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推荐人|美本申请中推荐人如何选择？内容怎么写？（附11封优秀推荐信）( 四 )


As a scientist, Sophia offers that rare combination of bringing a rational, highly analytical approach coupled with a refreshingly creative streak. Her interest in her subjects extends far beyond the examination of syllabuses; we often have chats before and after lessons about the latest science book or article she is reading. One of these conversations particularly sticks in mind. Sophia had been reading some works of Steven Pinker on evolutionary psychology and I was extremely impressed by the insight she gained into this subject and the sophistication of the questions she was asking. Ultimately, she went on to write an extended essay on the evolution of the brain, mirror neurons and development of the human mind which won one of the school’s prestigious prizes for intellectual excellence.
Sophia will prove a most valuable asset in aspects of university life while rising to, indeed relishing, the academic challenges offered. I can recommend her to you without reservation.
The quirks of school timetabling being what they are, I found myself in the happy position of teaching Sophia English at both the intermediary and senior stages of her school career – in other words for the major public examinations of General Certificate of Secondary Education and Advanced Level. These, by the way, are each two year courses. From the very first day she was an extraordinarily responsive, appreciative and conscientious student, and I could see that her qualities were complemented by outstanding ability and scholarship. Sophia also proved, in the course of time, to be a remarkably friendly and gregarious person – the sort of person with whom one can easily strike up a conversation outside the classroom.
I have always admired her independent approach to learning. This goes far beyond her simply doing things “her way” and suggests, rather, a readiness to take full responsibility for her own progress. At the same time she will always listen to, and act on, advice. Yet Sophia does not expect material to be pre-packaged or spoon fed, and takes it for granted that she will carry out her own preparation and research. In this respect she has the stamina and the interest to read widely and then go on to process copious material from many sources. She has a shrewd sense of what is relevant, and yet is able to convey richness and depth. Her secret here is to write a good essay and express herself with commendable fluency. Over the years she has made a point of developing a well- honed and elegant written style. Being very well disciplined and well organized, she always delivers these essays on time. She possesses both scholarly and moral integrity.
Sophia has many qualities specific to my own subject of English Literature. I particularly admire the way she combines a trained intelligence with refreshing spontaneity, and critical acumen with deep emotional engagement. I like too her sense of both comic and tragic experience, her sense of laughter and pathos, and her belief that lessons themselves can sometimes be “fun” and sometimes in dead earnest. It was a pleasure to introduce her to the deeply moving text of
Death of a Salesman when she was fifteen. Just a year or so later, I valued her delights in the brittle sophistication of Pope’s apparently frivolous Rape of the Lock. She also engaged with the broad sweep of E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India and appreciated its exotic descriptions, colonial context and spiritual depth. This year I find myself teaching Sophia Hamlet, and as I write she is appreciating the angst of early seventeenth century Melancholy. A colleague, equally fortunate, is introducing her to The Grapes of Wrath and Tender is the Night. I am also aware that she has tackled advanced philosophical and theological concepts in her Religious Studies courses, and has worked specifically on the relationship between mind, body and soul. This is the kind of topic perfectly tailored to Sophia’s manifest strengths in both the Arts and the Sciences. The long and brilliant paper on the Brain that very recently won her a prestigious and coveted prize at this school is still further evidence. She is a scientist with a deep love of literature and culture, and my firm feeling is that she would be particularly in tune, sympathetically and intellectually, with the liberal values and breadth of the American system.

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