协和古北毕业生访谈集（一）

Interviews with SUIS-Gubei outstanding graduates.

协和古北每年都会涌现一批学有所成又各有所长的优秀毕业生，今年亦不例外。在此我们特意采访了其中11位具有代表性的学生，让他们与各位同学、家长分享各自的经历与心得。

Many outstanding students graduate from SUIS-Gubei every year. This year is no exception. Here we have specially interviewed 11 of them and let them share their own experiences & ideas with you.

“数学学霸”赵芊骅 

视频编辑：11JQ Edward Wang/王嘉梁

Well, I am not the type of person that remembers details or any particular experience, but one thing that really helps is to realise what a great school I am studying in. I remember in Grade 6 when one of my friends from my primary school and I were discussing our respective secondary schools. She went to another bilingual school and obviously she showed off that they have an average IB score of 40+. At the time, not knowing what IB Diploma is and how the average comes about, I told her that SUIS-Gubei had an average of 47. It turns out we had an average of around 35 at the time and IB was out of 45, as always.

要知道我不是那种会铭记很多过往经历或细节的人，但有一件事情让我意识到我所就读的学校有多特别有多棒。那时我才刚进六年级，和我小学时代的朋友讨论各自的中学。她去了另一所学校，十分得意得向我炫耀他们学校的 IB 平均分有40+。当时我对IB没什么概念，也不知道这个平均值是怎么来的。我就回击对方说我们学校的IB平均分有47那么高。但事实是，IB满分45分，我们学校当时的平均分在35+左右。

So I began to question myself: did I make the right choice? Was SUIS- Gubei my dream school? I had these two questions in mind for a long time as I studied in this school. Gradually, I came to realise that there are other criteria aside from just scores shown to the public. There is student cohesion; there is parent satisfaction; there is well-being of the staff; there is the vibe of the academia as well as the quality of campus life. After all these years, it seems to me SUIS-Gubei looks beyond raw scores and statistics and creates a really impressive community where teachers and students collaborate to achieve greatness, where people in this community genuinely care and think about each other's ideas and experiences, where students connect with each other and their teachers even long after graduation. That would be the most important factor when choosing a school.  

我不由问自己：选择协和古北是一个正确的选择吗？这是我梦寐以求的学校吗？这个问题一直伴随着我的求学生涯。随着时间推移，我意识到评价一所学校除了“对外展示选择性的分数”之外，还有其他标准。其中包括学生的凝聚力、家长的满意度、员工的幸福感、学术氛围以及校园生活质量。经过这么多年，我可以自豪地断言，我们学校不仅提供高质量的教学，还拥有最好的师生环境，我们彼此协力同心共创佳绩。这里的人们真诚关心彼此，倾听对方想法并能换位思考。学生间友谊深厚，毕业后也和老师们保持联系。这些非量化的优势也是选择学校时极为重要的考量因素。

My favourite subject is Mathematics, because of the wide applications and my talent with numbers.  From a young age I realised my special talent in mental calculations, remembering large numbers, and calculating how much each discount saves in shops. As I grew up, I realised the world is digital. Information can be digitalised, behaviours can be digitalised, events can be digitalised. I realised that besides the visible world, the abstract world is also all about Mathematics. That’s why I love it so much.

数学是我的最爱！我觉得自己在数字方面有天赋，而且这一学科申请面又相当广。我在很小的时候就意识到自己在心算、记忆海量数字以及计算折扣能节省多少钱方面拥有特殊才能。成长过程中我意识到这个世界是数字化的：信息可以数字化，行为可以数字化，事件可以数字化。除了肉眼可见的世界，抽象意义中的世界也与数学紧密相关。这就是为什么我如此热爱这门学科的原因。

I actually don’t recall any major challenges.

学业各方面我一路都比较顺利，印象中没有遇到过真正意义上的挑战。

Although the question asks about the what, I’d rather use this opportunity to thank everyone who helped me through the application process. First, my parents who always supported me and listened to my voice during the application process. Second, my counsellor, Ms Sheng, who helped me through the application process. Third, my teachers who understand the difficulty and struggle of the application process and decided to lessen our burden and reduce the homework load. In fact, I would want to mention them one by one. Mr Davidson, Ms Gu, and Ms Rees, who always believed in me and pushed me to try harder, Ms Ramsawmy, who is always there for me when I am under stress, and last but not least, Mr Smith, who cheers me up when I am down and teaches me to be a man of responsibility and resilience. My friends are also helpful, making my application season challenging but also memorable. All these somewhat abstract details are the most important ones to me.

