芝加哥大學，一所學神雲集的學術殿堂。作為美國的TOP5，TA的申請文書題目以標（ji）新（qi）立（bian）異（tai）一直聞名於江湖，每年的題目都可以將腦洞開到一個新高度。
比如，芝加哥曾經就出過這樣的題目，你們自行感受下："Joan of Arkansas. Queen Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Babe Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Mash up a historical figure with a new time period, environment, location or occupation, and tell us their story。"
要求：將Joan of Arkansas、Queen Elizabeth Cady Stanton、Babe Ruth Bader Ginsburg這三個人物揉碎混合創造出一個新的歷史人物，運用一段新的時期，新的地點，或新的職業，並告訴我們他們的故事。
因此，要申請這所大學，文書絕對是非常高難度的一項挑戰。這一關過了，意味著你可以在芝加哥生存下去，不然就算僥倖進去了，想出來也就沒那麼容易了……雖然我們認為這很變態，但學校也正是靠著這種不按套路出的牌來篩選真正適合他們的學生。Whatever，人家是名校，人家就是這麼任性！
今天習美君整理了最新以及往年的芝加哥文書題目，留學黨們可以好好研究一下。
2018-2019 UChicago Supplement
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.
芝加哥大學如何滿足你對於學習、社區和未來的展望？請具體闡明你的願景以及它們與芝加哥大學的聯繫。
Extended Essay (Required; Choose one)
Essay Option 1In 2015, the city of Melbourne, Australia created a "tree-mail" service, in which all of the trees in the city received an email address so that residents could report any tree-related issues. As an unexpected result, people began to email their favorite trees sweet and occasionally humorous letters. Imagine this has been expanded to any object (tree or otherwise) in the world, and share with us the letter you』d send to your favorite.
-Inspired by Hannah Lu, Class of 2020
澳大利亞的墨爾本市在2015年新增了一項「樹木信箱」服務。全市所有樹木都會擁有一個電子郵箱，以便於居民報告與該樹木相關的任何問題。出人意料的是，人們開始向他們最喜愛的樹木發送甜蜜或詼諧幽默的信件。想像一下這項服務被推廣到世界上的所有事物（樹木或者其他物體），請向我們分享你會向你最喜愛的物體發送的信。
Essay Option 2You’re on a voyage in the thirteenth century, sailing across the tempestuous seas. What if, suddenly, you fell off the edge of the Earth?
-Inspired by Chandani Latey, AB'93
你在十三世紀進行一段航行，海上正狂放暴雨。如果此時你忽然從地球的邊緣掉出去了，會怎麼樣呢？
Essay Option 3The word floccinaucinihilipilification is the act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant or of having no value. It originated in the mid-18th century from the Latin words "floccus," "naucum," "nihilum," and "pilus"—all words meaning 「of little use.」 Coin your own word using parts from any language you choose, tell us its meaning, and describe the plausible (if only to you) scenarios in which it would be most appropriately used.
-Inspired by Ben Zhang, Class of 2022
Floccinaucinihilipilification這個詞用來描述某些不重要或沒有價值的行為或者習慣。它產生於18世紀中葉，源自於拉丁語詞"floccus," "naucum," "nihilum,"和"pilus"。這些詞都表示「用處不大」。請創造你自己的詞，可以選擇的任何語言的組成部分，告訴我們它的含義，並描述這個詞最適用（僅僅對你而言也可以）的場景。
Essay Option 4Lost your keys? Alohomora. Noisy roommate? Quietus. Feel the need to shatter windows for some reason? Finestra. Create your own spell, charm, jinx, or other means for magical mayhem. How is it enacted? Is there an incantation? Does it involve a potion or other magical object? If so, what's in it or what is it? What does it do?
-Inspired by Emma Sorkin, Class of 2021
鑰匙丟了？Alohomora。室友太吵？Quietus。出於某個原因需要打碎窗戶？Finestra。請創造你自己的法術、魔力、咒語，或其他可以製造混亂的魔法。它是如何被施行的？有什麼需要念的咒語嗎？它涉及毒藥或其他魔法物質嗎？如果是，它具體是什麼呢？它的作用是什麼？
Essay Option 5Imagine you』ve struck a deal with the Dean of Admissions himself, Dean Nondorf. It goes as follows: you’re guaranteed admission to the University of Chicago regardless of any circumstances that arise. This bond is grounded on the condition that you』ll obtain a blank, 8.5 x 11 piece of paper, and draw, write, sketch, shade, stencil, paint etc., anything and everything you want on it; your only limitations will be the boundaries of both sides on the single page. Now the catch… your submission, for the rest of your life, will always be the first thing anyone you meet for the first time will see. Whether it’s at a job interview, a blind date, arrival at your first Humanities class, before you even say, 「hey,」 they』ll already have seen your page, and formulated that first impression. Show us your page. What’s on it, and why? If your piece is largely or exclusively visual, please make sure to share a creator's accompanying statement of at least 300 words, which we will happily allow to be on its own, separate page.
