Shi Zhujia, a mechanical engineering major at Tsinghua University, had the summer vacation she always dreamed of. The 20-year-old animal lover organized a wild animal protection project in Nabanhe River Watershed National Nature Reserve, Yunnan province. The project changed her attitude toward animals and environmental protection.
来自清华大学机械工程专业的石竹佳（音译）刚刚度过了一个梦寐以求的暑假。作为一名动物爱好者，20岁的她在云南西双版纳纳板河流域国家级自然保护区发起了一项野生动物保护项目。该项目改变了她对于动物和环保的态度。
Shi and eight other students spent 10 days in the nature reserve. The local ranger took them several kilometers into the reserve, but they didn’t see any wild animals as they live in the heart of the reserve.
石竹佳和其他8名学生在该自然保护区一住就是十天。尽管当地的护林员带领他们深入保护区数公里，但由于他们住在保护区中心地带，所以没有寻到任何野生动物的影子。
Even so, this didn’t ruin their enthusiasm because they were amazed by the ranger’s survival skills. “The only thing we took was a bag of rice,” says Shi. “When we were hungry, the ranger would chop down a bamboo stem, fill it with rice and cook it for us.” When they were thirsty, the ranger would make cups out of bamboo.
即便如此，这也并没有浇灭他们的热情，反而对护林员的生存技能赞叹不已。石竹佳说：“我只带了一袋米。但我们饿了的时候，护林员就会砍下一截竹子，放入大米，做竹筒饭给我们吃。”当渴了时，竹子在护林员手中又变成了水杯。
After a few days, Shi started wondering if they were actually helping, because so much bamboo was being cut down because of them. The ranger said that even though their project was harming the environment, in the long run it would contribute to the protection of the nature reserve.
几天后，石竹佳开始怀疑他们是否在帮倒忙，因为他们的原因，很多竹子被砍倒。护林员则表示，即使他们的实践项目对环境不利，当从长远角度来看，还是对保护这片自然保护区有帮助的。
“Some day you might use the knowledge you learned here to build a machine that guards the reserve, instead of me,” he told Shi. “Then, nobody will need to cut down bamboo.”
护林员对石竹佳说：“有天，你们可能会用在这儿学到的知识发明出一台护林机器，来代替我现在的岗位。到那时候，人们就没必要去砍竹子了。”
“His words touched me,” says Shi. “I realized that I don’t need to be at the forefront of environmental protection. As long as I do what I’m good at, I can make a difference to the environment and animals.”
石竹佳说：“他的话打动了我。我意识到自己不需要冲到环保战线的最前方。只要坚持做自己擅长的事，我就一定能对生态环境有所贡献。”
‘Volunteer work made me a better person’
“志愿工作让我进步”
Xu Dan loves vacations because it means she can spend more time volunteering. The 21-year-old English major from Zhejiang Normal University believes that volunteering has changed her life and made her a better person.
就读于浙江师范大学英语系、21岁的徐丹（音译）之所以喜欢放假，是因为这样她就可以投入更多时间去做志愿者了。她认为志愿者的经历改变了她的生活，令她进步。
Two years ago, Xu was an introverted girl. One day, she saw a group of volunteers picking up trash in the street. Since she had no plans for the summer vacation and wanted to make some friends, she plucked up her courage and joined them.
两年前，徐丹还是一名内向的女生。有一天，她看到一群志愿者在街头捡垃圾。由于自己并没有暑假计划，又想认识些朋友，于是她便鼓起勇气加入志愿者队伍。
“I used to think volunteering is nothing more than picking up trash. Now I know that the essence of volunteer work is helping others and gaining self-esteem,” Xu says. Her volunteering schedule is full: teaching migration workers’ children English from Mondays to Fridays, picking up trash on Saturdays, and visiting old people on Sundays.
徐丹说：“我过去常常认为志愿者的工作无非就是捡捡垃圾而已。现在我知道了，志愿者工作的本质在于帮助他人，赢得自尊。”她的志愿者日程表排得满满的：周一到周五，教外来务工人员子女学英语；周六捡垃圾；周日探望老人。
For Xu, visiting old people is the most rewarding activity. “I help them clean their homes and cut their hair. I talk to them and listen to their life stories. These are just small things, but I’m addicted to it because every time I help others I feel satisfied and more confident about myself,” Xu says.
对于徐丹来说，探访老人是一件最有意义的事情。她说：“我帮他们打扫房间，给他们理发，和他们聊天，听他们谈人生。尽管这些事情看似微不足道，但我乐在其中；因为每次我伸出援手，都会感到满足，也对自己更有信心了。”
According to Xu, the positive energy she gets from volunteering reflects on the way she deals with people and sees the world. “I can see things from other people’s point of view and look at things more positively. I think I’m going to make volunteering a lifelong undertaking,” she says.
徐丹说，志愿者工作带给她的正能量主要体现在待人方式与世界观上。她表示：“我学会换位思考，并且更积极乐观地去看待事物。我觉得我会将志愿者这份工作进行到底。”
