Read these paragraphs and answer the question that follows: in 2008, more than one million american students gave nearly 20 million service hours to their communities. they made a difference in people’s lives and learned some important life lessons in the process. organizations, including schools, are actively promoting service for all citizens as a way to be involved, others, and improve themselves. service is other people and being active in your community. for example, one group of teens planted a community garden with their friends. they grow a variety of vegetables. the garden requires regular care. the teens donate the produce to a local soup kitchen. workers there use the produce to feed people in the community. by tending the garden and donating their produce, the teens are actively make life a bit better for others in their community. service is valuable in ways that cannot be measured in dollars. people volunteer or serve others without expecting money or gifts in return. service is not about earning money. it is not just collecting money to give to a group. it is about action and contributing to the common good. the people who serve as well as those who receive benefit in many ways that are more important than money or gifts. for example, a soup kitchen provides essential food to people who may otherwise go hungry. the soup kitchen is extremely valuable for those struggling to get enough to eat. those serving learn about compassion and how others can improve life for all. millions of americans are making society better for themselves and for others. they are participating citizens in their community, raising up those who are less fortunate. in return, they become better people who can understand the perspectives and needs of others, which are invaluable and important qualities of good citizens. what is the main idea of this article excerpt?

it was given away at no charge

the first proposition is to question economic materialism and victorian christianity. the lines are:

“it moves us not.—great god! i'd rather be

a pagan suckled in a creed outworn; ”

wordsworth is stating that nature no longer interests mankind, that the latter is not “moved” by it and explains that ancient western paganism had a more positive attitude concerning nature since it lacked the perv erted judaeo-christian interpretation of having received the world and all its animals and elements from god to use as we , instead of humans actually being not only part of nature but its wardens, meant to appreciate it and protect it.

the next lines are:

“so might i, standing on this pleasant lea,

have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;

have sight of proteus coming from the sea;

or hear old triton blow his wreathed horn.”

wordsworth here make it very clear that by actually looking and contemplating nature, human beings would reconnect with happiness, serenity and purpose. the use of mythological figures is quite evocative as well, proteus is a greek mythological god of the changing sea. he personifies the sea that changes, which symbolizes the way nature changes and inevitably can change to be destructive not only due to natural causes but to human pollution. furthermore, the sea is even more symbolic since all life originated in the sea so it is not only our past but our future since no life form in our planet can survive without water and if all water is destroyed in earth all life will be gone as well.

he then uses triton which is symbolic of the synthesis of both nature and mankind. triton is a mythological greek god that has the upper body of a man and the lower body of a fish (a merman). this human fish duality evokes the fact that humans are not only human but also part of nature, the fish tail representing nature. the main attribute of this god was that he used a conch shell as a horn to calm the roaring seas. in other words, triton uses nature through science for the benefit of human sailors who risk death during tempests. with the use of such metaphor, wordworth is conveying the message that human technology   is supposed to use nature to preserve nature and thereby humanity as well.