs and articles for comprehensive insights into studying abroad and realizing your academic aspirations.

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