PS: This is a creative thought experiment, and selecting this essay prompt does not guarantee your admission to UChicago.
-Inspired by Amandeep Singh Ahluwalia, Class of 2022
假設你和招生辦主任Dean Nondorf決定進行一項交易：無論發生什麼情況，你都被保證能拿到芝加哥大學的錄取。這項交易的條件是，你將拿到一張8.5 x 11的空白紙張，可以按照自己的心意在上面畫、寫、描、塗或印任何東西。你的唯一限制是，不能超過紙張兩側的邊緣。這個交易的陷阱是，往後餘生中，當你與任何人第一次相遇時，他/她首先看到的是你的想法。無論是求職面試，與陌生異性約會，還是去上你的第一堂人文課，當你在說「嗨」之前，別人已經看到了你的頁面並形成了第一印象。請向我們展示你的頁面。它上面有些什麼？為什麼？如果你的頁面在視覺上篇幅巨大或具有獨家性，請附上至少300字的描述。描述可以單獨寫一頁。
Essay Option 6In 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.
本著愛冒險的求知精神，請提出一個你自己的題目，或選擇一個我們往年的題目。保持原創性、創新性和啟發性。發揮你最大的優勢，無論你是作家、思想家、空想家、社會評論家、聖人、世界公民，還是芝加哥大學的未來公民。請敢於冒一點險，並享受其中。
那麼，接下來就是芝加哥大學的部分往年文書題目——
2017-2018 UChicago Supplement
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.
根據你現在對芝加哥大學的了解,芝加哥大學如何能滿足你對學習、環境和未來的展望？請用具體的事例來闡述你與芝加哥大學的聯繫。
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.
與我們分享你最喜歡的書、詩歌、作者、電影、戲劇、音樂、音樂家、演員、畫作、藝術家、博客、雜誌或報紙。請任選其中一項、多項或所有類別，也可以添加你想分享的類別。
Extended Essay (Required; Choose one)
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?
爭辯和探討理應著眼於推動實質性的進步，而不是要分出勝負不可。
—Joseph Joubert
很多時候人們熱衷於對時下流行的話題爭個面紅耳赤，因而忽略那些具有深刻個人意義或具有學術價值的但不博人眼球的問題。你認為得還有哪些值得被關注卻未被充分探討的話題呢？
Essay Option 2Due 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.
由於一系列的筆誤，芝加哥大學每個系的名稱裡都出現了錯誤，因而產生了新的專業。請按照這個「全新的」專業列表，闡述你為什麼想學習該專業，哪些課程或者相關領域值得你深入探索？完整版未校對過的專業列表請戳此處：
https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/academics/majors-minors
Essay Option 3Earth. 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.
Captain Planet認為世界是由土，火，風，水，心靈這五種基本元素組成的。而我們通常認為世界是由氧元素，氫元素和碳元素這些實際元素組成的，那麼你認為組成世界的基本元素是哪幾種呢？請列舉不超過五種元素並闡述選擇他們的理由。
Essay Option 4The 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.」
紐約時報的攝影師Bill Cunningham曾說過：「時尚是我們面對現實世界而帶上的盔甲，是每個人生存不可或缺的部分，除非你遠離這個文明世界。那麼，請談談你的「盔甲」。
Essay Option 5Fans 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.
風飛鯊系列電影的影迷喜愛這部電影是因為這部電影簡直是垃圾中的戰鬥機；老爺車也不乏很多人喜歡，因為它們古老中帶有個性；最近已經過時的黑膠唱片因飽滿生動的聲音而重拾大家的喜愛…… 請談一談你有什麼東西是因為他們的不完美而愛上的。
Essay Option 6In 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.
本著冒險探究的精神，請大膽提出一個問題，可以是我們過去的問題，或是自己新提出的一個問題，只要這個問題發人深思，獨一無二。請體現出你作為一個作家、思想家、有創見的人,社會評論家,智者,世界的公民又或是芝加哥大學未來的一份子的一面，請體現冒險精神，但又不俗套乏味。
2016-2017 UChicago Supplement
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.
