美国耶鲁大学面试实录

IELTS(雅思考试)三大主办方之一与英国《泰晤士报高等教育副刊》（Times Higher Education）联合发布世界大学排名

周五晚上，我和David Barboza，纽约时报上海分社的社长约在他的办公室进行面试。来之前我查了下他的资料，是历史专业，在上海呆了N多年，老婆是上海人。

　　我：Y

　　D：David Barboza

　　寒暄客套之后开始提问。

　　D：Please tell me a little bit about yourself.

　　Y：All right. My name is Ziming Yuan, and you can call me Eve. I study at Shanghai Foreign Language School, a school emphasizing the study of foreign languages and the extracurricular activities of students. Maybe because of this impact of environment, I am very interested in foreign languages. I have studied German for two years, and I have been learning Japanese by myself. I have passed the Intermediate Interpretation Test in English when I was in Junior Two, and…

　　D：Why would you study German?

　　Y：Well, when we were in Junior Two, the school select some students who were good at English and gave them a opportunity to study a second foreign language. In my year, there were only French and German to be chosen from. And the school would also give us a test, asking us to imitate words in French or German to decide which language we were more talented in. And I was decided German.

　　D：I see. What do you think of it?

　　Y：Well, I would say that it was very difficult.

　　D：Yes, I know. I have known people who study that, and they had a headache.

　　Y：Me too, but I also found great interest in that. Also, I have translated MIT open courseware. (把书给他) The title is Modern Drama.

　　D：Wow. Who printed it for you?

　　Y：I printed it myself. But I am spreading it out for more people to share the knowledge.

　　D：So, is that your dream? Becoming an translator?

　　Y：Well, I would just consider it as a hobby. I think communication to people is very important, and translators and interpreters does a job of crossing the barriers and building bridges for people’s communication, and that’s what fascinates me a lot.

　　D：What do you want to be a translator for?

　　Y：On one hand, I want to use my talent to help people. On the other hand, I myself also love writing, so I hope that one day could come that I could translate my own novels. And during translation, I could also absorb the thoughts from different authors.

　　D：You said that you liked writing. Who’s your favorite author? Or who are the authors that you like?

　　Y：【看的书太多了一时完全想不出来】Well, if you ask the old time writers, I like Lu Xun and Zhu Ziqing…

　　D：What about some modern writers?

　　Y：【更加语塞】Well, I would say that I liked Di An very much…

　　D：I have never heard of her. Where does she live in China?

　　Y：【干嘛，你准备到她家去采访啊】Actually, she lived in France.

　　D：Oh! What does she write about?

　　Y：umm, her first book is about her teen’s life, and her later books are about family relationship…

　　D：Her family in China or in France?

　　Y：No, no, about the family relationship of the characters in her book.

　　D：I see. So, are there any western writers that you like?

　　Y：【脑子里又晃过N多作者的名字，语塞】I would say that Shakespeare is one of my favorite authors…I like his Tempest very much…

　　D：Can you tell me about the story of the Tempest? 【一看他的表情就知道他是知道的，这时候要是我讲不出来就大条了】

　　Y：Well, it begins with a ship with the king on it caught in a tempest caused by a magician, and the ship was dashed onto an island, and people on the ship were spread all over on the island. There we could see the characters and relationships of the people. For example, the king’s servants were planning to kill him, the magician was actually planning for a revenge, the magician’s daughter fell in love with the prince…and it’s just the contrasts and convictions in the play that attracted me very much.

　　D：【点头，我估计他心里在想我回答得对……至少没拿莎士比亚做个幌子显得自己有文学素养】Great. And what do you do in your leisure time besides studying so hard?

　　Y：Well, besides watching films and…【才说了一个单词，面试官听到films就非常地激动，一下子打断……我的天呐，films不是重点啊，我都说了besides了】

　　D：Oh, films! What films do you like most?

　　Y：Well, I couldn’t choose my favorite film…but the film I liked best lately was “Three Idiots”.

　　D：Oh, three idiots! 【又看过了……】What about Chinese films? What’s your favorite Chinese film?

　　Y：【完了，平时从来不看中国电影……】Umm, it’s hard to say…but the latest “Love Under the Hawthorn Tree ” is very good…

　　D：What do you think of that?

