刚刚看到芝加哥大学今年的入学申请作文题。

芝加哥大学的作文题一向以刁钻古怪著称。

今年的入学申请表包括三篇必须的作文外加一篇选做的。三篇必做的有一篇的要求是在6个题目中任选一个。下面就是这个任选其一的题目 作文长度要求为500-1000个英文单词。

1) 奇数到底有多奇怪？(What's so odd about odd numbers) 

2) 在法语中“良心”和“意识”这两个词没什么区别。日语中有一个词，专指餐厅里一种能掰开的一次性筷子。德语单词“fremdschmen”的意思是表达你替别人感到羞愧的感觉。以上这些词汇，都没有对应恰当的翻译，都需要解释才能正确传递自己的意思。选一个词，告诉我们这个词的意思，并解释为什么它不能（或不应该）从原语言中翻译。(In French, there is no difference between "conscience" and "consciousness". In Japanese, there is a word that specifically refers to the splittable wooden chopsticks you get at restaurants. The German word “fremdschmen” encapsulates the feeling you get when you’re embarrassed on behalf of someone else. All of these require explanation in order to properly communicate their meaning, and are, to varying degrees, untranslatable. Choose a word, tell us what it means, and then explain why it cannot (or should not) be translated from its original language.)

3) 小猪，法国母鸡，熊的一家。瞎眼老鼠，火枪手，命运。原子结构，思维规律，写作准则。结合得完美吗？自选三个词，并说明为什么它们能结合在一起。Little pigs, french hens, a family of bears. Blind mice, musketeers, the Fates. Parts of an atom, laws of thought, a guideline for composition. Omne trium perfectum? Create your own group of threes, and describe why and how they fit
together.

4) 假如用pH值来表达个性，你的pH值是多少？为什么？ 请任意地尖酸刻薄地回答问题！不要中庸，因为这太碱性了。(Were pH an expression of personality, what would be your pH and why? (Feel free to respond acidly! Do not be neutral, for that is base！)

5. “你为什么在这里，而不是在别处”– 这是芝大查尔斯·哈珀中心由艺术家叶普海恩安装的霓虹灯询问的一个问题。“这里”可以有很多潜在意思，但是我们已经知道你正在“这里”申请芝加哥大学，此外，请随便选其他“这里”。A neon installation by the artist Jeppe Hein in UChicago’s Charles M. Harper Center asks this question for us: “Why are you here and not somewhere else?”(There are many potential values of "here", but we already know you're "here" to apply to the University of Chicago; pick any "here" besides that one)。

6.用高度好奇的探究未知的精神，提出自己的问题。如果你自己提出的问题有思想有深度，那你应该能写出一篇出色的文章。以你作为一位作者，思想家，先知，社会评论家，达人，世界公民，以及芝加哥大学未来成员所具有的优秀的品质，冒一点风险，并且享受探究问题的乐趣。(In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, pose a question of your own. If your prompt is original and thoughtful, then you should have little trouble writing a great essay. 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.)