文书和翻译在最后，想先读原文的可以直接跳过。
今天的分享的MIT文书有些特别，因为它们不是学生的回答，而是阅读文书的人——招生官——的作品。或许，他们想通过这些示范，来告诉学生他们期待在这个题目的回答中看到怎样内容；或许，他们也想让学生知道，在招生官的面具下，他们也是有血有肉的一群人；也或许，他们仅仅是因为很喜欢这个题目，平日读多了手痒痒。
先看题目：We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it. 我们知道你过着忙碌的生活，充满了活动，其中许多是你必需要做的。告诉我们你仅仅为了快乐而做事情。
这个题目的特别之处就是something you do simply for the pleasure of it。招生官为什么想要知道这个？这点思考比较关键，不同的解读也注定了不同的选材和写法。
一种解读偏功利。它自然的怀疑题目背后有深意，这样忙碌的招生季，学校不会问无目的问题，MIT要的学生，成绩、活动、竞赛都是顶尖水平，学习能力、专业热情等也必须证明，所以利用这个机会再展现一下优秀是最好的选择，比如，编程让我快乐，辩论是最好的消遣。
一种比较“天真”。它愿意相信招生官是想知道学生除了努力学习和探索兴趣，在哪些时候还会偷着乐，甚至鼓励学生讲讲自己爱做的，不那么高大上的事，比如，用幽默的语气讲讲自己的怪癖，可能有人觉得这样太冒险太不着边际，但这恰恰说明了学生对自己足够自信。
哪种解读是对的？我认为是后一种。正如MIT招生官Jeremy在博客中写道：“从每年阅读你们的申请中我们知道，询问人们喜欢做什么作为消遣是了解他们的世界的一个绝佳窗口。读到别人的快乐是一件罕见而美妙的事情——最重要的是，没有正确或错误的答案。”
其实，不只是对文书题目进行功利解读，诸如学校的气质、招生官品味、申请者人设的词语在很多机构和专家口中也过度出现。毕竟，名校录取竞争激烈，不晓得申请的内幕，没得点像样的战术，确实会让人心慌。况且，收了一大笔服务费，就该有足够专业壁垒，若最后告知家长和学生：“文书的底层逻辑在于老实的写点真实的东西”，如何对得起这个服务和价格？当然，也不排除有人太入戏了，真的认为研究了气质、品味、人设后，文书设计包装一下就能成功。
打住打住，我们还是来看看招生官写的文书都是些什么内容。
以下是五篇文书和翻译：
Ameer
One word. Dance. I will dance anywhere at any time. Whether it’s at a party, a supermarket in line, my room at 3am, or even at work during selection committee (ask Kellen, he’ll vouch this), I absolutely love dancing. It’s one of the purest, most authentic ways for me to express my emotions. There’s just something about finding the rhythm in a song, and absolutely crushing the beat with movement that’s insatiable. Hip hop, afro beats, soca, bachata, dembow, kizomba, swing, I love so many different styles of dance. I come from a family of dancers, so I suppose it’s a bit of a hereditary trait. Regardless, I can guarantee you that if you see me on campus, at some point you will catch me subtly hitting a woah, woo walking across the street, or dougie-ing in line at Dunkin Donuts. Dance and pleasure go hand in hand for me, and it’s what I go to most often for fun.
埃米尔
一个词。跳舞。我随时随地都会跳舞。无论是在派对上，在超市排队时，在凌晨3点的房间里，甚至是在评选委员会工作时(问一下凯伦，她会保证这一点)，我都绝对喜欢跳舞。这是我表达情感最纯粹、最真实的方式之一。就是要找到歌曲的节奏，用永不满足的动作彻底打破节拍。嘻哈、非洲风、soca、bachata、dembow、kizomba、swing，我喜欢很多不同风格的舞蹈。我来自一个舞蹈世家，所以我想这是遗传的。不管怎样，我可以向你保证，如果你在校园里看到我，在某个时候，你会发现我在穿过街道时微妙地发出“哇”声，或者在唐恩都乐店排队时发出“哇”声。对我来说，跳舞和快乐是相辅相成的，这是我最常的娱乐。
Danielle
When I was recruited to do this post my first thought was, what is fun? Everyone characterizes it differently. A great example of this is SpongeBob’s idea of fun vs. Plankton’s idea of fun.*
Aside from learning life lessons through watching episodes of SpongeBob, having fun means to reach complete serenity. Activities that take my mind away from work, the news, media, etc. are things I have fun doing.
