对话李子墨Maggie：牛津大学英语语言文学录取背后的成长之路

初见李子墨（Maggie），你会第一时间感受到她身上那份超越年龄的独立与锐见：点评名家作品总能一针见血，敢冲破莎士比亚的权威光环直言己见，更不随波逐流追逐热门专业。

一段无网络纷扰的暑假，让她爱上文学阅读。书架上的书籍逐本减少，她的精神世界却愈发辽阔——对文科的热忱就此萌芽，学术探索的种子也悄然扎根。在Maggie眼中，文科为她搭建起独一无二的思考坐标系：历史赋予她时代视角，让她读懂个体命运背后的时代烙印；

文学如清泉浸润心灵，滋养出细腻丰富的感知力；辩论则锤炼她的逻辑锋芒，让她在思想交锋中精准捕捉漏洞、构建严谨论证。三者交织，最终筑成她叩响世界顶尖学府的核心底气——成功斩获专业排名世界第一的牛津大学英语语言文学专业录取。

这份底气，既源于她博览群书的积淀，也源于新哲这片自由包容的成长土壤。自9年级入读以来，她对文学的热爱在学校的滋养中肆意生长，个性与才华得以尽情舒展。本期【新少年Vol.59】，让我们透过对话，走进李子墨Maggie的精神世界，探寻她与文学、与成长的双向奔赴。

From the moment you meet Maggie, you feel her remarkable independence and sharp insight—qualities that far exceed her age.

A summer free from digital distractions sparked her love for literature. As the books on her shelf gradually dwindled, her inner world expanded, and her passion for the humanities took root. For Maggie, the liberal arts form a unique framework for understanding the world: history gives her a sense of the times; literature nurtures her sensitivity and depth of feeling; and debate hones her logic. Together, they became the foundation of her confidence—and the key to her acceptance into the world’s top-rankedEnglish Language and Literatureprogram at theUniversity of Oxford.

This confidence comes not only from her extensive reading, but also from the freedom and inclusivity of Sendelta. Since joining in Grade 9, her love for literature has flourished in an environment that encourages curiosity and individuality. In this issue ofYoung Talk Vol.59, we invite you to step into Maggie’s inner world and explore her journey of growth through literature.

01/ 叩响牛津——以热爱与思考为匙

Q为什么会申请牛津英语语言文学这个专业？

Maggie：我设想自己要学习一个专业四年，唯一能让我享受其中的就是英语相关专业。我喜欢阅读、写作，也喜欢探讨文学，最终决定尝试申请牛津，觉得这份热爱值得去追求。

Q牛津英语语言文学有笔面试吗？面试时和教授聊了什么？

Maggie：牛津的英语语言文学专业和其他专业不一样，没有笔试。我提交了一篇800字的英语文学课模拟论文，主题聚焦《李尔王》。提交后我获得了所在学院的两次面试机会，教授的提问均围绕提交作品展开，氛围更像深度探讨而非严苛考核。

提交的这篇论文核心是分析《李尔王》中的“不可靠叙述者”——尽管李尔王并非传统第一人称叙述者，但我重点论证了他的视角如何主导自身命运，进而推动故事主题与情节发展。

Q牛津招生官看重的是写作技巧还是文章背后的思考？

Maggie：我觉得是思考。因为我提交的那篇文章并没有运用太多写作技巧，核心还是靠观点和思考支撑——这应该是打动招生官的关键。

Q牛津英语语言文学专业连续九年QS世界排名第一，你对它的了解是什么？

Maggie：牛津的英语语言文学专业最吸引我的是它的导师制——这种一对二、一对三的小班教学模式，能让我直接与文学领域的先驱、导师探讨阅读与课程心得，这是我理想的学术环境。

目前我的阅读多局限于个人兴趣，而牛津能推动我走出舒适区，接触更多新领域、激发新热爱，拓宽学术视野。另外，我有读研的想法，希望在牛津的学习能为后续学术深造打下基础。

Q有人说，文学是冷门专业，你如何看待这个说法？

Maggie：一个专业或任何研究领域都不应该用热门程度来评判。对我来说，文学专业是否热门并不重要，学术研究不应该只关注实用性，也不该以某个特定的职业头衔为导向。如果不能发自内心地喜欢一个专业、享受学习的过程，那么投入大量时间、精力和金钱去学习，最终只为了一份普通的办公室工作，是没有意义的。

Part.1 About the Oxford application

Q：Why did you apply for this major at Oxford?

A：I chose English as my major because I pictured myself studying something for four years, and the only thing I felt I would truly enjoy is English. I enjoy reading, I enjoy writing, and I enjoy talking about literature. Ultimately, that led me to decide it was probably worth it if I tried for Oxford.

Q：Could you share the writing topic of the Oxford written test? What did you talk about with the professors during the interview? What was the atmosphere like?

