It is impossible to find out exactly how many volunteers are at work today in the United S
tates. Thirty-seven million or so are known to belong to organizations like the Pink Ladies, Travelers' Aid, or Big Brothers; but those who work alone or in small informal groups cannot be counted. The total number of men and women who give their time to help others appears to be between fifty and sixty-eight million.
Volunteers start community projects too small to attract the attention of organized agencies, or work at jobs for which no funds are available. A handful of city folk will turn an empty lot into a playground for the children of their neighborhood; others decide to repair and paint a few dilapidated houses in their street. Somewhere else women cook and deliver two hot meals a day to elderly people living alone, and too sick or too tired to prepare their own food. Another group calls lonely old people once a day to chat a little and find out if they are all right. Some college students teach English, mathematics, or drawing to the inmates of a local jail. Young men and women spend part of their weekends collecting empty cans and bottles for the recycling center of their community, and some children pick up the trash left on the beach by the crowd of a summer holiday. Anywhere one looks, the army of volunteers is hard at work—not Only in the United States, but also in many other countries where volunteerism is spreading.
Fifteen years ago, the typical volunteer was a married woman between twenty-five and forty-five, who had children in school and time on her hands. She was rather well educated, with a high-school or a college degree, and she didn't need to earn a salary. She was therefore free to devote her time and talents to those who seemed to need them. Some women volunteered out of boredom, because they needed to find an occupation outside their house. But the great majority were prompted only by the desire to relieve some distress, to be useful. There have always been such women ready to give of themselves unselfishly and quietly. At the beginning of the American Civil War, around 1846, a schoolteacher named Clara Barton undertook to deliver to wounded soldiers all sorts of supplies-food, clothes, tobacco, and even medicine—that they could not get easily. She paid for these out of her own money at first, and later from the funds that she could collect from other generous people. She also ventured on the battlefields, during or after battles, to help the wounded and the dying. After the war, the government asked her to help search for missing soldiers. She helped later in other wars in Europe and attracted a number of women willing to share her work. The group grew and eventually became the American Red Cross, which now counts about 1,140,000 volunteers, with a budget of eighty-two million dollars, all from voluntary contributions.
Another pioneer of the same period, Dorothea Dix, fought to improve the living conditions in the hospitals for the mentally iii, which were not well run at the time. Her efforts finally caused state governments to take financial responsibility for these institutions. Many organizations have been launched by a determined group of volunteers, from the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America to the Sierra Club, devoted to the protection of nature, and to the Gray Panthers, who fight discrimination against the elderly and try to keep them active, happy, and politically important by encouraging them to vote.
According to the passage, all the following statements are true EXCEPT______.
A．the exact number of volunteers in America is difficult to find out
B．there are thirty-seven million volunteers at work in the United States
C．American Red Cross counts about 1,140,000 volunteers with a large budget
D．the total number of volunteers in America ranges from fifty to sixty-eight million
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