关于这一问题，我还是想先借此机会感谢所有协助我大学申请的人们。首先我的父母总是给予我充分的支持，并在申请过程中倾听我的声音尊重我的选择。其次我的大学升学指导老师盛琦老师在我申请期间给予我充分的指导与帮助。而任课老师们在了解到大家申请过程中所面临的困顿挣扎后，适时调整了日常课业负担。我必须悉数说出他们的名字：Davidson老师、顾老师、Rees老师，他们信任我并总督促我继续努力; Ramsawmy老师总能在我压力大的时候给予支持;Smith老师在我情绪低落的时候给我打气，并教导我成为一个有责任感和有韧性的人。我的朋友们也赋予我力量，让我的申请季既不乏挑战性又令人难忘。正是这些略为抽象的细节使我最终取得了理想的成绩。

I've been to Cambridge a couple of times before I arrived at the stage of college application. My parents, especially my father, both loved Cambridge a lot. My father always talks about River Cam and how he could spend an afternoon drifting and reading on a boat. Personally, I did not attach myself too much to the place. But I know this university is one of the top in the world in both the discipline of mathematics and in theoretical research. That, to me, would be the largest reason to apply. 

申请季开启之前我就拜访过几次剑桥。我父母，尤其是我的父亲，都非常热爱剑桥大学。我父亲言辞间总会提及剑河，谈论他于午后如何悠然泛舟并在船上看书。就我个人而言，我对这个地方并没有太多的喜好。但我非常清楚这所大学在数学学科和理论研究方面都是世界顶尖的。对我来说，这就是我申请剑桥大学的最大理由。

The interview. The application to Cambridge University is really all about the interview. Any applicant who dares to apply to such university already has very awesome resumes and well-polished essays. What really sets apart the admitted ones and the others is the interview. Since I applied for the major of Mathematics, the interview is all about doing a set of problems in front of the examiner. I felt I just tried my best to demonstrate what I can do and follow a few hints here and there, and then before I realised, I arrived at the answer.

面试。申请剑桥大学的关键点就在于面试。每一位敢于申请这类大学的申请人都有非常棒的履历和足够份量的论文，真正决定录取与否的因素即面试。由于我申请的是数学专业，面试过程就是当着考官面解答一系列问题。我尽最大努力专注问题本身，遵循提示，最终获取了相应答案。

I look forward to meeting people with the same hobbies and the same passions; I look forward to experiencing a different culture at a different place; I look forward to the vast resources a university can provide; and I also look forward to the life beyond universities.

我期待能结识更多志同道合的朋友; 我期待在异国他乡体验不同的文化氛围; 我期待在剑桥浩瀚的学术海洋里遨游; 我也期待着大学之外的生活。

Prepare early. I started to plan for my university application process at the start of grade 10 which seems early but is actually a bit late. A better time to think about the entire process would be at the start of grade 9. One reason is that most universities demands the transcript from grade 9 onward. That’s why people should think about their choices and their passions carefully before they decide on what they want to study. In addition, a lot of good and renowned activities also demands a huge time investment. One or two years of an activity really doesn’t show your passion clearly to a prestigious university. Also, when you plan early, you leave space for changes. If you decide you want to study a different area, you could take a detour and start from scratch as you have time.

未雨绸缪。我从10年级开始就着手计划我的大学申请。这看起似乎有点过早，但实际上是还有晚了点：9年级启动会是最佳时机。其中一个原因是部分大学会要求你从九年级开始提交成绩单。这也意味着为什么我们在选科目前应该仔细考虑考量自己的能力和学习热情。同时，学术外的活动也需要投入大量的时间经历。一两年“突击活动”并不能足以向那些名牌大学清晰有力地表明你的热情。而且早做打算意味着你有很多余地适时调整。万一你要做出一些较大改变，你仍有机会绕道而行，从头开始。