芝加哥大學錄取文書詳細解讀！（附原文+翻譯）

每年，在申請季結束後，機構都會(hui) 搜集一些優(you) 質文書(shu) 進行分享。今年我們(men) 又選取了一些被頂級名校錄取的文書(shu) ，供大家參考學習(xi) 。

我們(men) 可以在這些文書(shu) 中，感受到學生們(men) 對於(yu) 生活的敏感，深刻的洞察力和有意思的古怪想法。

想知道名校到底青睞什麽(me) 樣的文書(shu) ？下麵就一起來看看被芝加哥大學錄取的學生的優(you) 質文書(shu) ，來感受一下名校的文書(shu) 標準吧。

芝大文書(shu) 分享

Through the mist of dust came a line of crimson trucks. Their wheels rolled on the dirty road, crushed the cement on the ground, and stirred up more dust. Flying gravels of quartz turned grey the cornstalks, weeds, dry earth, and my cheeks.

漫天塵霧中，一排深紅車的大卡車列隊駛來。車輪碾過肮髒的道路，壓碎地上的水泥，揚起更多灰塵。飛舞的石英渣給秸稈、雜草、幹裂的泥土與(yu) 我的臉頰都蒙上一層灰色。

Looking up along the road, I saw blasted mountains, half green, half grey. In the village where I was conducting my field research, illegal mining was the cancer of the local economy.

沿路抬頭望去，山巒已被炸毀，綠色中摻著灰色。在我做田野調查的這個(ge) 村子裏，非法采礦已成為(wei) 當地經濟的毒瘤。

Shall I blame these drivers, who mined and transported the minerals on the highway? Fixing my eyes on the crimson trucks, I wondered.

我盯著這來來往往的深紅色調，高速公路上掘挖、運送礦石的司機們(men) ，該指責他們(men) 嗎？

Stuck onto the windshield of the first truck was a sheet of paper that read an obscure Chinese character. I was told it meant protection fees had already been paid to the traffic police. Shall the police be the culprit, then? Why would no one stop this corrupt deal among the local government, illegal miners, and traffic police?

第一輛卡車的擋風玻璃上貼著一張紙，上麵寫(xie) 著一個(ge) 隱晦的漢字。他們(men) 說這是已經給交警交過了保護費的意思。那麽(me) 警察是罪魁禍首？當地政府、非法采礦者和交警之間的一腐敗交易為(wei) 什麽(me) 無人製止？

I strenuously sought solutions in my mind. Rules can only be revised at each tiny point in society, argued Michele Foucault. Can that be the answer?

我絞盡腦汁思考。福柯說：規則隻能在社會(hui) 的每個(ge) 細小枝節被修繕。這是理想答案嗎？

However, weeks of research in the villages revealed to me that every problem was a tip of an iceberg. “My children’s tuition bills and my parents’ medical bills are draining my income,” a truck driver once told me, while illegal mining had already polluted the soil, making it impossible to till his land. How do I, or anyone else, unravel this knot of knots, when all the points are intertwined?

但長達數周的調研告訴我，每一個(ge) 我看到的問題，都隻是巨大冰山在海麵上露出之一角。“上有老，下有小，收入早被學費和醫療費榨幹了，”一位卡車司機這樣告訴我，與(yu) 此同時，非法采礦正在汙染土壤，使土地使用難以為(wei) 繼。當所有的點纏繞在一起，這結誰能解，是我嗎？

I went to the villages to find out problems in villagers’ life. But I came home disillusioned about the usefulness of knowledge. Too huge a gap seems to exist between theory and reality. After my return from the country, I’d stare at a random object and doubt the value of what I have learnt. There has to be an answer! If not, what’s the use of learning the humanities and social sciences, expecting to use them to help people? The crimson trucks strode down the dirty road again and again in my mind, reminding me of my failure.

我進一步深入村莊，了解村裏人的生活。走後，幻滅占據了我對知識有效性的所有期望。坐在家中，我感受著理論與(yu) 現實間過於(yu) 巨大的溝壑。我會(hui) 突然盯著家中一個(ge) 物件，質疑所學一切的價(jia) 值。總得有個(ge) 答案吧！我們(men) 學人文、社會(hui) 科學，指望助人，若非如此，這些學習(xi) 還有什麽(me) 用呢？深紅色的車隊已然成了我心中關(guan) 於(yu) 個(ge) 人失敗的一片陰翳。

Days passed. Confusion kept haunting me. Yet, as I read more case studies in sociology and public policy, I finally realized that my laments were invalid. Reading Yaojiang Shi’s careful analysis of the effect of parental migration on the academic performance of their children, I realized my naivete in trying to connect the complicated structure of China’s rural problems to my simplistic understanding of Durkheim, Marx, and Foucault. It’s not that theory and reality are disconnected. It’s that I naively equated theory with book knowledge, but a good theory is more than metaphysical musing.

