Discuss JK Rowling's transition from Harry Potter to writing for adults. Explain why many animals have stripes. Why do humans have two eyes?
探讨JK罗琳从哈里·波特到成人小说的创作转型，解释为什么很多动物身上有条纹，说说为什么人类有两只眼睛……

Teenagers who can give convincing answers to these posers when they are interviewed for a place at Oxford could be just who the university is looking for, it was revealed yesterday.
昨天披露的牛津大学入学选拔试题里就有这些问题，如果你能给出令人信服的答案，那你可能就是牛津大学中意的学生。

Tutors at Oxford lifted the lid on the interview process to explode some of the myths about what is seen as the most nerve-racking aspect of admissions.
牛津大学的老师揭开了该校入学选拔中最令人伤脑筋的面试问题部分的神秘面纱。

The university has increasingly come to rely on interviews to identify high-fliers because public exams fail to discriminate between the bright and the exceptional. It also considers other information, such as results in admissions tests, references and predicted grades.
牛津大学现在越来越多地依靠面试来选拔学生，因为公开考试不足以将聪明的学生和超常学生区分开来。除了面试，该校也会考虑学生的其他信息，比如入学考试的成绩、推荐信和预测评级。

Oxford said interviews give candidates the chance to show their 'real ability and potential'.
牛津方面表示，面试给了应试者一个展现“个人真正实力和潜力”的机会。

One English literature don said pupils were more likely to be asked about Harry Potter than Shakespeare, at least in initial questioning.
一位英语文学教师表示，在最初提问阶段，学生们更可能被问到哈里·波特，而不是莎士比亚相关问题。

'Not all candidates might have the same access to a wide range of literature,' said Lucinda Rumsey, of Mansfield College.
曼斯菲尔德学院的露辛达·拉姆兹说道：“并不是所有应试者进入文学领域的途径是相同的。”

'If I start with Harry Potter, everyone at least has a starting point of recognition.'
“如果我以哈里·波特开始，至少每个人会有个认同的起点。”

History applicants might be asked to imagine how much about the past they could find out simply from historical records of sport.
应试历史专业的学生可能被问到仅仅从体育运动的历史记录中能找到多少关于过去的内容。

Applicants for experimental psychology who are asked why humans have two eyes might be expected to discuss the reasons in terms of three dimensional vision.
实验心理学的应试者可能被问到为什么人类有两只眼睛这个话题，而考官们可能希望他们从三维视野的角度来谈谈原因。

And the question about striped animals might be thrown at applicants for biological sciences. Martin Speight, of St Anne's College, said: 'There are no right or wrong specific answers – I'm interested in candidates' speculations about the advantages of having stripes.'
而关于动物条纹的问题则可能用来考查生物科学的应试者。圣安妮学院的马丁·斯贝特说：“这些问题并没有正确或错误的答案，我感兴趣的是应试者们对动物拥有条纹优势的推测。”

Mike Nicholson, director of admissions at Oxford, said: 'The interviews are designed to push students to think, not recite specific facts or answers.'
牛津大学招生办的主任迈克·尼克尔森说：“这些面试的目的是推动学生思考，而不是死记硬背某些事实或答案。”

小编后记：以下为牛津大学部分学科的面试问题，你的答案是什么呢？