If I had to choose one that I’m loving at the moment…I’d choose walking on trails. In the Boston area, there are plenty of trails and parks to walk through on a nice day. Now, I’m not a hiker—I don’t do this on a consistent basis but it’s the perfect getaway for me.
One of my favorite trails overlooks the Neponset River. You can find people roller skating, biking, skateboarding, running or walking and taking in the scenery. I actually found this trail through one of our colleagues, Bintou (thanks Bintou!). It’s been a go-to spot whenever I need a breath of fresh air.
丹妮尔
当我被招募来写这篇文章时，我的第一个想法是，什么是乐趣?每个人的描述都不一样。一个很好的例子就是海绵宝宝对乐趣的看法和痞老板对乐趣的看法的区别。
除了通过看海绵宝宝来学习人生经验之外，玩得开心意味着达到完全的平静。把我的注意力从工作、新闻、媒体等转移开的活动是我喜欢做的事情。
如果我必须选择一件我现在喜欢的事，我会选择在小径上散步。在天气好的时候，波士顿地区有很多小径和公园可供散步。现在，我不是一个徒步旅行者——我不经常这样做，但这对我来说是一个完美的逃避。
我最喜欢的一条小径可以俯瞰内彭塞特河。你可以看到人们滑旱冰、骑自行车、玩滑板、跑步或散步，欣赏风景。实际上，我是通过我们的同事Bintou(谢谢Bintou!)找到这条线索的。每当我需要呼吸新鲜空气的时候，这里就是我必去的地方。
Molly
In the heart of the Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota you will find a winding gravel road full of potholes that, if you’re not careful, will take the front end off your car. Cell phone reception drops immediately leaving you completely unplugged from the modern world.
A secret place awaits you there. A place where you step back in time to when people lived quieter, slower-paced lives. There, nestled back against Aspen and Pine trees sits a small, green cabin with a tin roof, an outhouse, a screened-in porch, and a babbling creek directly across the road. Electricity and running water don’t exist here. Oil lanterns and a big pot belly stove are your only sources of light and warmth. Water comes from hauling buckets from the creek and cooking is done on an original wood burning cookstove with cast iron skillets. When it rains, the water’s percussion against the tin roof instantly puts you to sleep. The swing on the porch invites voracious readers. We play board games, hike, go swimming, and sit on the porch listening to coyotes as the sun sets over the canyon.
This is my paradise, my favorite place on earth. This is where I unplug from the stresses of life and briefly forget my adulting responsibilities. The little green cabin in the middle of the forest is where I recharge, reset, and get back to the core of who I am and who I want to be.
莫利
在南达科塔州布莱克山国家森林的中心，你会发现一条蜿蜒的砾石路，满是坑坑洼洼，如果你不小心，可能会把你的车前端撞掉。手机信号立即下降，让你完全脱离现代世界。
那里有一个秘密的地方等着你。在这里，你可以回到人们过着安静、慢节奏生活的时代。在那里，靠着白杨树和松树，有一个绿色的小木屋，有一个铁皮屋顶，一个外屋，一个封闭的门廊，马路对面有一条潺潺的小溪。这里没有电和自来水。油灯和大锅炉是你唯一的光和温暖的来源。水来自从小溪里拖来的水桶，烹饪是在一个原始的烧木头的炉子上用铸铁煎锅完成的。下雨的时候，雨水敲击着铁皮屋顶，会让你立刻入睡。门廊上的秋千吸引着贪婪的读者。我们玩棋盘游戏，徒步旅行，游泳，坐在门廊上听丛林狼的声音，看太阳从峡谷落下。
这是我的天堂，我在地球上最喜欢的地方。在这里，我从生活的压力中解脱出来，暂时忘记了我作为成年人的责任。森林中间的绿色小木屋是我充电、重置并回到我是谁以及我想成为谁的核心的地方。
Petey
I like to lift heavy things. For about 8 years now, I’ve been following a powerlifting program roughly similar to the publicly available StrongLifts5×5. What I like about lifting heavy things is that it is a combination of technical and creative, intense and enduring, and that it is both emotionally and physically exhausting. I feel more calmer, focused, and more levelheaded after lifting. I like that there is measurable progression: if you can lift more weight, or the same weight at more sets/reps, and even if I’m stalled in other parts of my personal or professional life, here I can (usually) move forward. As the essayist Alyssa Keiko wrote, “it never gets easier, you just get stronger.” Plus, I can easily pick up my mom and swing her around like a baby now, and she smiles and laughs, and that makes me happy.