　　Y：Well, it shows the purity of love in the old times, which moved me a lot. 【一直很后悔当时没说里面隐藏的另一条线……肯定会出彩的】

　　D：Oh, I have always thought that only old people would like it, and few young people would be fond of it.

　　Y：Yes, my mom loved it very much. And from the movie I could also see her time of life, which also drew my attention to this movie.

　　D：Oh, yes. By the way, haven’t you thought of going to the Harry Potter?

　　Y：Yes, actually, I’m going tomorrow. I have always liked the Harry Potter series of books.

　　D：So you have read the all Harry Potter book?

　　Y：Yes, I began reading them when I was in primary school, and I have read them over and over again.

　　D：So what else do you do in your leisure time?

　　Y：【总算不要说电影了】Well, I also write my own novels. 【把我印的小说给他】I began writing when I was in Grade Five, and it is my biggest hobby.

　　D：Wow. You wrote all this?

　　Y：Yes. Up to now, I have not written any stories in English because when I began writing, I have not thought of that much. But I hope one day could come that I could translate my novel into different languages.

　　D：Well. What’s it about?

　　Y：Umm, it is generally a collection of my works these years…The first story begins with a girl working as a shopkeeper, but she does not sell normal goods but stories. And one day came five customers wanting to sell their stories to her, and they found out that they were mysteriously connected to each other.

　　D：Wow. How did you come up with this idea that the girl selling stories?

　　Y：Well, I think that when people are in different moods, they would search for films or books that suit their emotion. For example, when a person feels sad, he would look for sad stories to help him burst out into tears, and when a person feels happy, he would find some funny films. The girl just plays a role of searching for the stories for people in different emotions.

　　D：I see. Haven’t you ever thought of becoming a writer?

　　Y：Yes, but I would like to become a part time writer.

　　D：Umm. A part time writer. So, what do you see yourself doing in the future? For example, in the next twenty years?

　　Y：Well, I would first like to major in cultural research…

　　D：What kind of culture? 【喂，我都才说了一个单词】

　　Y：Culture like…Well, I would like to give an example. I am now in a World non-material cultural heritage protection program, and we aim for protecting Gallox, a traditional song sang by Dong Minority Group of China in Xiao Huang Village…I worked with a number of teammates, and…

　　D：So, minority culture? 【讲了这么多，就得了这个结论?】

　　Y：Yes.

　　D：I see. So, up to now, have you applied for any other universities…You don’t have to answer me, but why Yale?

　　Y：Well, there are two most important points for me to want to study at Yale University. The first one is its academic atmosphere. When I came to Yale for Model United Nations, the library and the emphasis on academic research really impressed me, and when I came back for summer camp at Yale, the personal care given by the professors on study also left me a deep impression. Secondly, an incident happened at Yale University made me more determined to study there. t the summer session, we students encountered two accidents, with two students drunk at campus, meeting life danger and another two beaten at a parking lot with bone broken. The accidents made the other students, including me, worried about our campus life in the following several weeks. At the very time, the master gathered us all in the common room, asking us about our opinions about or solutions to the cases, telling us about details of security that should be noticed. This action miraculously shifted the burden in my heart, and what impressed me most was the sentence the Master said then, “Yale enforces the idea of community. Worries will be decreased, and happiness will be doubled when shared, that’s what we call community. ” As a monitor myself, what it said really fit my spirit of working as a leader, and that made me think that Yale is not only a good place for living but also for studying.

　　D：So, you have already been to the campus. What do you think of the summer camp?

　　Y：I would say that it was quite tense, since Yale University compressed the course of a whole semester into five weeks, but I enjoyed it a lot. I took Introduction to Psychology and Encountering the World, and during which I enjoyed works by authors from different parts of the world, such as US, Britain, Japan, and even China.

　　D：Which author in China? 【这个人真是对中国太有兴趣了……】

　　Y：Zhu Wen. His book is called “I love Money”.

　　D：Oh, I have never heard of him.

　　Y：Yes, the work chosen by the professor were often non-popular ones.

　　D：I see. So, where else have you been in the US?

　　Y：Umm, usually when I go to the US, I am taking part in the Model United Nations activities at school. I have been to Boston, New Haven of course, and…

　　D：Have you ever been to New York City?

　　Y：Yes, I have.