A：English at Oxford is a little bit different from other majors in that we don’t have a test section. Instead, we turn in a writing sample. Mine was a piece of classwork under 2,000 words—around 800 words—on King Lear. It was something I did for Literature class, a mock essay, and that’s what I submitted.

After that, we were either offered an interview or deferred. In my case, I got two interviews from my college.

I chose King Lear to exemplify an unreliable narrator. My essay focused on developing how King Lear’s perspective—even though he isn’t a traditional unreliable narrator, since he’s part of a play and not a first-person narrator—nevertheless guides his fate and thus guides the main themes and plot of the story.

During the interview, the professors asked a few simple questions about the essay. The atmosphere was fine; it was more like a discussion.

Q：Do admissions officers value writing skills more, or the thinking behind the essay?

A：I think it’s the thinking. Because my essay didn’t use any particularly complex techniques.

Q：Oxford’s English Language and Literature program has been ranked No. 1 in the QS World University Rankings for nine consecutive years. What do you know about this program, and what are your expectations for your future studies?

A：Oxford is known for its tutorial system—a system in which you essentially have small one‑on‑two or one‑on‑three classes where you’re able to discuss your coursework or the readings. That’s what drew me to Oxford. I enjoy talking to people, and I enjoy bouncing my ideas off my teachers, mentors, and professors. To be part of that environment and have the opportunity to speak with basically pioneers in the field of literature was ideal for me, and that’s essentially what drew me to Oxford.

Currently, a lot of my reading has been guided by personal interest, and I know that’s very limited—especially if we’re trying to pursue literature as an academic, scholarly path. I think Oxford will give me the opportunity to push me out of my comfort zone, to introduce me to possibly new hobbies, new passions, new areas of interest. I’m looking forward to widening my horizons.

Q：Some people say literature is an unpopular major. What do you think?

A：I think a major, or any area of study, shouldn’t be judged by popularity. I don’t think that’s a sufficient metric to identify the value of a field of study. For me, whether literature is popular or not doesn’t really matter. I think for each individual, academics shouldn’t be something focused solely on utility or something that leads to a certain job title. If you can’t see yourself studying something and enjoying it, then there’s no point in investing so much time, effort, money, and energy into that field if the endpoint is just another office job.

02/ 文学与我——精神世界的养分与表达

Q你对文学的热爱起源于哪里？

Maggie：我对文学的热爱始于9岁左右。从我记事起，家里就不太看重电视，甚至没在客厅放电视，日常娱乐主要靠读书，家里有一个藏书库。小时候的很多暑假，我都是在读书中度过的，这慢慢培养了我对故事叙述的兴趣，这份兴趣最终聚焦到英语文学上。

Q在你看来，英文文学最大的魅力是什么？有没有某部作品或某位作家深刻地影响了你，甚至塑造了你的某部分人格？

Maggie：我觉得文学的特别之处在于，它既是人类发展的推动力，也是人类发展的记录库。在文学作品中，你不仅能看到历史的进程，还能见证人类意识的成长。我热爱人类本身，也渴望理解“活着的意义”，而文学能让我透过成千上万双不同的眼睛，看到不同时代的不同瞬间，这就是它最吸引我的地方。

我的专业是英语，但对我影响最大的是日本作家芥川龙之介。正是阅读他的作品以及相关文学评论，让我确定要将文学作为未来的学术研究方向。他的短篇小说擅长通过操控结构和视角来传递情绪或主题，那种超越语言、超越措辞的表达手法，让我真正感受到了文学的魅力。对我来说，芥川龙之介的作品就像自然现象之于科学家，值得深入钻研。

Q你平时喜欢写什么？写作对你来说意味着什么？

Maggie：我平时主要写短篇小说。写作内容大多受阅读影响，读短篇虚构作品时，就倾向于写短篇虚构故事；读非虚构作品时，写出的评论也会带有非虚构风格，简单说就是“输入什么，就会输出什么”。

写作对我来说既是情感释放，也是寻求共鸣——某种程度上，写作总是有受众的，不管是自己还是别人。我个人的写作方式是先写下自己的想法和观点，要是觉得这些想法足够成熟、有深度，值得别人花时间阅读，就会把作品发表出来、展示给他人，希望能引起共鸣。

Part.2 About literature

Q：How did your love for literature begin?

A：My love for literature started around 2017. For as long as I can remember, my household wasn’t very big on television. We didn’t have one in the living room, so most of my entertainment was just books. We didn’t have a television, but we did have a library. For a lot of my summers when I wasn’t at school, I just spent my days reading. That’s what developed my interest in storytelling and understanding narratives, and it culminated in English literature.

Q：In your opinion, what is the greatest charm of English literature? Is there a work that has deeply influenced you, even shaped part of your personality?