日子一天天過去，困惑依然揮之不去。即便，在閱讀社會(hui) 學、公共政策的更多個(ge) 案研究後，我終於(yu) 明白了這種指責並不成立：針對中國農(nong) 民工父母對子女學業(ye) 成績的影響，史耀疆教授展開了細致的研究。讀完他的論文，我意識到了自己在妄圖通過對塗爾幹、馬克思、福珂這些社會(hui) 學大家的淺表理解，來貫穿中國複雜農(nong) 村問題的結構性版圖，這一宏圖是如此幼稚。理論與(yu) 現實並不脫鉤，隻是理論不可與(yu) 書(shu) 本知識簡單劃等號——經得起考驗的理論遠不止形而上的冥思。

How should I connect theory and reality? I read and reflected. I was eventually enlightened by John Dewey: “Experience gives me want; knowledge makes it a purpose.” In retrospect, this has been the cycle of my life. I read; I became unsatisfied with abstract knowledge; I went into the world and found problems; I went back to books to seek solutions. If there is still a path to get answer for my questions on rural construction, that is to obtain more knowledge and experience.

那麽(me) ，理論與(yu) 經驗的有機的結合該如何實現呢？在閱讀中，我不斷反思。最終，約翰·杜威（譯注：美國實用主義(yi) 哲學家）啟發了我：“是經驗讓我有所欲；是知識將它塑造為(wei) 目的。”回過頭看，這句話仿佛就是我成長的年輪（意譯，原文為(wei) In retrospect, this has been the cycle of my life）：出於(yu) 對抽象知識的不滿足，我走入真實世界，發現問題；我走回書(shu) 本，尋求答案。如果在回應我關(guan) 於(yu) （中國）鄉(xiang) 土構建的智識追問時，依然有徑可依，那麽(me) 它隻能是通過汲取更多的知識和經驗。

So I went to the villages again, seeking more experience to guide my learning.

於(yu) 是，我再一次回到曾經調研的村莊，尋求指導求知的更多經驗材料。

In a villager’s home, I was sitting by a birch table, facing the door. On my left sat the village head; on my right, thevillager. White steam rose from the rice and met the cigarette smoke from the village head’s mouth. Through this medley of mist, I saw, outside the door, lines of green rice shoots waving in the field. Peace, for the first time, was in my mind. I no longer worried about the limits of my knowledge; experience would lead me to replenish it.

在一位當地人的家中，我坐在一張樺木飯桌上，麵向大門。村長坐在我左手邊，村民們(men) 在我右邊。蒸大米的白煙與(yu) 村長嘴裏吐出的煙圈交匯在一起。透過這迷蒙的霧氣，我看到門外田野裏一排排綠色的稻苗在搖曳。我心中第一次出現了安寧之感：不再擔憂知識的局限性，經驗終將提供補充。

The crimson trucks finally stopped roaring in my brain.

我心緒中深紅色的淤塞終於(yu) 消散了。

顧問評析

這是一篇以非法采礦的申請者調研成為(wei) 文章的主題和核心tension的主文書(shu) 。中間不斷地反問和思考，順便展現了自己深厚的社科理論功底以及調研發現的問題的複雜性。

自己開始對於(yu) 理論的有效性產(chan) 生懷疑，展現出內(nei) 心的掙紮。既學術又沒有把文書(shu) 寫(xie) 成論文，用閱讀、觀察、活動，反思去探討理論和現實之間的複雜關(guan) 係。

一個(ge) 漂亮的quote提拉文章主題，表達理論和經驗都很重要，不是說理論沒用，隻是自己現在田野經驗還不足，高中生可以到達這樣的深度太不容易了。

最後一段，問題和內(nei) 心的掙紮完美告一段落，自己在對於(yu) 世界的理解和智識方麵都獲得了長足的成長。深入淺出，天花板級別的學術類ps。