《离家出走去耶鲁》

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离家出走去耶鲁- 第7部分


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an entire new world filled with golden possibilities。 Audio books; the perfect; almost obvious solution; even if my eyes had been taken hostage by the sad excuse of a grade school education; my ears could still roam free above all the relentless humdrum of daily obligations。
  Audio books; unlike printed ones; can be attended to almost anywhere; anytime。 Bumpy rides and clamoring restaurants used to be my worst nightmare; but as soon as I grabbed a headphone set; the world became my very own desk。 Consequently every place I h*e been and every step I h*e taken has acquired its unique significance through a piece of literature。 I went to school with ; watching Holden Caulfield play the catcher in the rye; I came back home to Fitzgerald; joining Gatsby in his party at night; I sat in Pizza Hut with the Corleone gang; listening to Vito reason with his sons; I stood on the subway with Forrest Gump; babbling away about the wonders of late。 This is where Jane first met Rochester; this is where Elizabeth rejected Darcy’s offer; this is where Heathcliff started his revenge anew; this is where D*id Copperfield hit Uriah。 The mundane locations of my daily routines had been transformed into windows through which I could glance upon a thousand worlds。书包 网 。 想看书来

西天取经(6)
Naturally; audio books involve only the narrator and myself; yet the long hours spent in solitude never alienated me from other people or the outside world。 A good speaker may attract any number of audiences; but as it turns out; a good listener can keep any number of friends。 Fortunately; years of experience h*e made me a master at the art of listening。 People trust me with their thoughts because when they talk; I really listen; instead of what most people do everyday: wait for their turn to speak。
  Over the past decade; audio books h*e proved far more than a means to an end; or a hobby for spare time。 In fact; they h*e bee my way of life。 As duties urge me to keep up in this raging world and the ever more demanding tasks it offers; I h*e created for myself a safe h*en of knowledge and inspiration。 Surrounded by whispers of wisdom; I walk through school; work and play; through life。
  个人陈述(二)
  这一篇,是耶鲁大学额外要求的文章。我选择了记述自己在高二上学期参加的埃及和平营活动。
  Peace Camp Journal
  “This is like… h*ing a life…” I murmured in awe。
  Unfortunately; Carolyn heard; and laughed out loud that hysterical laugh so peculiar of her。 She declared it the best line from me so far; and that I must e to meet the others。 An iron grip then closed around my wrist; dragging me across the deck through a matrix of snow…white decliners。 Some 40 yards off; the pool could be seen glistening in the Egyptian sun。
  Yes; Egypt。
  To fully grasp the meaning of this situation; we need to go some 50 years back; when ; a non…profit humanitarian organization dedicated to world peace。 Each year since established; PTPI invites a select group of young people from nations all over the world to its renowned annual event in Cairo; Egypt: the PTPI Peace Camp。 Naturally; representing one’s country is not a job for the *erage soccer…playing movie…going 17…year…old; but for a soccer…playing movie…going 17…year…old with unique qualities。 I believed I was the one。 Apparently those bulky officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs had agreed。
  To some extent; I was surprised that at the moment Carolyn; an American; had not begun questioning me about human rights; Tibet; or Taiwan。 Before le*ing for the camp; months were spent in front of the puter screen gathering information。 I had expected heated debates over political standing; calculated assaults between historical rivals; but I had not expected a five…star Nile Adventurer waiting at the dock; or daily visits to ancient ruins; or exotic cuisine served at each meal; or a top deck with armchairs and a top…class swimming pool。 On board were 50 people from 25 countries; and everyone just enjoyed the culture gulf; Model United Nations be damned。 I felt like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole; only to realize after waking up: pretty nice hole。

