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8.Duke University
MOTTO: Eruditio et Religio (Latin for “Knowledge and Religion”)

一 杜克大学的官方说法

Successful Duke applicants typically have significant extracurricular commitments, all of which we value. Most students admitted to Duke have demonstrated real impact. In some venue they have made a difference. It might be in the classroom, in the community or on the athletic field. It could be doing one thing brilliantly, or several things exceedingly well.

二 杜克大学录取“个性”分析

虽然相对于耶鲁等常青藤老牌名校来说历史较短,但是杜克大学一直在美国大学排行榜上名列前茅。杜克大学的学术能力只是成就其成为美国优秀大学的一部分,它还是充满活力的“篮球第一名校”。除了篮球等体育运动,学校还非常鼓励学生参加和发展学术研究之外的其他活动和能力。

虽然杜克大学没有明确提出申请者的必备素质,但是每个学校在寻找和关注的,必然是与自己的校园文化投契的人群。

拥有令人骄傲的课外成就。 首先,申请者的学术硬实力当然是不可或缺的,但他们的课外经历也和他们的学习能力同等重要。在申请提示中,杜克大学首先强调的就是过去成功入学的申请者大部分都在申请过程中与学校分享了自己重大的课外成就,以及带给他们的巨大影响。杜克大学所关心的申请者的成长轨迹,并不仅限于课堂上的知识积累,还有在现实生活中的变化——不论是发生在社区里还是田径场上,不论是否仅仅是一次难忘的过程,抑或是一点一滴的蜕变。

出色的实践能力。 与丰富的课外经历相联系的,一定是在这些活动中申请者的表现。这不仅仅意味着你参加了这些活动,学校更看重的是申请者在这些活动中做出了什么贡献,或者学到了什么,从而让自己更充实。Knowledge in service to society(将知识服务于社会)的理念是杜克大学的口号之一,也是他们衡量申请者是否合格的标准之一。

强烈的社会责任感。 在拥有学以致用的能力以后,能否帮助他人、帮助国家甚至是整个世界解决问题,也是他们关心的领域。杜克大学的教学目标就是选拔出优秀人才以更专业的知识和更成熟的智慧扭转逆境、治愈伤痛。

领导才能。 除了自身的成长,周围世界的改变和进步也是校方寄予学生的期望。从运用所学到传播所学,是授之以鱼到授之以渔的过程,这需要申请者具备领导素质。

三 经典真题解析

1.(For Arts and Sciences applicants only)(仅针对文理学院申请者)

If you are applying to Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, please discuss why you consider Duke a good match for you. Is there something in particular at Duke that attracts you? Please limit your response to one or two paragraphs.

【类别】 选择原因型

【关键词】 why, Duke, good match for you, something in particular at Duke, attracts you

【题目翻译】 如果你正在申请圣三一文理学院,请谈谈为什么你觉得杜克大学是适合你的选择。杜克大学有什么吸引你的特质?请将回答控制在1~2段之内。

【题目分析】 需要完成这道题目的是申请杜克大学圣三一文理学院的学生。首先,申请者需要非常了解这所学院,例如这所学院有哪些课程设置,有哪些名震业界的教授,学院本身能为学生提供哪些有特色的授课方式,或者有哪些丰富的资源可以满足申请者对某些课题的研究等。总之,申请者需要结合具体的点来谈。在介绍完学院吸引你的地方后,申请者还需要在文章中体现自己的优势和特点,阐明自己的这些特质完全符合学院的气质,在这样的环境中,自己可以更加充实自己的头脑,使自己的求知欲得到满足。不同人眼中看到的圣三一文理学院是不一样的,申请者只要写出自己眼里看到的最生动的那个,且语言诚恳,感情真挚,就不难引起招生官的注意。

· 范文 ·

I see the value of the tradition and spirit of sharing in the Duke academic community: to transfer what you have learned into real power, which can bring about many wonderful changes. That is why I have chosen Duke University.

Growing up in a family that believes that “sharing is the root of happiness”, I would like to share what I have with people in need: food, books and even my laughter. When I was in primary school and we had just started learning English, some of my classmates could not follow the class. But I was very good at it, partly because my aunt was an English teacher and I was the proverbial “early bird”. A friend of mine came to me and asked if she could do English homework with me, and it suddenly came to me that we could have a really great group learning experience and could invite others to be involved. I was glad that I could share with them my way to learn English, and doing so brought me much more pleasure than being praised by teachers because of my relatively better performance in English class. I really hope that Duke University can let me contribute to the mission of sharing what I have in order to make a difference.

