I work with Volunteers for Wildlife, a rescue and education organization at Bailey Arboretum in LocustValley. Trying to help injured, displaced or sick creatures can be heartbreaking; survival is never certain. However, when it works, it is simply beautiful.

我在“野生动物志愿者”组织工作，这是蝗虫谷贝利植物园的一个援救教育组织，帮助受伤、流离失所或生病的动物。这样的工作可能会令人心碎；因为无法确定动物是否能活下来。然而，当救援起作用时，这种感觉真的很棒！

I got a rescue call from a woman in Muttontown. She had found a young owl on the ground. When I arrived, I saw a 2-to 3-week-old owl. It had already been placed in a carrier for safety.

我接到马特顿镇一位女士的求救电话，她在地上发现了一只猫头鹰幼鸟。当我到达时，我看见了一只两三周大的猫头鹰。为了安全起见，它已经被放在一辆大货车上。

I examined the chick and it seemed fine. If I could locate the nest, I might have been able to put it back, but no luck. My next work was to construct a nest and anchor it in a tree.

我检查了这只幼鸟，看起来还不错。如果我能找到鸟巢，我也许能把它放回去，但没那么幸运。接下来的工作就是建造一只鸟巢，并固定在一棵树上。

The homeowner was very helpful. A wire basket was found. I put some pine branches into the basket to make this nest safe and comfortable. I placed the chick in the nest, and it quickly calmed down.

房主非常乐于助人，给我找来了一只铁丝篮。为了让鸟巢安全舒适，我把一些松枝放进铁丝篮里，然后我把小猫头鹰放进鸟巢里，它很快安静了下来。

Now all that was needed were the parents, but they were absent. I gave the homeowner a recording of the hunger screams of owl chicks. These advertise the presence of chicks to adults; they might also encourage our chick to start calling as well. I gave the owner as much information as possible and headed home to see what news the night might bring.

现在最需要的是这只小猫头鹰的父母，但它们不在。我给了房主一份小猫头鹰饥饿尖叫声的录音。这些录音会让猫头鹰父母知道小猫头鹰的存在，也会鼓励小猫头鹰学着尖叫。我把尽可能多的消息告诉了房主，然后回家，看看晚上会有什么情况。

A nervous night to be sure, but sometimes the spirits of nature smile on us all! The homeowner called to say that the parents had responded to the recordings. I drove over and saw the chick in the nest looking healthy and active. And it was accompanied in the nest by the greatest sight of all — LUNCH！The parents had done their duty and would probably continue to do so.

这的确是一个紧张的夜晚，但有时大自然的神灵会眷顾我们！房主打电话说小猫头鹰的父母已经对这些录音做出了回应。我开车过去，鸟巢里的小猫头鹰看起来健康又活泼。鸟巢里出现了最令人感动的一幕——小猫头鹰的身边全是午餐！它的父母已经在尽职尽责，而且很可能会继续这样做。

家长会，这对不少同学来说是件很”恐怖”的事情，因为担心老师”告状”，特别是自己犯了错或没考好。

既巴望着家长会早点结束，又幻想着最好永远别结束，一个人呆在家里坐立不安、心惊胆战，但又无可奈何，然而这一次我却没这样的感觉。

第一次月考，我出乎意料得了年级第一，想着这段时间我表现还不错，应该不会被”告状”，美滋滋地回到家，不慌不忙地做完作业，便躺靠在沙发上看起了电视。

时间一分分流逝，将近六点妈妈回到了家。

我从沙发上起来，却没看到意料中妈妈满意、自豪的神色，相反，她的脸色有些阴沉。

我心中纳闷：这是什么情况？被批评了？不能啊，我近期表现挺好的呀！

还没等我开口问，妈妈就先把电视关了，屋里瞬间静到了极点，只听到窗外鸟儿无忧无虑地鸣叫。

我的心一点点沉了下去，心虚地咽了下口水问道：”妈，怎么了？”

妈妈用严厉和略带失望的眼神看着我，被那犀利的目光盯着，我缓缓低下头不敢直视她的眼睛。

半晌，妈妈才开口：”你是不是以为这次考好了就了不起了？”她边说边从随身携带的包里拿出了几本本子，定睛一瞧，这不正是我的作业本吗？

我摇了摇头，不明所以地望了妈妈一眼，又低下头。

妈妈再次开口道：”那你能告诉我，你开学以来的作业为什么会错那么多？”她翻开了我的数学练习册，几乎每一页都有错题，那醒目的大红叉 *** 着我的眼球。

我支支吾吾地小声回答：”这些都是计算题……我懒得检查……”

谁知妈妈听了这话，更生气了，把本子往我面前一摔：”那你不能一次做对吗？再说，计算题是数学中最基本的，你连这个都做不好，以后怎么学？还有英语，语法中那么简单的基础题你也错了，甚至有篇阅读总共五题你错了三道！我本来以为你英语多好呢，今天一见，不过如此！语文我就不说了……”我的头几乎垂到胸口了，妈妈说的是事实，若说这次考试成绩，我可以自傲地报出分数，可若说到平时作业质量……唉