西天取经(7)
Even so; the first two days we arrived in Egypt; and before boarding the ship; I had remained as taciturn as a wall。 Not out of annoyance to anyone or anything; both the people and the activities had far exceeded my irrational hopes。 It was the principle of this Peace Camp that caught me off guard。 Peace through understanding; it meant instead of convincing people; one should try to be convinced; to open his or her mind to either side of the story; which also meant most of my preparations went straight into the Nile。 However; failure to adapt had never entered my options; and while views and notions may be provincial; humor is always universal。 This I discovered first night on the Nile Adventurer。
  “…9 o’clock pm。 So there I was; alone in the room; fresh off the plane with every inch of me screaming for sleep。 Then I wondered what if a burly roommate returned in the middle of the night and beat me up for not paying the proper respect…”
  Chuckles broke out。 Apparently on the first night; more than a few people had had to deal with the same trepidation。
  “…I could see trunks and bags scattered around one of the beds; but I couldn’t exactly go over his clothes and feel the sizes could I?” more laughs “and then it hit me— you h*e to understand I was hanging by a thread at the moment—I went over to his bedside; placed my shoe beside one of his sneakers; and behold: I had the bigger foot! I was taller! I was safe!”
  Roars of laughter exploded all around the mon room; people clutched their cheeks and held on to nearby sofas for support。
  “…that aside; people; I must say Peace Camp is one of best things that ever happened to me。 Before we met; I bore the stereotype of my countryman like a cross over my shoulders; but in your pany I finally threw off those burdens to bee myself; once and for all。 It is a magical process I suggest all of you experience。 You can remain in your fort zone of course; safe with your own feelings and preying for the clock to speed up; or you can step out of that prison and embrace this chance of a lifetime。 Before our camp; peace was to me like the Pyramid of Egypt; a concept to often mentioned; but rarely seen。 Here; I am fortunate enough to h*e witnessed both。”
  First; there was silence。 Then thunderous applause erupted from every corner of the room; cheers and yells shot up like fireworks。 Grinning; I walked down stage and handed the microphone over to our leader; Barbara Capozzi; who asked me two times without realizing; whether I had prepared for this speech。 I replied negative; and she responded with a bear hug; breaking all my ribs and promising me that this “open mike session” would from now on bee a tradition of the Peace Camp。 。。

西天取经(8)
As I walked back to my seat; people looked at me with expressions Columbus would h*e held when he saw continents looming over the horizon: big *iles tinged with surprise。 I knew all was not perfect; there were sessions ahead that promised dissent; the inevitable parting doomed for tears; but for now I lay back; relaxed; preparing once again。 This time; for the most glorious week in my life。
  个人陈述(三)
  这是阿默斯特学院特别要求的文章:从若干句箴言中选取一则,进行拓展写作。
  Amherst Essay
  “Stereotyped beliefs h*e the power to bee self…fulfilling prophesies for beh*ior。”
  Elizabeth Aries; Professor of Psychology; Amherst College。 From her book “Men and Women in Interaction; Reconsidering the Differences”
  In the brief quotation above; Professor Aries vividly describes a phenomenon I h*e often observed myself; but could never aptly put into an appropriate sentence。 Indeed; I h*e witnessed too much of this process; not only in the trivialities of everyday life; but also on the grand scale of global interactions。
  Though never mistreated by peers myself; I h*e nevertheless witnessed considerable amounts of bullying at school。 In most cases; a victim is the lonely; unpopular kind who became alienated from others in the first place due to some minor character flaws。 However; even after the said person tries everything in his power to turn around; and even if he indeed managed to improve; he would continue to be everyone’s outlet for negative emotions。 This has nothing to do with the person attempting to improve; and everything to do with the quotation from Professor Aries’ book。 People h*e a tendency to follow their preconceptions: it doesn’ t matter if the pathetic loser suddenly started to *ile at people; he is still bound to get annoying sooner or later; any of his newly adopted virtues are easily overlooked; because he is trapped in a predictable routine of beh*ior
  set up by outside influences。 And as simple as that; a human being bees
  a prisoner of his own identity; helpless and hopeless。
  Looking across a broader landscape; the same phenomenon is observed on the darker side of all international relations。 As many a humanitarian worker can testify; stereotyping is one of the most deadly diseases within modern society。 In an age when malevolent misinformation and historical rancor flourish over publications and internet; people can effortlessly form their opinion about other nations without actually meeting any one person from those areas。 Consequently; the stereotypes they hold can never be proved fallacious; and the groundless prejudice created will then take its root deep inside; grow stronger with every piece of new “discovery”; and one day burst with considerable; even lethal hostility when an actual encounter is made between them and the subject of their animosity。 How many Americans think of terrori* when they see an Arab? How many Chinese people recall the Nanking Rape when met with a Japanese? The more educated of our fellow countrymen may restrict irrational anger with reason and civility; but in this age of accelerated globalization; a few clear…minded individuals can never be enough。

西天取经(9)
Is there a solution to this problem of personal and universal gr*ity? From what I h*e gathered during the last three years; either as a reasonably popular and trustworthy fig

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