ARK(Absolute Return for Kids)works with seven Home-Start centres across the UK to provide understanding，trained volunteers to support problem families．Through this early intervention(干預(yù)、介入)we aim to solve child and family problems before they become so intractable that social service intervention is required．

    Problem families in the UK often receive too little assistance too late．Low social service capacity(能力)means families often reach breaking point before receiving any support．Social workers have little time to build trust with the family and develop all understanding of specific problems．What is more，social workers can be regarded by families as a threat一“They come to take our children away”．

    Parents(with children under five)who suffer from illness，disability，addiction，poverty or other pressures receive visits from a trained volunteer one afternoon a week to support and advise them through period of crisis．Where possible the volunteer comes from a similar background to the people calling for help，or has personal experience of similar problems．

    The effectiveness of Home-Start's longstanding programme has been proved by a number of research reports．One study of problem families assisted by Home-Start volunteers found：

    ·Nearly 40％ of surveyed mothers reported reduced depression．

    ·42％ of families reported improvements in managing their children．

    ·Child behavioral problems reduced by 50％．

    Since ARK’s involvement this success has been recognized in the Government’s Green Paper Every Child Matters．The paper recommended enlarging the programme to ensure Home-Start services are available in every community in the UK．The Government has now provided￡5 million to help Home-Start achieve this goal．

1．The main purpose of ARK’s work with Home-Start is to ______．

      A．train volunteers to support problem families

      B．build good relationship with the problem families

      C．solve child and family problems at the beginning

      D．save every problem child in place of social services

2．The underlined word “intractable”(in Paragraph 1)most probably means _____．

      A．serious             B．particular          C．a(chǎn)ttractive          D．sensitive

3．It can be inferred from the passage that __________．

      A．the UK government can usually help problem families in time

      B．social workers enjoy high popularity among problem families

      C．the volunteers must share the same background with the people needing help

      D．social service can’t satisfy the needs of problem families

4．In the UK，Home-Start services are now _______．

      A．spread to every corner                    B．proved to be effective

      C．thought of as a threat        D．run by the government