根據你現在對芝加哥大學的了解,芝加哥大學如何能滿足你對學習、環境和未來的展望？請用具體的事例來闡述你與芝加哥大學的聯繫。
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.
與我們分享你最喜歡的書、詩歌、作者、電影、戲劇、音樂、音樂家、演員、畫作、藝術家、博客、雜誌或報紙。請任選其中一項、多項或所有類別，也可以添加你想分享的類別。
Extended Essay (Required; Choose one)
Essay Option 1What is square one, and can you actually go back to it?
—Inspired by Maya Shaked, Class of 2018
什麼是原點？你能夠回到原點嗎？
Essay Option 2Once, renowned physicist Werner Heisenberg said: 「There is a fundamental error in separating the parts from the whole, the mistake of atomizing what should not be atomized. Unity and complementarity constitute reality.」 Whether it’s Georges Seurat’s pointillism in 「A Sunday on La Grande Jatte,」 the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, quantum physics, or any other field of your choosing, when can the parts be separated from the whole and when can they not?
—Inspired by Ender Sahin, Class of 2020
著名的量子物理學家Werner Heisenberg 曾經說，將整體割裂為部分這一行為會犯一個根本的錯誤：分裂不可以分裂的事物；和諧統一，對立依存共同構成了現實世界。
無論是修拉的點彩畫《大碗島上的星期日下午》，95~96賽季的芝加哥公牛（該賽季公牛隊在常規賽中72勝10負，最終獲得總冠軍），還是量子物理，抑或是任何你選擇的領域：在什麼時候部分能夠從整體中分離出來的，而什麼時候又不可以呢？
Essay Option 3The ball is in your court—a penny for your thoughts, but say it, don’t spray it. So long as you don’t bite off more than you can chew, beat around the bush, or cut corners, writing this essay should be a piece of cake. Create your own idiom, and tell us its origin—you know, the whole nine yards.
PS: A picture is worth a thousand words.
—Inspired by April Bell, Class of 2017, and Maya Shaked, Class of 2018(It takes two to tango.)
球在你手，該你行動了。告訴我，你現在在想什麼，心平氣和的說出來。不要貪心，不要拐彎抹角，也不要耍小聰明，寫文書就是小菜一碟。創造一個你自己的格言，並且完完整整地告訴我們它是怎麼來的。
PS: 一圖勝千言。
Essay Option 4Alice falls down the rabbit hole. Milo drives through the tollbooth. Dorothy is swept up in the tornado. Neo takes the red pill. Don’t tell us about another world you』ve imagined, heard about, or created. Rather, tell us about its portal. Sure, some people think of the University of Chicago as a portal to their future, but please choose another portal to write about.
—Inspired by Raphael Hallerman, Class of 2020
愛麗絲掉進了兔子洞（書籍、電影《愛麗絲夢遊仙境》），米洛開著電動玩具車駛過了收費亭（書籍《神奇的收費亭》、電影《幻象天堂》），桃樂絲被卷進了龍捲風（書籍、電影《綠野仙蹤》），尼奧吞下了紅色藥丸（電影《黑客帝國》）。不要告訴我們你想像的、聽說的、或創造的另一個世界，而是描繪通往幻想世界的「通道」。有的學生認為芝加哥大學是自己通往未來的道路，但請選擇另外一個「通道「作為你的寫作對象。
Essay Option 5Vestigiality refers to genetically determined structures or attributes that have apparently lost most or all of their ancestral function, but have been retained during the process of evolution. In humans, for instance, the appendix is thought to be a vestigial structure. Describe something vestigial (real or imagined) and provide an explanation for its existence.
—Inspired by Tiffany Kim, Class of 2020
痕跡器官是指失去功能，在發育中退化，只留殘跡的器官。例如人的闌尾就被認為是一種痕跡器官。請描述一種真實存在的或是你想像中的「痕跡器官」，並解釋它存在的原因。
Essay Option 6In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, pose your own question or choose one of ourpast 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.
出於探尋未知的冒險精神，提一個你自己的問題，或者從我們過往的文書題目裡面選擇一篇寫作。請保持原創性與創新性，發人深省。發揮你作為一個寫作者、思考者、預言家、社會批評家、賢者、世界公民或未來芝加哥大學的一員的最大優點，冒一點險，並享受這個過程。
2018習美教育|美國本科錄取部分榜單
2017習美教育|美國本科錄取部分榜單
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