S: Do you know that Cambridge received 14,585 applications and Oxford 13,287 for entry this October?
S:你知道嗎，今年10月，劍橋大學收到了 14585份入學申請，牛津收到了 13287份。
J： Yes. But how many of them will survive the interview is still in doubt.
J:知道。但是這些申請人中有多少能通過面試還是個未知數。
S： Cambridge alone rejected at interview more than 5,000 students last year who went on to get three A grades in their A levels, underlining the intensity of competition.
S:去年劍橋就拒絕了 5000多名學生的申請。這些學生都是獲得了 3個A-level成 績的學生，這就說明了競爭有多么激烈。
J： True. Interviewers in those two Universities are good at posing eccentric questions.
J:對啊。這兩所大學的老師很愛提刁鉆古怪的問題。
S： They may all be academic thoroughbreds, but success in the Oxbridge stakes can seem as remote as winning the Grand National,
S:他們可能學習都很優秀，但是能通過面試的機率就跟在英國"全國大賽馬”獲勝 一樣低。
J： It was said that the tutors select people they want to teach ultimately.
J:據說老師們最終只是在挑選他們想教的人。
S: The competition against other students is fierce and candidates need to differentiate themselves, “To be honest, they’re competing against each other，not against the interviewers，"said a don in the university.
S:同學之間的競爭特別激烈，申請者們必須有與眾不同之處才能脫穎而出。一位面 試官曾講過：“老實說，他們是彼此在競爭而不是在和面試官競爭。”
J： Yes. Nearly all applicants have excellent A-level grades, so places are increasingly awarded for original answers in interviews.
J:對。幾乎所有的申請人的成績都是非常優秀的A-level,所以能否被錄取就更加 取決于他們在面試中的表現了。
S： So it’s worth actively engaging with the questions, without being rude or confrontational, rather than tiptoeing around to avoid mistakes.
S:所以，面試者不能傲慢粗魯，也不能畏畏縮縮的逃避犯錯，而是積極地參與到問 題中去。
J: Some entrants are so nervous that they even practice the interview on a daily basis with the help of their parents at home.
J:有些學生特別緊張，他們甚至在父母的幫助下，天天在家里進行面試練習。
S: Really? Does it help?
S:真的嗎?這樣有用嗎?
J: It’s hard to say. But a mother of a twin said that she thinks the practices are really helpful, and she even suggested parents of the applicants should help their children to practice their reaction and creative thinking.
J:這不好說。但是有_位雙胞胎的家長說，§也認為這種練習+分有用，她還建議別 的學生家長也在家幫助孩子們練習，以增強反應能力和創造性思維的能力。
S： That might be true. However, I also heard that over-rehearsing does no good to the interview because they might lose the ability of responding naturally and spontaneously.
S:也許吧。不過我也聽人說，過度的演練未必真的有好處，因為這樣，學生們在面試中就不能很自然的反應。
J： Yes. You really have no idea what the tutors are looking for. One of my friends who got 5 As at A-Level, was head boy, involved in Drama, charity work and debating did not get into Cambridge.
j：有道理。很難說這些老師們到底要尋找什么樣的人才。我有一位朋友曾經在 A_level得了 5個A、擔任班長、參加戲劇演出、慈善工作、也是辯論社的一員， 可是他還是被劍橋錄取。
S: Why?
S:為什么呢?
J: Who knows why? Maybe he just didn’t fit what the tutor was looking for.
J:誰知道為什么。也許只是因為他不是老師 們要找的人。
S： Well, I think the teacher must also be highly pressured on this since they might have made the wrong decision.
S:嗯，我覺得老師們恐怕也非常有壓力，因 為他們很可能會作锫誤的決定。
J: Yes, I heard that next week, in an attempt to standardize its admissions procedure, Oxford will announce that all dons are to be put through training sessions to remind them how to interview fairly and well.
J:是啊。我聽說為了使招生程序標準化，牛 津宣布下周對所有參加面試的老師進行培訓，
S: They just shouldn’t be so picky.
S:他們實在不應該過分挑剔。
J: They might appear to be cruel, but there are only few places, they must make the decision.
J:看起來，這些老師是有些“殘忍"，不過因為名額有限，他們不得不作出決定。
S： Let me tell you an interesting story about the admissions ritual at Peterhouse, Cambridge. When a candidate entered the room, someone would kick a rugby ball towards him. If he caught it, he was in; if he drop-kicked it back, he won a scholarship.
S:我跟你講一個有趣的故事，是關于劍橋彼得學院招生面試的。面試者一進入面試 的房間，就會有人踢給他一個橄欖球，如果接到了，他就會被錄取;如果把球踢 了回去，就能贏得獎學金。
J: That’s interesting but can’t be true!
J:真有意思，不過這肯定不是真的。
S: No one suggests that happens now, but tales still circulate about baffling questions posed by dons.
S:現在這種事情肯定不會發生，不過這也說明了面試官們提出的問題有多么古怪。
J: They said sometimes teenagers can break down in tears.
J:有人說，一些孩子面試的時候都哭了。
S: How does the teacher cope?
S:那老師該怎么辦?
J; One of the dons said to them: 4tif you want to cry for another five minutes, you can.” Sometimes they go away, have a cup of coffee and come back.
J:—位面試官跟現場大哭的學生說：“如果你還想再哭5分鐘的話，請便。"有時候， 他們只是暫時離開，喝杯咖啡再回來。
S: Are you kidding me?
S:這太夸張了!
