必读！哈佛校报优秀文书作品赏析（2）
每年，哈佛校报《The Harvard Crimson》会根据新生申请，评选出10篇最佳优秀文书作品“10 Successful Harvard Application Essays”，以便申请者能更加直观地了解，到底什么样的文书才能打动招生官，在众多申请者中脱颖而出。
下面，让我们一起走进哈佛人的世界，探索他们成功的奥秘吧！
Taras' Essay: More Boluses to Dissect
再多来点解剖的药丸
Finally, I had found a volunteer opportunity at the Long Marine Lab, a marine biology research facility at UC Santa Cruz! I envisioned swimming with dolphins, or perhaps studying behavioral patterns of decorator crabs. But when I discovered the nature of my work on the first day of volunteering, my excitement turned to disappointment: I’d be picking through albatross boluses, the indigestible materials they cough up before going to sea. Sure enough, after three hours of separating fishing line from brown muck, I began to dread what I was in for. At that point, I had no clue of just how interesting the opportunity would turn out to be, and it would remind me of how easily I become engrossed and fascinated by all sorts of random stuff.
终于，我在加州大学圣克鲁斯分校的海洋生物学研究机构长海实验室找到了一个志愿者机会!我想象着和海豚一起游泳，或者研究装饰蟹的行为模式。但当我在志愿工作的第一天发现我的工作性质时，我的兴奋变成了失望:我要从信天翁丸中捡信天翁在出海前咳出的难以消化的物质。果然，在把钓线从褐色淤泥中分离出来三个小时后，我开始害怕我将要面对的事情。那一刻，我完全不知道这个机会有多有趣，并且会提醒我，我有多容易被各种各样的随机事物所吸引。
It didn’t take long for my boredom with the boluses to shift toward curiosity. In the first place, the project itself was fascinating. The idea was to research the behavior and diet of albatrosses at sea. These birds can fly for months without touching land! When the birds have chicks, they cough up whatever they’ve eaten at sea to feed their young. When the chicks become old enough to fly, they cough up the hard, indigestible materials left in their stomachs. These boluses contain squid beaks that can reveal the types of squid eaten and the area where the squid were caught. We volunteers would pick through the boluses, separating out anything that looked interesting.
没过多久，我对药丸的厌倦就转变为好奇。首先，这个项目本身很吸引人。这个想法是为了研究信天翁在海上的行为和饮食。这些鸟可以在不着陆的情况下飞行数月!当这些鸟有了小崽，它们就会把在海里吃的东西吐出来喂孩子。当雏鸟长到能飞的年龄时，它们会咳出胃里坚硬的、难以消化的物质。这些药丸含有鱿鱼喙，可以显示鱿鱼被吃掉的类型和鱿鱼被捕获的区域。我们志愿者会从药丸中挑选出任何看起来有趣的东西。
As I got better at dissecting these blobs, I started finding crazy stuff, and my colleagues and I would often discuss important findings. There was, of course, the search for the biggest squid beak, and the fish eyes were always interesting. But most shocking was the plastic. Beyond the normal Styrofoam and fishing line were plastic bottle caps, lighters, even toothbrushes. Occasionally, Asian writing revealed distant origins. Once, I picked through a bolus permeated with orange goo, eventually to discover the round mouthpiece of a balloon. The origins of these artifacts were sad, but also fascinating. I learned of the Texas-sized trash heap in the middle of the Pacific, the effects of which I was witnessing firsthand. I gained a heightened awareness of the damage inflicted on the oceans by humans, and their far-reaching impacts. Perhaps most importantly, I realized that even the most tedious things can blow my mind.
随着我在解剖这些东西方面做得越来越好，我开始发现一些稀奇的东西，我同事和我经常讨论重要的发现。当然，这包括寻找最大的乌贼嘴时，鱼眼总是很有趣。但最令人震惊的是塑料。除了普通的泡沫塑料和钓鱼线，还有塑料瓶盖、打火机，甚至牙刷。偶尔，亚洲文字会揭示遥远的起源。有一次，我拨开一颗充满橙色粘稠物的药丸，最终发现了一个圆形的气球口。这些文物的起源令人悲伤，但也令人着迷。我了解到太平洋中部有德克萨斯州那么大的垃圾堆，我亲眼目睹了它的影响。我更加深刻地认识到人类对海洋造成的破坏及其深远的影响。也许最重要的是，我意识到即使是最乏味的事情也能让我大吃一惊。
If dissecting boluses can be so interesting, imagine the things I’ve yet to discover! I play piano and can see myself dedicating my life to the instrument, but I can’t bear to think of everything else I’d have to miss. I’d love to study albatrosses, but also particle physics or history, and preferably all three. At this point in my life, I can’t imagine picking just one area. At the same time, though, I love studying subjects in depth. I tend to get overwhelmed by my options, since I can’t possibly choose them all. But at least I know I’ll never be bored in life: there are just too many subjects to learn about, books to read, pieces to play, albatrosses to save, and boluses to dissect.
如果解剖药丸这么有趣，想象一下我还没有发现的东西!我弹钢琴，我能想象自己将一生都奉献给这门乐器，但我无法忍受我不得不错过的其他一切。我喜欢研究信天翁，也喜欢研究粒子物理或历史，最好三者都学。在我人生的这个阶段，我无法想象只选择一个领域。但与此同时，我喜欢深入研究学科。我往往会被我的选择压垮，因为我不可能全部选择。但至少我知道我在生活中永远不会感到无聊:有太多的学科要学习，有太多的书籍要阅读，有太多的作品要演奏，有太多的信天翁要拯救，还有太多的药丸要解剖。
*哈佛校报点评：这篇文章的第一段最显著的特点是情感上的坦诚:作者承认“兴奋变成了失望”，他“完全不知道”机会会如何出现。很多时候，申请者没有意识到招生官只是阅读论文的普通人——他们也会经历一系列的情绪，比如失望和困惑。虽然许多申请人写的文章充满了细节和最高级，但情感上的诚实是一篇好文章的关键组成部分。
作者成功地通过分享他工作中有趣的细节，比如对药丸的理解，清楚地展示了他对研究的真诚热情。无论是写关于鸟类、模拟联合国，还是任何其他可能的主题，细节都能帮助申请人向招生委员会展示智力活力。
同时，也提出了一些需要改进的地方。比如，在最后一段中，作者提到粒子物理和历史是可能的兴趣，这与文章不一致(并且可能会在最终“塑造”即将入学的班级时影响录取机会)。
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