校園生活:英國牛津大學的面試樣題

【英文原文】

進入牛津讀大學很不容易，牛津有一系列措施非常嚴格的甄選過程來評估學生的能力和潛力：面試；能力測試;寫作能力測試；中學預測成績；已獲成績，推薦信等。入學面試是其中的一個關鍵環節。牛津大學最近公佈了部分面試樣題，題目全部來自牛津大學負責面試的考官，並解釋了他們提問那些“聽起來很古怪的問題”背後的理由。
招生主任Mike Nicholson說，“關於牛津大學的面試題，外界有很多傳聞，但我們的開放式題目並不是捉弄人的，題目不要求任何特殊知識，也沒有什麼‘對’或‘錯’的答案。那些開放式問題是爲了激發學生與面試官之間的討論，觀察考生對新思想的反應或者是否能提出有趣的論點。” “我們希望看到候選人的思考過程，而不是得出具體的答案。面試問題會從熟悉的領域開始，然後拓展到課本以外的廣泛領域，看看他們如何應對新的知識和思想。面試不是測試個性或愛好，不會涉及與所選主題無關的事情，例如嗜好或運動成績等等。”
負責英語學科面試的考官Lucinda Rumsey說： “我們不是爲了難住考生，所以沒必要猜測考官接下來要問什麼，沒必要提前準備好答案。開放式問題是爲了激起討論，可以有很多發散思維的方向。我們希望看到候選人的批判性思維以及如何探索新的思路。” “希望這些例子對考生入學面試準備有所幫助。它也可以讓候選人提前瞭解牛津大學的氛圍，因爲入學後，這樣的面試過程在學習任何一門課程時都會遇到。 ”

Interview questions
Subject: Geography
Interviewer: Lorraine Wild, St Hilda’s College
Q: If I were to visit the area where you live, what would I be interested in?
Lorraine Wild: ‘The question gives candidates an opportunity to apply concepts from their A level geography course to their home area. They might discuss urban planning and regeneration, ethnic segregation and migration, or issues of environmental management. The question probes whether they are able to apply ‘geographical thinking’ to the everyday landscapes around them. It reveals the extent to which they have a curiosity about the world around them. By asking specifically about their home area the question eliminates any advantage gained by those who are more widely travelled and have more experience of a variety of geographical contexts.’

Subject: Modern languages
Interviewer: Helen Swift, St Hilda’s College
Q: What is language?
Helen Swift: ‘Although I would never launch this question at a candidate on its own, it might grow out of a discussion. Students sometimes say they like studying Spanish, for example, because they 'love the language'. In order to get a student thinking critically and analytically, the question would get them to consider what constitutes the language they enjoy – is it defined by particular features or by function (what it does)? How does form relate to meaning? And so on.’

Subject: English
Interviewer: Lucinda Rumsey, Mansfield College
Q: Why might it be useful for an English student to read the Twilight series?
Lucinda Rumsey: ‘There's several reasons I might ask this one. It's useful in an interview to find some texts the candidate has read recently and the Twilight books are easily accessible and popular. Also, candidates tend to concentrate on texts they have been taught in school or college and I want to get them to talk about whatever they have read independently, so I can see how they think rather than what they have been taught. A good English student engages in literary analysis of every book they read. The question has led to some interesting discussions about narrative voice, genre, and audience in the past.’

Subject: Medicine
Interviewer: Robert Wilkins, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics
Q: Why does your heart rate increase when you exercise?
Robert Wilkins: ‘The simple answer, which all students can provide, is because you need to deliver more oxygen and nutrients to muscles and remove metabolic products. But follow-up questions would probe whether the student appreciates that there must be a way for the body to know it needs to raise the heart rate, and possible ways for achieving this. Answers might include sensing lowered oxygen or raised carbon dioxide levels. In fact, gas levels might not change much, so students are further asked to propose other signals and ways in which those possibilities could be tested. This probes selection criteria such as problem-solving and critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm and curiosity, and the ability to listen.’

Subject: Biological sciences
Interviewer: Martin Speight, Department of Zoology
Q: If you could save either the rainforests or the coral reefs, which would you choose?
Martin Speight: ‘I’d expect students to be able to use their general knowledge plus their common sense to come up with an answer – no detailed knowledge is required. Students might then be asked about the importance of natural features, such as biodiversity and rare species, and human interests, such as the fuel and food, ecotourism and medicines we get from rainforests or reefs. Finally there are impacts to consider from climate change, soil erosion, pollution, logging, biofuel replacement, overfishing, etc. The final answer doesn't matter – both reefs and rainforests must be managed sustainably to balance conservation and human needs.’

Subject: Law
Interviewer: Ben McFarlane, Faculty of Law
Q: What does it mean for someone to ‘take’ another's car?
Ben McFarlane: ‘There is no right answer to this question. For example, can you take a car without driving it, or even without moving it? Our focus is on the candidate’s reasoning – how he or she formulates an initial definition, and how he or she then applies and refines that initial definition in response to hypothetical examples provided by the interviewers. One example might be: I am walking along the street when it starts to rain. I open the door of an unlocked car and sit there for 15 minutes until the rain passes. Have I ‘taken’ the car? The aim of the interview is to give the candidate a chance to show his or her application, reasoning ability, and communication skills.’

Subject: Engineering
Interviewer: Byron Byrne, Department of Engineering Science
Q: How would you design a gravity dam for holding back water?
Byron Byrne: ‘This is a great question because the candidate first has to determine the forces acting on the dam before considering the stability of the wall under the action of those forces. Candidates will probably recognise that the water could push the dam over. The candidate would then be expected to construct simple mathematical expression_r_r_rs that predict when this would occur. Some may also discuss failure by sliding, issues of structural design, the effects of water seeping under the dam, and so on. The candidate will not have covered all the material at school so guidance is provided to assess how quickly new ideas are absorbed. The question also probes the candidate’s ability to apply physics and maths to new situations and can test interest in and enthusiasm for the engineered world.’

【中文譯文】

牛津大學面試問題
Subject 科目：地理 Geography
面試老師Interviewer: Lorraine Wild, St Hilda’s College
問: If I were to visit the area where you live, what would I be interested in? （如果我去你的家鄉旅行，我應該看些什麼有趣的東西？）

Subject科目：現代語言Modern languages
面試老師：Helen Swift, St Hilda’s學院
問：What is language（什麼是語言）?

Subject科目：英語English
面試老師: Lucinda Rumsey, Mansfield College
問: Why might it be useful for an English student to read the Twilight series（爲什麼英文專業的學生有必要閱讀Twilight(暮光之城)系列？）?

Subject科目：醫藥Medicine
面試老師：Robert Wilkins, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics （生理學，解剖學和遺傳學系）
問：爲什麼運動時你的心跳會加速（Why does your heart rate increase when you exercise）?

Subject科目：生物科學Biological sciences
面試老師：Martin Speight, Department of Zoology （動物系）
問：If you could save either the rainforests or the coral reefs, which would you choose? （如果你只能拯救熱帶雨林或珊瑚礁中的一個，你會選擇哪個）？

Subject科目：法律Law
面試老師：Ben McFarlane, Faculty of Law （法學院）
問：What does it mean for someone to ‘take’ another's car（一個人“拿走”別人的車是什麼意思）？

Subject主題：工程Engineering
面試老師：Byron Byrne, Department of Engineering Science （工程科學系）
問：How would you design a gravity dam for holding back water（你會如何設計一個重力蓄水大壩）？