Passage One

Mark went to the neighborhood meeting after work. The area's city councilwoman (女议员) was leading a discussion about how the quality of life was decreasing. The neighborhood faced many problems. People were supposed to suggest solutions to the councilwoman. It was too much for Mark. "The problems are too big," he thought. He turned to the man next to him and said, "I think this is a waste of my time. Nothing I could do would make a difference here."

On his way back, Mark saw a woman carrying a grocery hag and baby. She was trying to unlock her car, but she didn't have a free hand. As Mark got closer, her other child, a little boy, suddenly darted into the street. The woman tried to reach for him, but as she moved, her bag shifted and groceries started to fall out. Mark ran to take the boy's arm and led him back to his mother. Then he picked up the groceries while the woman smiled in relief. "Thanks!" she said. "You've got great timing (适时) !"

"Just being neighborly (友好的) ," Mark said. As he rode home, he glanced at the walls of the bus passed by. On one of them was "Small acts of kindness add up." Mark smiled and thought, "Maybe that's a good place to start."

31. In the first paragraph, Mark thought that______.

A. nobody was so able as to solve these problems

B. many people were too selfish to think about others

C. he was not in the position to solve such problems

D. he already had more than enough work to do