Hi Dearies
Please read the passage on the orphanage before coming to my English lesson tomorrow 28 August (Wednesday).
Thanks.
Summary
Exercise: Selecting Key Ideas, Reducing, Rephrasing & Relating (by using logical
links) – 3Rs
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1
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Somehow, something was missing from my secure,
humdrum life as a bank secretary back home in London. Single and
commitment-free, I reasoned that if I wanted to do something, I should do it
while I was young and still had the energy. My parents were considerably
shocked when I announced my decision to act as a volunteer in a Romanian
orphanage for handicapped children, but they pledged their love and support
because they knew my stubbornness.
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5
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45
50
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2
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We finally reached the village of Mandresti after a
two-hour drive from Bacau. What greeted me was a drab building with rusty
bars on the windows and glass panes black with dirt. Inside the orphanage,
everything was grey, gloomy and wet. Far down the high, windowless corridor,
one light bulb emitted feeble rays.
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3
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Proceeding upstairs, we saw some 100 children, many
still in the rusty cribs that had been their homes through the years of
oppression. Most were lying very still in their beds on sheets of cold, wet
linoleum with only thin rags for cover. Many had their legs curled up to
their chests. Their faces were devoid of expression, staring anywhere but at
me. They seemed to be waiting to die.
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4
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I was determined to get these children outside into
the fresh air and give them some joy in life. But I soon realised it was
immensely difficult to make them feel enthusiastic about doing anything as
long as they were cold and hungry. Most of my time was spent struggling just
to clean and dress them.
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5
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Assigned to Salon One, I was to help the most severely
handicapped and hopelessly-ill children. I learned that many of the children
had never been out of their cribs until recently. The staff had tied many of
the youngsters’ hands behind their backs and their legs against their chests
to make it easier for the female workers to manage them. They reasoned that
if the children were bound to the cribs, they could not get out and cause
trouble. However, this resulted in many children being frozen in the same
fetal positions in which they had been tied. Though their bonds were now cut,
their muscles had completely atrophied and their joints had locked.
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6
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One of the first things I did was to write each
child’s name above his or her crib. It gave them a little bit of
individuality and also helped ensure that they received the right medication.
Every morning I’d rush into the room and call them to get up, giving each a
kiss. Then I’d wrap the more underdeveloped children in blankets to make them
feel secure and gently stroke their faces and limbs until they relaxed before
lifting them onto my lap. After cuddling for a few minutes, I laid them down
on a mat and tried to stimulate them by tickling or playfully rolling them
around. To help them stand, I held their hands and made them sway back and
forth, all the time talking to them. Although they could not understand me, I
thought what they needed to hear most was a human voice.
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7
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As another form of therapy, I filled up an old tub
with bubble bath I had brought from home. Although the staffers were
horrified and certain that the children would catch their deaths of cold, I
assured them earnestly that it was common practice in England and that it
would help the children feel better. Baffled but impressed, they reluctantly
accepted my idea.
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8
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I also played nursery rhymes or Strauss waltzes – a
favourite of the children – on a cassette recorder. I would sing and dance
with them, clap their hands and shake rattles in front of their fixed,
staring eyes.
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9
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All too soon, my three months were up and it was
time for me to fly home. My feelings were mixed as I boarded the plane. Then
it hit me: there was so much more I could do for these orphans. I scrambled
off the plane, much to the air stewardess’ chagrin and ran to catch up with
the staffers who had come to send me off. My luggage could wait.
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Imagine
you are the writer. Summarise what
you did to help the children during your stay at the orphanage.
Your
summary should NOT be longer than 80 words excluding
the given words and should be in continuous writing.
USE MATERIAL FROM PARAGRAPHS 6 TO
9.
Begin
your summary with
The first thing I did was to...
