阅读理解

　　Dear Reader,

　　Think about an 11-year-old child spending her days washing clothes, looking after a baby brother, and doing hard work on the farm．

　　Think about a little girl．She knows there will not be enough food for dinner, and has no water to drink because it is not clean．She has watched her father, brother and sister lose their lives as the family has no money to send for a doctor．

　　Hard to believe? For Maria Pastora, these are the facts of life．

　　Maria would gladly walk to school, but her mother, now alone, really needs her at home．Maria had to leave school to work for her poor family．

　　But for five dollars a week, you can help out a child like Maria．Show her that somewhere, someone will help her．Through Save the Children, you can help Maria's mother get better crops(收成)from their farm, and earn the money to buy clothes and things for school．

　　To help Maria most, your money is to put together with other helpers, so hardworking people can help themselves．Build a school or a hospital, make their farm better, bring in clean water…This is what Save the Children has been about since 1932．

　　For you there are many returns．You can write letters to each other, get photos, or study reports．Know you are helping and saving another person in the same world as you．That's how Save the Children works．But without you, it can't work．Please take a moment to fill in this form to help a child like Maria and her village．

　　It can make such a difference in her life and yours．

Save the Children

David L．Guyer

Chairman