By David Katz
對於研究所推甄及研究所考試裡，多數考生對中文口試的準備已習以為常，然而各系所加考英文口試的比率卻有增無減，所以不可輕易忽略英文口語能力表達，甚至在沒完全準備好的情況下應戰，容易飲恨進不了心目中的第一志願！
“Tell Us Something About Yourself”
How to Ace the English Section of the Graduate School Admissions Interview
告訴我們一些關於你自己的事
如何在研究所入學考試在英語面試部分取得優異成績
Over the past decade, I’ve helped hundreds of students prepare for the English section of their graduate school admissions interviews. Every university department handles these interviews differently, but all of them usually allow at least a minute or two for each prospective student to talk about themselves and say whatever they would like to say. Even after conducting so many mock interviews, I’m still surprised how many young students sabotage their applications by not taking full advantage of this opportunity. Some students try to cram their entire life story into 120 seconds. Others drone on and on about how they learned “leadership” by being the assistant treasurer of the university badminton club. (Like me, the professors who conduct the real interviews have heard a version of this story hundreds of times, and like me, they don’t believe it.) So, what should you do?
在過去的十年裡，我幫助了數百名學生準備研究所招生英語面試的部分。每間大學學院科系對面試的處理方式不同，但通常都會給每位未來的研究生至少一到兩分鐘的時間來談談自己，說一些他們想說的話。即使在進行了這麼多次模擬面試之後，我仍然很驚訝有那麼多年輕學生未充分利用這個機會而毀掉了他們的申請。有些學生試圖把自己的整個人生故事塞進 120 秒。其他人則喋喋不休地說，他們是如何在大學羽毛球俱樂部擔任財務助理時學會「領導力」的。（和我一樣，進行面試的教授們也聽過此故事的數百次版本，他們和我一樣，都不相信。）那麼，你應該怎麼做？
In this short series of blog posts, I’ll offer a few guidelines to help you make the most of your English interview. It’s important. The right thought at the right time could change the course of your entire life. As could the wrong one.
在這篇簡短的專欄文章中，我將提供一些指導，幫助你在英語面試中發揮最大的作用。這很重要。在正確的時間，正確的想法可以改變你整個人生的軌跡。錯的人也一樣。
The first thing you should remember is: Don’t be boring.
The great American novelist Elmore Leonard once explained how to write stories that are unputdownable—people should just leave out the boring parts. This is good advice for your interview, too. You only have one English interview that day, but spare a thought for the poor professors who may have to do twenty, thirty, or even more interviews before they go home. They probably don’t want to hear a long list of your positive personality traits or how you once learned “the importance of hard work” after helping out with some activity or other. These do little to differentiate you from other applicants. Think about the interview from the professors’ perspective. What do they want to know about you?
偉大的美國小說家 Elmore Leonard 曾經解釋過如何寫出讓人愛不釋手的故事──人們應撇開無聊的部分。這對面試也是個好建議。你那天只有一次英語面試，但想想那些可憐的教授們，他們在回家之前可能要做 20 次、30 次甚至更多的面試。他們可能不想聽到你的一長串積極的個性特徵，或你曾經如何在幫助一些活動後學會「努力工作的重要性」。這些回應並不能讓你與其他申請者區隔出任何不同。從教授的角度來考慮面試的問題。他們想瞭解你什麼？
- What do you want to study? Are you capable of doing that original research?
- Why do you want to study here, and not some other university?
- Graduate school isn’t right for everyone. Are you serious about this? Will you graduate?
These are questions that cannot be answered by talking about your hobbies or club activities. You only have this one minute or two to make the case for why you should be admitted to this rigorous academic program, so focus on what’s essential:
這些問題不能透過談論你的愛好或社團活動而得到答案。你只有一兩分鐘的時間來說明為什麼你應該被這個嚴格的學術項目錄取，所以重點關注什麼是最重要的：
- I really want to study X!
- I really want to study X here! This is the best place for me to study X because …
- I’m totally prepared to study X because …
- I want to study X because in the future I want to ….
What’s the best way to organize these thoughts? That’s the topic of the next blog post: Don’t introduce yourself. Instead, tell a story.
