世博开幕以后，志愿者(volunteer)们就开始忙碌起来，由于统一服装为白绿相间，如同清爽的白菜，他们都戏称自己为“小白菜”。 为了服务好世博会，许多志愿者都无暇顾欣赏园中美景。可能他们还没意识到，自己的热心服务及灿烂微笑已成为世博园中一道亮丽风景。
19岁的陈川目前就读于复旦大学，平常早上六点正是他酣睡之时。但在五一假期，他每天都早早地起床，早餐后便忙着去解答诸如“洗手间在哪里？”此类问题。 Chen Chuan, a 19-year-old student at Fudan University, is usually fast asleep at 6 am. But over the May 1 holiday, he was rising early to eat breakfast and gear up to answer questions like, “Where can I find the toilet?”
尽管上海世博志愿者们的生活都是如此匆忙，但陈川和其他72000名同伴没有怨言——最起码，他们尽量不去抱怨。 Such is the life of a Shanghai World Expo volunteer. But Chen and his 72,000 colleagues aren’t complaining – at least, they’re trying not to.
陈川说：“虽然志愿者工作十分费神，但它使我感到很满足。我们的努力没有白费。” “Volunteering is very demanding work,” Chen said, “but it makes me feel fulfilled. Our effort is valued here.”
若少了像陈川这样的志愿者，想必五一当天涌进世博园的20万名游客会有另外一番感受。游客们可能会在使用场馆预约机时遇到麻烦；可能会看到人们无序排队的场面；可能会到处找洗手间，殊不知它就在你的眼皮底下。 If it weren’t for volunteers like Chen, the 200,000 tourists who poured into the Expo on May 1 would have had a different experience. They might have struggled to operate the pavilion reservation machines. They might have seen people jump their queue. They might have wandered all over the grounds looking for restrooms that were right under their noses.
作为志愿者，陈川将一直工作到五月十三日，工作时间为每天早八点到晚四点。每天下班当他乘上返校的公交车时，他自言不到一分钟时间自己就睡着了。显然，那些看似简单的指引请求足以令人筋疲力尽。 Chen’s volunteering stint runs through May 13 and from 8 am to 4 pm every day. When he finally boards a bus for the ride back to his dormitory at the end of each day, he says it takes him less than a minute to fall asleep. All those requests “just” for guidance can apparently tucker a person out.
沪各高校轮流输送志愿者 Taking turns
上海各高校轮流向世博会输送学生志愿者。包括复旦在内的一些学校为学生志愿者们提供了两周假期。陈川表示：“这就好比放了个小假。尽管很累，但这两周里我们不必再去操心课业了。” Shanghai universities are taking turns to deploy student volunteers to the Expo. Some schools, like Fudan University, are giving their students two weeks off from classes to volunteer. “It’s like a small vacation,” Chen said. “We’re tired, but we don’t have to deal with studying for two weeks.”
但一些志愿者却没有这么幸运。他们发现自己在为游客指路的时候，同学则正忙着听课写论文。 Some volunteers, however, aren’t as lucky. They find that while they’re answering questions about toilets, their classmates are busy attending classes and writing papers.
来自同济大学大二年级，19岁的潘志军说：“我有点担心，要是志愿者工作影响到成绩该怎么办？” “I’m a bit worried,” said Pan Zhijun, a 19-year-old sophomore volunteer from Tongji University. “What if the service affects my grades?”
万幸的是，潘志军和其他同济大学的志愿者们在周末得到了一个好消息。同济大学团委书记杨元飞在接受《东方早报》采访时表示，大学生志愿者们将有机会补上缺失的课程及作业。 Fortunately, good news came over the weekend for Pan and the volunteers from Tongji University. Yang Yuanfei, the head of the Tongji University Youth League, told Oriental Morning Post that volunteers will be given opportunities to make up the classes and assignments that they miss.
世博会首日开园后，一个名为《我实在忍不住就哭了》的帖子出现在网上。据报道，作者是一名世博志愿者，文中抱怨了许多首日上岗的细节。 After the first day of the Expo, a BBS post titled “I couldn’t hold back so I cried” appeared on the Web. It was reportedly written by an Expo volunteer who went on to detail complaints from the first day on the job.
其他的一些大学生志愿者也有着相同感受。来自复旦大学18岁的王琳（化名），回忆到自己向一名游客解释展馆前队伍如此长的原因。当游客突然大发脾气，大喊大叫时，王琳感到很沮丧。 Other student volunteers have come forward with similar feelings. Wang Lin, an 18-year-old volunteer from Fudan University who asked that her name be changed, recalled trying to explain to a tourist why a line to visit a pavilion was so long. When the tourist suddenly lost his temper, Wang became upset for being yelled at.
“队伍这么长并非我的错。我没想到在做志愿者的过程中会承受如此多的刁难。这真的是给我破了瓢冷水。” “It was not my fault [the line was taking so long],” Wang said. “I didn’t expect we would have to endure so many difficulties in our service. It really dampened my passion.”
王琳表示自己考虑退出。“我们对游客表现出友好和尊敬，我认为也应该得到同样的对待。”但最后，她表示服务是给予，而并非索取。 Wang said she considered quitting. “We treat all visitors with hospitality and respect, and I think we deserve the same, she said”. But she eventually concluded that serving is about giving – not receiving.
不过就在第二天，由于帮助一位迷路的孩子找到自己父母，王琳得到来自各方的嘉奖。 Still, the very next day, Wang received a reward of sorts when she helped a lost child find his parents.
“他们开心的笑脸和感激之情，让我很开心。这就是我一直向别人微笑的原因，虽然有时他们看上去并不开心。微笑使我感到快乐。” “The happy smiles and their gratitude made me feel so sweet,” Wang said. “That’s why I now always smile to others, even if they don’t look happy. Smiling makes me happy.”
由于志愿者的服装由白色和绿色组成，所以人们称志愿者们是“小白菜”。王琳很喜欢这个绰号。 Refering to their green and white outfit, people call volunteers “Little Cabage”. Wang likes this nickname.
王琳说：“我们绿色且新鲜，就像白菜一样。” “We’re green, we are fresh, just like the vegetable,” Wang said.
CASIO辞海拾贝
| dampen one’s passion | 给某人泼冷水 | | | | gear up | 准备好，加速 | | | | stint | 定额的工作 | | | | tucker one out | 累坏某人 | | | | under one’s nose | 在某人的眼皮底下，公然 | | |
|
|
