进入牛津读大学很不容易，牛津有一系列措施非常严格的甄选过程来评估学生的能力和潜力：面试；能力测试；写作能力测试；中学预测成绩；已获成绩，推荐信等。入学面试是其中的一个关键环节。牛津大学最近公布了部分面试样题，题目全部来自牛津大学负责面试的考官，并解释了他们提问那些“听起来很古怪的问题”背后的理由(英语原文附后)。
招生主任MikeNicholson说，“关于牛津大学的面试题，外界有很多传闻，但我们的开放式题目并不是捉弄人的，题目不要求任何特殊知识，也没有什么‘对’或‘错’的答案。那些开放式问题是为了激发学生与面试官之间的讨论，观察考生对新思想的反应或者是否能提出有趣的论点。”“我们希望看到候选人的思考过程，而不是得出具体的答案。面试问题会从熟悉的领域开始，然后拓展到课本以外的广泛领域，看看他们如何应对新的知识和思想。面试不是测试个性或爱好，不会涉及与所选主题无关的事情，例如嗜好或运动成绩等等。”
负责英语学科面试的考官Lucinda Rumsey说：“我们不是为了难住考生，所以没必要猜测考官接下来要问什么，没必要提前准备好答案。开放式问题是为了激起讨论，可以有很多发散思维的方向。我们希望看到候选人的批判性思维以及如何探索新的思路。”“希望这些例子对考生入学面试准备有所帮助。它也可以让候选人提前了解牛津大学的氛围，因为入学后，这样的面试过程在学习任何一门课程时都会遇到。 ”
牛津大学面试问题
Subject 科目：地理 Geography
面试老师Interviewer: Lorraine Wild, St Hilda’s College
问： If I were to visit the area where you live, what would I be interested in? (如果我去你的家乡旅行，我应该看些什么有趣的东西？)
Subject科目：现代语言Modern languages
面试老师：Helen Swift, St Hilda’s学院
问：What is language(什么是语言)？
Subject科目：英语English
面试老师： Lucinda Rumsey, Mansfield College
问： Why might it be useful for an English student to read the Twilight series(为什么英文专业的学生有必要阅读Twilight(暮光之城)系列？)？
Subject科目：医药Medicine
面试老师：Robert Wilkins, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (生理学，解剖学和遗传学系)
问：为什么运动时你的心跳会加速(Why does your heart rate increase when you exercise)？
Subject科目：生物科学Biological sciences
面试老师：Martin Speight, Department of Zoology (动物系)
问：If you could save either the rainforests or the coral reefs, which would you choose? (如果你只能拯救热带雨林或珊瑚礁中的一个，你会选择哪个)？
Subject科目：法律Law
面试老师：Ben McFarlane, Faculty of Law (法学院)
问：What does it mean for someone to ‘take’ another's car(一个人“拿走”别人的车是什么意思)？
Subject主题：工程Engineering
面试老师：Byron Byrne, Department of Engineering Science (工程科学系)
问：How would you design a gravity dam for holding back water(你会如何设计一个重力蓄水大坝)？
Interview questions
Subject: Geography
Interviewer: Lorraine Wild, St Hilda’s College
Q: If I were to visit the area where you live, what would I be interested in?
Lorraine Wild: ‘The question gives candidates an opportunity toapply concepts from their A level geography course to their home area.They might discuss urban planning and regeneration, ethnic segregationand migration, or issues of environmental management. The questionprobes whether they are able to apply ‘geographical thinking’ to theeveryday landscapes around them. It reveals the extent to which theyhave a curiosity about the world around them. By asking specificallyabout their home area the question eliminates any advantage gained bythose who are more widely travelled and have more experience of avariety of geographical contexts.’
Subject: Modern languages
Interviewer: Helen Swift, St Hilda’s College
Q: What is language?
Helen Swift: ‘Although I would never launch this question at acandidate on its own, it might grow out of a discussion. Studentssometimes say they like studying Spanish, for example, because they'love the language'. In order to get a student thinking critically andanalytically, the question would get them to consider what constitutesthe language they enjoy – is it defined by particular features or byfunction (what it does)？ How does form relate to meaning? And so on.’
Subject: English
Interviewer: Lucinda Rumsey, Mansfield College
Q: Why might it be useful for an English student to read the Twilight series?
Lucinda Rumsey: ‘There's several reasons I might ask this one. It'suseful in an interview to find some texts the candidate has readrecently and the Twilight books are easily accessible and popular. Also,candidates tend to concentrate on texts they have been taught in schoolor college and I want to get them to talk about whatever they have readindependently, so I can see how they think rather than what they havebeen taught. A good English student engages in literary analysis ofevery book they read. The question has led to some interestingdiscussions about narrative voice, genre, and audience in the past.’
Subject: Medicine
Interviewer: Robert Wilkins, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics
Q: Why does your heart rate increase when you exercise?
Robert Wilkins: ‘The simple answer, which all students can provide,is because you need to deliver more oxygen and nutrients to muscles andremove metabolic products. But follow-up questions would probe whetherthe student appreciates that there must be a way for the body to know itneeds to raise the heart rate, and possible ways for achieving this.Answers might include sensing lowered oxygen or raised carbon dioxidelevels. In fact, gas levels might not change much, so students arefurther asked to propose other signals and ways in which thosepossibilities could be tested. This probes selection criteria such asproblem-solving and critical thinking, intellectual curiosity,enthusiasm and curiosity, and the ability to listen.’
Subject: Biological sciences
Interviewer: Martin Speight, Department of Zoology
Q: If you could save either the rainforests or the coral reefs, which would you choose?
Martin Speight: ‘I’d expect students to be able to use theirgeneral knowledge plus their common sense to come up with an answer – nodetailed knowledge is required. Students might then be asked about theimportance of natural features, such as biodiversity and rare species,and human interests, such as the fuel and food, ecotourism and medicineswe get from rainforests or reefs. Finally there are impacts to considerfrom climate change, soil erosion, pollution, logging, biofuelreplacement, overfishing, etc. The final answer doesn't matter – bothreefs and rainforests must be managed sustainably to balanceconservation and human needs.’
Subject: Law
Interviewer: Ben McFarlane, Faculty of Law
Q: What does it mean for someone to ‘take’ another's car?
Ben McFarlane: ‘There is no right answer to this question. Forexample, can you take a car without driving it, or even without movingit? Our focus is on the candidate’s reasoning – how he or she formulatesan initial definition, and how he or she then applies and refines thatinitial definition in response to hypothetical examples provided by theinterviewers. One example might be: I am walking along the street whenit starts to rain. I open the door of an unlocked car and sit there for15 minutes until the rain passes. Have I ‘taken’ the car? The aim of theinterview is to give the candidate a chance to show his or herapplication, reasoning ability, and communication skills.’
Subject: Engineering
Interviewer: Byron Byrne, Department of Engineering Science
Q: How would you design a gravity dam for holding back water?
Byron Byrne: ‘This is a great question because the candidate firsthas to determine the forces acting on the dam before considering thestability of the wall under the action of those forces. Candidates willprobably recognise that the water could push the dam over. The candidatewould then be expected to construct simple mathematicalexpression_r_r_rs that predict when this would occur. Some may alsodiscuss failure by sliding, issues of structural design, the effects ofwater seeping under the dam, and so on. The candidate will not havecovered all the material at school so guidance is provided to assess howquickly new ideas are absorbed. The question also probes thecandidate’s ability to apply physics and maths to new situations and cantest interest in and enthusiasm for the engineered world.’
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