　　D：Umm, New York, the big city. Where else?

　　Y：The first time I have been to the US, I went to San Diego. It was a very beautiful city.

　　D：Yes, of course. Where else have you been in the world?

　　Y：Well, I have been to many countries…for example…Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Indonesia…

　　D：Have you been anywhere in China?

　　Y：Yes, I have been to Beijing…

　　D：Where else? For example, Yunnan?

　　Y：Yes, I have been to Yunnan.

　　D：Where else? Have you been to Guangzhou, or Fujian?

　　Y：No, I have never been to Guangzhou.

　　D：All right. 【沉默一会，忽然转变话题】Do you have any heroes or heroines? A person in history or…

　　Y：Well, I do not actually have a certain hero, or a person could be my icon…But I do have a lot of people that I appreciate some aspects in their life. For example, the heroine in Gone With the Wind really attracted me. First, she was not bound with realities and conventions, but stick to her dream and idea. Her green eyes expressed a kind of insistence, which impressed me a lot. Secondly, I liked her optimism. I liked her last and famous line, “Tomorrow is another day.” This optimism supported me through many failures and depressions in my life.

　　D：All right. What about a person in real life?

　　Y：【= =】Well, as a leader myself, I would say that I respected Obama’s sense of leadership. Not necessarily his ability, but his willingness to combat questions and crisis with his people and his personality that made people want to chase after him is just what I think that I long for myself.

　　D：Okay. You have mentioned a living person, but what about mentioning a person dead, like, in history?

　　Y：【= =|||| 哪有那么多崇拜的人啊，开表彰大会啊你】Umm…Well…

　　D：You mentioned that you liked Lu Xun earlier, what about him?

　　Y：Well, I would not say that he was my icon, or hero…but I respected Lu Xun’s courage to fight against, to protest, and his readiness to use his words as weapons to attack his enemies. I think that he was born in a time that needed him.

　　D：Yes, exactly. All right. What else do you do in your leisure time, or you just spend all the time studying and writing?

　　Y：Umm, I also take part in the school drama club, working as the leader of the playwright group, I also write plays and adapt various plays. And if there are rehearsals at school, I would also watch it and give my own opinions…

　　D：What kind of plays do you write?

　　Y：The latest play I work together with my teammates is “Zhang Xueliang”.

　　D：Zhang Xueliang, the General in history? 【好强大，连这都知道，不愧是历史专业的】

　　Y：Yes. We think that this character is very worth writing, the contrast between his loyalty and his justice, between his responsibility and his love both made us think that it would be very impressive if made into a play.

　　D：Oh, I see. So do you order any magazines, or newspapers? What source do you often get to know the world from?

　　Y：Umm, I do order magazines, but most of them are literature ones…And I also log on renren.【这个他也知道……】Besides, I select Politics when I entered Senior Three, so I also have access to international and domestic affairs in class.

　　D：Do you ever watch TV or you are always studying hard? 【怎么又study hard……】

　　Y：Well, I don’t often watch TV, but I usually watch programs on the Internet.

　　D：Oh, you can do programs on the Internet?

　　Y：Yes.

　　D：Then you can improve your English from various TV shows! (laugh)

　　Y：Yes, I think so. (laugh)

　　D：Besides, what do you think of the GaoKao? Do you feel lucky that you do not have to take that, since I know that many people are getting a headache from that?

　　Y：Well, I would not say that I feel lucky, since I determine my route to go abroad myself, not to escape from GaoKao…but I would say that it was indeed painful, and students feel under pressure because there was only one chance for them to take. 【就是这段!我说得最烂的就是这里!明明可以谈得更深】

　　D：Yes, indeed.

　　从这里他就问我住哪个区啊，高中多大在哪个区啊，年级里有多少人啊……然后正当我一一回答完之后他忽然就说“我不是来面试你的，我不挑选学生，New Haven的人挑选学生，你是个很好的人，就算不进YALE也能进哈佛啊，普林斯顿啊【自己说着也露出觉得自己很假的表情】，但是如果你进了YALE，你一定会度过非常好的时光”云云。很突然地面试就宣告结束了，把我的材料都还给我以后就让我跑路了，连我对YALE有什么问题都没问，更加没介绍yale给我……让我觉得非常地不妙……进电梯了以后看了下手表是18：22。

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