· 范文解析 ·

题目要求将文章控制在两个自然段之内,因此内容一定要简洁。

文章开门见山,直接概括说明了申请者选择杜克大学的原因,并且将杜克大学“知识服务于社会”的口号提炼出来,从而使自己乐于分享的个人特质与其达成默契。接下来,作者讲述自己乐于分享的特质从何而来,以及在生活中是如何体现和发挥出来的。具体的事例会使个人特质更鲜明,在事例的选择上不必追求名号大、成效高,而是应选择自己熟悉的、参与度高的亲身经历,描述起来会更得心应手。

虽然题目看起来是考查作者对于杜克大学的了解程度,实际上,学校更希望看到的是申请者的个人特质是否符合学校风格。因此,站在学校的角度进行自我剖析是重点。

2.If you have participated in any significant research activity outside of school, please provide a brief description and limit your response to one or two paragraphs.

【类别】 相关经历型

【关键词】 significant, research activity, outside of school, brief description

【题目翻译】 如果你曾经参加过校外的一些重要研究活动,请作简要描述,回答限制在1~2段之内。

【题目分析】 首先,题目明确规定,请申请者介绍的是“research activity”。既然是研究活动,那么不管研究的话题是什么,这个活动肯定有一定的严谨性,并且需要用到相关的专业知识。那么在选材上,申请者就不要列举去孤儿院做义工、周末卖报纸这类偏重社会实践的活动题材,而是要选择那些能展现申请者研究兴趣以及积累的相关专业知识的活动。其次,这些活动必须是“outside of school”,所以要避免选择必修课或者课堂作业涉及的“任务式”的活动,重点展示你的个人兴趣以及主观能动性。同时,鉴于题目的字数限制,在描述的过程中不需要事无巨细,应选择重点部分,例如研究活动的主题、所使用的科学方法、大致的执行规划等。

· 范文 ·

I have been involved in summer research focused on a situation of abandoned children in rural China. In a village of northwestern China, our team of six people witnessed firsthand the hard lives of these children and at the same time, played the role of volunteer teachers, trying our best to bring them knowledge and most importantly, make them happy. At first, I found the children to be shy or even behaviorally negative in class; some were even unwilling to join our classroom activities. I talked to the head of the village, made each one of them a file with basic information of every child, and visited their houses to learn more about their backgrounds and to get close to them. Meanwhile, I made a revolutionary change in our teaching method: I turned the classroom into a playground (a “vivid showroom”). Instead of teaching things from boring textbooks, I set up programs called “little painters” “little photographers” and “little journalists” essentially dressing knowledge up in more interesting clothes to attract the kids. And it worked!

In three weeks' time, these fifty children had become our close friends, which made departure a very hard thing. I felt their loneliness and experienced their hardships, and what we did was not enough to solve their problems. I might have brought them knowledge, but they in return gave me a special summer and showed me a different part of our Chinese society. They taught me how to handle different situations with drastically different people, and proved that what I had learned in the classroom was not useless.

· 范文解析 ·

首先作者简单介绍了参加的活动背景和研究主题——调查乡村留守儿童的情况同时义务支教,目标是通过支教带给孩子们知识和快乐。这个目标是相对于调查结果来说更实际、更力所能及的部分。同时,支教的过程就是知识输出的过程,而能够将知识服务于社会是杜克大学所看重的能力,这表明作者的个人特质与学校的发展目标相投契。

作者着重描写了支教过程的细节。留守儿童的特殊成长环境造成了他们的自闭、孤单等种种状况,而作者在遇到教学上的困难时,能及时调整与他们的相处方式。除了与他们进行深入接触之外,还将教学改造成为更有趣、更容易输出知识的过程。

最后,对研究活动的总结重点放在了从活动中学到了什么。这是一个双向交流、有给予有回报的过程——作者带给孩子们知识和快乐,孩子们给了作者一个机会度过一个特殊的暑假,体验特殊的生活。这给了作者人生的启示,即所学是有用的。 ZI6J0WydOed90gw5aZtB+ZEAkKnd1Xu4VQlilDv63Yie60ASobJblTaO9JYy2g+0

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