皮蒂
我喜欢搬重物。大约8年来，我一直在遵循一个与公开的StrongLifts 5×5大致相似的力量举重计划。我喜欢举重物的原因是，它是技术和创意的结合，激烈和持久的结合，而且它在情感和身体上都会使人疲惫。举重后，我感觉更平静，注意力更集中，头脑更清醒。我喜欢这种可衡量的进步:如果你能举起更多的重量，或者同样的重量在更多组/次，即使我在个人或职业生活的其他部分停滞不前，在这里我可以(通常)继续前进。正如散文家艾莉莎·凯科(Alyssa Keiko)所写的那样，“生活从来没有变得更容易，你只会变得更坚强。”另外，我现在可以轻松地抱起我妈妈，把她像婴儿一样摇来摇去，她会笑，这让我很开心。
Yi
Ever since Riley, now a 75-pound Golden Retriever puppy, arrived home on May 15, 2020, it has been full-fledged “Life with Riley” for my family and me. I am most focused on playing, training, and walking/jogging with her around Cambridge. On any morning, you can see us around Harvard Yard, Fresh Pond, or even occasionally MIT (~8 mile round trip walk). My immediate goal is to be able to get Riley to ride the Red Line and behave in the new MIT Admissions Office. Another goal is to have her certified as an MIT Puppy Lab dog.
Training Riley has not been easy as she normally has full freedom to roam in the house and yard. I have enough bite/scratch marks to prove it. I have witnessed her chase a wild turkey up Littauer Center’s roof (can provide video upon request). Some of Riley’s acquaintances almost got Riley into trouble. Cooper (a 90-pound Golden) stole a big juicy bagel sandwich from a surprised guy up the pedestal on Widener Library. Luckily Riley was too slow to follow the full operation.
While I have been training Riley (she understands “pre-flight check”, “get off me”, “sit” and “crate”), she has also been training me. I understand when she needs to go, when she is hungry, and when she doesn’t want to return home. An unexpected side effect of training Riley has been that she gained 10 extra pounds from all the rewards that I have to give her.
Yi
莱利现在是一只75磅重的金毛猎犬小狗，自2020年5月15日回到家以来，它就一直是我和我的家人的“与莱利一起的生活”。我最关注的是和她一起在剑桥玩耍、训练、散步/慢跑。在任何一个早晨，你都可以在哈佛园、Fresh Pond，甚至偶尔在麻省理工学院(往返步行约8英里)看到我们。我的近期目标是让莱利遵守红线，在新的麻省理工学院招生办公室里表现良好。另一个目标是让她获得麻省理工学院小狗实验犬的认证。
训练莱利并不容易，因为她通常可以在房子和院子里自由地走动。我有足够的咬痕/抓痕来证明这一点。我曾目睹她在利托尔中心的屋顶上追逐一只野生火鸡(可以根据要求提供视频)。莱利的一些熟人差点让莱利惹上麻烦。库珀(重达90磅)从威德纳图书馆基座上一个惊讶的家伙那里偷了一个多汁的百吉饼三明治。幸运的是，莱利反应太慢，无法全程跟进行动。
在我训练莱利的同时(她懂得“飞行前检查”、“放开我”、“坐下”和“进笼”)，她也在训练我。我理解她什么时候需要离开，什么时候饿了，什么时候不想回家。训练莱利的一个意想不到的副作用就是我给她的奖励让她多胖了10磅。
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