Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions from 31 to 40.
Helping Hands is a non-profit organisation that breeds, raises and trains capuchin monkeys to provide daily assistance to people living with spinal cord injuries. [I] Capuchin monkeys are native to Central and South America, but all the monkeys used by Helping Hands are born and raised in the United States. [II] Because they are intelligent, adaptable and sociable, they make perfect partners to humans, lending a hand and offering companionship. [III] In the same way as guide dogs provide eyes to the blind, Helping Hands monkeys provide hands to individuals with physical disabilities, more specifically, those who are quadriplegic. [IV]
The monkeys are specially bred at Southwick Zoo in Massachusetts. At the age of 5-10 years, they are taken into foster homes to get used to living side by side with humans. After this, they enter Monkey College in Boston when they are between 12 and 18 years old and embark on their training in earnest. During the training process, each monkey masters simple everyday activities such as helping with the use of telephones, opening a bottle and setting up a drink of water, scratching an itch, and picking up a dropped object.
Throughout their training, monkeys are encouraged to complete tasks and are rewarded with praise, affection and small treats. The trainers, who sit in wheelchairs for training purposes, never threaten to use physical force. Laser pointers and simple words are the main means of guiding monkeys to carry out their tasks.
Helping Hands is able to provide these specially-trained service animals and their lifetime support, including all their training, food and equipment, free of charge. This is only possible because of the generosity of donors and they ask people to help them by giving whatever they can afford. In 1998, Helping Hands launched an educational program to raise awareness among young people about spinal cord injuries, encouraging them to avoid risky behaviors and consider the challenges faced by those with disabilities.
(Adapted from Close-up)
