美国本科留学|芝加哥大学2017-2018年刁钻奇葩文书题目

How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.

根据你现在对芝加哥大学的了解，芝加哥大学如何满足你对于学习，环境，以及未来的展望?请用具体事例来阐述你和芝加哥大学的联系。

Notes：Why Chicago？

Question 2 (选答):

Share with us a few of your favorite books, poems, authors, films, plays, pieces of music, musicians, performers, paintings, artists, blogs, magazines, or newspapers. Feel free to touch on one, some, or all of the categories listed, or add a category of your own.

跟我们分享一下你最喜欢的书，诗歌，作者，电影，戏剧，音乐，表演艺术家，画作，艺术家，博客，杂志或报纸。你可以选择以上其中任意一项，或几项甚至全部。你也可以添加自己想要分享的类别。

Notes：这里可以以“list”的形式或者“short essay”的形式来分享给招生官你最喜欢的书，诗歌或者其他。但是芝加哥的文书的重中之重是“Creative”，所以不必拘泥于它列出来的这些category，你可以随意set你自己最喜欢的东西的category然后来分享。

如果用list形式的话，可以每一个list下面用一两句话描述一下。

拓展题目：（必答，任选一个）

Essay Option 1.

“The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress.” – Joseph Joubert

Sometimes, people talk a lot about popular subjects to assure ‘victory’ in conversation or understanding, and leave behind topics of less popularity, but great personal or intellectual importance. What do you think is important but under-discussed?

Notes：Joseph Joubert认为争论，讨论的目的不在于胜利与否（ENDS），而在于方法，进程（MEANS）。在ENDS VS MEANS的较劲中，对你来说更重要的是ends还是means？现如今人们为了最后的结果（取得胜利或者便于理解等等）常会选择一些当下流行的topics去谈话或者其他，放弃那些鲜为人讨论的话题，而这些往往更富有知识涵养更个体。这个文书题目首先需要确定一个under-discussed的topic，然后需要你阐述对于这个specific topic你觉得过程（MEANS)重要呢还是结果（ENDS)重要？

Essay Option 2.

Due to a series of clerical errors, there is exactly one typo (an extra letter, a removed letter, or an altered letter) in the name of every department at the University of Chicago. Oops! Describe your new intended major. Why are you interested in it and what courses or areas of focus within it might you want to explore? Potential options include Commuter Science, Bromance Languages and Literatures, Pundamentals: Issues and Texts, Ant History... a full list of unmodified majors ready for your editor’s eye is available here:

https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/academics/majors-minors.

Notes：拼写错误常见的就是要么多一个字母，要么少一个字母，或者是字母替换。芝加哥大学各系网站也因为一些有的没得拼写错误将原本的意思都变了，但没有被揪出错误来。 比如说Computer Science可能因为拼写错误变成了Commuter Science， Fundamentals: Issues and Texas变成了Pundamentals: Issues and Texts, Art History变成了Ant History...这个essay题目非常有趣。让你大开脑洞，YY出一个你想学的专业，告诉我们为什么对它感兴趣？YY的前提是改变或者移除或者增加一个字母（如前面举例），来创造一个新的专业。

Essay Option 3.

Earth. Fire. Wind. Water. Heart! Captain Planet supposes that the world is made up of these five elements. We’re familiar with the previously-noted set and with actual elements like hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, but select and explain another small group of things (say, under five) that you believe compose our world.

Notes： Captain Planet （美国90年代流行的TV Show）认为Earth、Fire、Wind、Water、Heart是构成这个世界的元素体系。我们熟知的世界必须的元素是氧气，二氧化碳，氢等。在这个文书题目里，又要肆意展开你的想象力，对你来说构成这个世界world的元素是什么？（五个以内）比如说对某个生活在中国的外国人来说，他认为构成这个世界的small group of things是Rice、Noodle、Bicycle等等；但对有些人来说，构成这个世界的small group of things是Colors，Canvas等。这个题目的关键是不同的人看待世界的角度和感知世界的角度是不一样的。你value的构成世界的small things必然反应了你是一个什么样的人。

Essay Option 4.

The late New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham once said "Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life. I don’t think you could do away with it. It would be like doing away with civilization." Tell us about your “armor.”

Notes：纽约时报的前摄影师Bill Cunningham（比尔.康宁）认为”时装是在日常生活的现实中生存下去的盔甲。我觉得你离不开它,就像你离不开文明一样。”那么来谈谈对你来说你的”盔甲“是什么？在阐述你的armor的时候，需要明白其实it is a way you present yourself to feel self-confidence。可能是你的humor让你觉得是你的armor，让你在各方面都非常有自信？可能是你的sensitivity让你觉得是你的armor，在各方面很有自信？没有这些就够不成你这个”人“。

Essay Option 5.

Fans of the movie Sharknado say that they enjoy it because “it’s so bad, it’s good.” Certain automobile owners prefer classic cars because they “have more character.” And recently, vinyl record sales have skyrocketed because it is perceived that they have a warmer, fuller sound. Discuss something that you love not in spite of but rather due to its quirks or imperfections.

Notes： Sharknado是美国2013年被认为是烂片。虽然是烂片，但其实很多美国人看的时候还是很开心，因为影片给他们带来了laugh。也有人偏爱黑胶唱片，因为对他们来说黑胶唱片给人一种温暖满足的音律感。举这些例子是想说有些东西明明不完美，有瑕疵或者很奇怪，但却深得你的喜爱。那么这里就来谈谈什么不完美，什么有瑕疵，什么比较奇怪的东西却深深吸引你。之前有个学生，很喜欢坐那种老旧的绿皮火车，肯花上几十个小时去一个地方，而不要做飞机或者高铁。对他来说坐绿皮火车的意义远大于到达目的地（比如每个站都有不同口音的人上来，让他通过这种方式了解不同风俗等等）。

Essay Option 6.

In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, pose your own question or choose one of our past prompts. Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun.