Four years ago, she failed in the senior high school entrance examination and became depressed and unconfident. I resolutely sent her abroad. Now, she is very cheerful and capable, and she has been admitted to Imperial College London, London, England, which ranks first in the world 10. Tsinghua and Peking University rank around 50 in the world. Sophie's mother didn't regret sending Sophie out at all, so we found Sophie and talked about her study in Britain.
Story a homework for more than two hours is the teacher's problem.
Sophie, a girl, went abroad after the senior high school entrance examination. She studied in a British private high school for two years and is now a freshman in Imperial College London, London.
When Sophie first went out, she attended a high school in a private middle school in Coventry, England. The schools are basically local British students.
In Sophie's view, British high schools are like domestic universities, with no compulsory courses and only elective courses. "For example, art design, geography, biology, German, business, history, mathematics, advanced mathematics, physics, chemistry, Latin, French, Spanish, design technology, drama, music, economy, sports, religious studies, English literature and so on. This is entirely based on interest in choosing courses, so everyone can learn easily. Students who like art can choose drama and music, students who like engineering can choose physics and chemistry, and many of my local English students also choose Latin and religion. I liked science and engineering at that time, so I chose biology, chemistry, mathematics and economics. I learned well because I was interested. Now my major in university is biochemistry. "
After two years of high school life, Sophie is very happy. She goes to school at 9 am and finishes school at 4 pm every day. Her homework can be controlled within two hours every day. If it takes more than two hours, it must be the teacher's problem. There is no homework in winter and summer vacation. Many domestic students will definitely ask, the study time at school is so short, what did you do for the rest of the time? In fact, this is the core of elite education in Britain, and how to make use of these "free" time is an important part in determining how a person lives.
The summer after the second grade, Sophie was as busy as a bee, although she didn't have a page of summer homework. "I searched online, spent a little money, and finally found an internship in the laboratory of Warwick University. Of course, there is no salary. I followed a professor to do experiments, and the research topic was' growing plants in sewage'. For a whole month, I followed a group of graduate students to measure and record the growth of plants every day, and I also prepared and cleaned up the experimental equipment. Finally, I handed in an experimental report of several thousand words. But I feel very fulfilling. "
Story b Social experience is more important than study.
In Britain, Sophie's study life is only a small part of her life, and social experience is the most wonderful part of her life.
Sophie is a freshman at 20 1 1. She won the Duke of Edinburgh Award that year. Sophie said, "The Duke of Edinburgh Award was founded in 1956, which mainly encourages1young people aged 4 to 25 to challenge themselves. There are four courses in this activity-social service, hiking, personal skills and cultural and sports activities. Encourage young people to contribute to society, develop their physical fitness, enhance their physique and will, and exercise their leadership skills. The silver award is for 1 1 and above. My local classmates in England are actively planning volunteer activities and music practice. After a long time, I have begun to pay attention to this project. "
Sophie chose badminton as a cultural and sports activity at that time, and her personal skill was piano, both of which should be adhered to for more than one year. Then her social service is to go to the welfare home near York to play the piano for the old people; And when the school organizes large-scale activities, it plays the piano for everyone on the stage, and also guides other freshmen to familiarize themselves with life in Britain.
Sophie said: "In fact, at first I just thought it would urge me to practice the piano, but later I found that it was more than that. My school is a little far from the nursing home, about half an hour away. I go to the nursing home once every half month to play the piano for the elderly. At first I just played the piano, but later I learned to listen and chat with old people. "
What impressed Sophie the most was, "An old British lady with silver hair mentioned to me a very popular song in the 1950s and 1960s. I put it in my heart after listening to it, and I went to find this piece to practice. I practiced for two weeks and played it every night. Half a month later, I gave the old man a surprise. I played this song for her. Although the old man doesn't talk much, I can feel her happiness from her gratified eyes. "
After that year, Sophie began to realize that the old man was very lonely and found that she could really bring so much happiness to others.
Story C Hiking Association Teamwork
The most difficult event of the Duke of Edinburgh Award is personal physical training. Sophie will go hiking twice in Scotland. This hiking needs to walk for more than 8 hours every day for three days in a row. She didn't take an empty road. She had to carry heavy things such as food and camping tents. Usually four or five people form a team. Many local British students gave up this award because they couldn't walk for eight hours.
Sophie said: "I have never had such an experience, and I have never run through the vast wilderness. My enthusiasm at that time was hit by these difficulties and I was listless for several days. But I was living in a host family in England. When my family knew about my depression, they came to me and told my little daughter Emma that she was going to do it and there was still a place in her group. As soon as I heard that I could go with Emma, who I know very well, my fear disappeared by more than half and I immediately agreed. "
During the Easter holiday in April, Sophie and her teammates started a three-day hiking trip. The weather in April is already very warm, with three sunny days in total. Sophie can only wear shorts and short sleeves. The first day was not difficult. The troops walked and spent most of their time watching the scenery and chatting. On the first day, everyone pitched a tent together. Sophie baked marshmallows for the first time, learned to set up a tent for the first time, got together for the first time to chat and sing loudly, and told stories in the tent. Too many times for the first time, Sophie fell asleep in excitement and fatigue.
But what Sophie didn't realize was that the next day was the hardest. "We must cross a vast grassland. The grassland is divided into several pieces for raising cattle and sheep, and high iron fences are erected everywhere. The map in our hand doesn't indicate where we can pass. We ran around into a dead end like a maze in it, and our morale was a little low in the hot sun. Suddenly, it was suggested that there was a large continuous hillside next to a road not far away. Climbing it may help us to see the layout of the grassland clearly and find a way out. As soon as we heard that there was hope, we scrambled to climb the hillside, and the view of the top of the mountain suddenly widened. From the top of the mountain, you can clearly see that there is a narrow path for pedestrians to pass. If we don't climb the hillside, we may wander around here all day and even get lost or injured. This is just a little thing in walking, but this little thing has taught me that sometimes we may hit a wall on the road of life. At this time, maybe we should take a step back and stand on a high place and be suddenly enlightened. "
"On another occasion, we walked confidently on the road and suddenly found that the originally smooth route was stopped by an iron fence, which was just waist high. Fortunately, there are no iron thorns on it, and it is easy to hook clothes and pants. Let's throw our backpacks to the other side of the fence first, and then step on the stake under the fence and turn over. My clothes are hanging on the fence. I can't earn any money anyway. I am anxious to see that others are ready to continue climbing the mountain. Emma found that I was still in the same place, found another boy, and gave me a hand to break free. This time let me know the power of teamwork. " Thanks to Hong Kong Eurasia Education/Teacher Chai for saying that studying abroad is helpful for this article. )
● Reporter's Notes
Sophie has become a successful student abroad, but there are also many international students who just "hang out" abroad and "hang out" with their classmates at home all day. Sophie said, you can't feel the elite education abroad like this. Once, an international student from China told reporters that she sat next to her English classmates with a rice bowl at noon every day. At first, the British ignored her at all, but she always insisted on taking the initiative to find a topic. A few days later, she talked with her British classmates about China's "one-child" policy. She made more and more British friends and smoothly integrated into the local social circle. Studying abroad pays more attention to students' "extracurricular life" than studying hard every day in China. If you often participate in some social welfare activities, you will regard this life as a habit over time and smoothly integrate into the local society. (Reporter: Dong Zi)