A：I think literature is special in that it’s both a driving force and an archive of human development. In literature, you see not only how history has progressed, but also how human consciousness has grown. For me, it’s because I love humanity and understanding what it means to be alive that literature is special. I think literature is about seeing through a thousand different sets of eyes, being able to see all of these different moments in different times—and that’s what makes it wonderful to me.

My major is in English, but I’d say the author who influenced me the most is Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. He’s a Japanese author. I think it was reading his works and also his literary criticism that made me certain I wanted to pursue literature as a potential career path for the rest of my academic life. It’s his studies on how form—how his short stories are able to manipulate structure and perspective in conveying a mood or theme—and the way he moves beyond language, beyond diction, that really made literature interesting to me. I think it’s the same way a scientist would study a natural phenomenon—that’s what Akutagawa’s work was to me.

Q：What do you usually like to write? What does writing mean to you—is it a release of emotions, or a way to try to influence others?

A：For my writing, I usually just write short stories. A lot of the time it’s because I’m inspired by what I’m reading. When I read short‑form fiction, I tend to write short‑form fiction; when I read nonfiction, my critiques come out in nonfiction. It’s all about what I consume, and that influences what I end up producing.

I think writing is a bit of both [emotional release and influencing others]. To some degree, you’re always writing for an audience—whether that’s yourself or another person. The way I write personally is: I write down my thoughts, I write down my perspective, and I hope that if it’s developed enough, if I think it’s sophisticated, if it’s worth someone’s moment of their time, then I publish it, I show it to someone, and I hope it reaches them.

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03/ 新哲滋养：让热爱生根，让才华绽放

Q在学校里，你的文学兴趣如何在课程、社团和个人项目中得到发展？比如历史课、文学课，或者作为模联社长的经历？

Maggie：我觉得我们学校课程最大的优势是灵活性。我被允许并被给予空间去追求所有感兴趣的领域——无论是历史、世界史、欧洲史、艺术史，还是语言和文学。老师们和导师们都非常支持我，在课堂外也愿意和我讨论。

我可以随时带着想法和问题去找他们，而反馈正是一个人成长最快的方式。在这样一个鼓励表达、鼓励质疑、鼓励提问的环境中，我逐渐成长为今天的自己。

在课外活动方面，我主要参加了模拟法庭、模联和几个文学类社团。我觉得这些社团的价值主要有两点。第一是学校给予的支持，我们有导师在晚自习时间辅导我们，也有资金支持我们参加外地甚至需要坐飞机的比赛。比如在模拟法庭社，学校会从外部聘请专业教练来帮助我们，这对我来说非常重要。

更重要的是，我在这里遇到了很多志同道合的伙伴：我在读书会教过的学生们给了我很多启发，我也希望我能同样影响他们。在模联社、文学社，我周围都是充满想法、对同样事物充满热情的人，那让我能在一个非常自在的环境中做自己。我真的非常感激这些经历。

去年我弟弟也在9年级转入了新哲，他比较喜欢工科，应该会选择计算机方向，相信他同样能在这里深入深耕自己的热爱，实现最大的成长。

Part.3 About Sendelta

Q：At school, how has your interest in literature developed through courses, clubs, and personal projects? For example, history class, literature class, or your experience as MUN president?

A：I think the best thing about our school’s curriculum is its flexibility. I’m allowed and given the space to pursue all of my interests—whether that’s in history, world history, European history, art history, or in language or literature. I was given the space, and of course all of my professors and mentors supported me. They were encouraging outside of the classroom and always up for discussions. I could bring my ideas and my questions to them, and when I received feedback, I think that’s the best way anyone can grow. So being part of this environment where we are encouraged to communicate, where we’re encouraged to challenge ideas and ask questions, really helped me develop into who I am today.

In my extracurricular time, the clubs and societies I participated in mainly were Mock Trial, MUN, and the Reading Club. I think the best thing about these clubs is twofold. First is how much support the school gives us to explore these activities. We have mentors who would help us even during night study time. We have funding in case we need to go to competitions that require plane tickets or go out of the city. When we need coaching—for example, in Mock Trial—the school was very helpful and supportive, even looking outside of the staff to give me the resources I needed. That was really helpful.

Secondly, I really appreciate all of the people I’ve met through these clubs. The kids I’ve taught in the Reading Club inspired me just as much as I hope I inspired them. In MUN, the people who had these brilliant ideas and who were passionate about the same things I was put me in an environment where I felt comfortable being myself. Essentially, I’m really grateful for that.

Last year, my younger brother also transferred to Sendelta in Grade 9. He has a strong interest in engineering and will likely choose a computer science path. I believe he too will be able to deepen his passions here and achieve his greatest growth.

▲Maggie作为2024新哲学子奖代表演讲

▲学术快闪主讲人

▲担任编辑的校园杂志

▲组织读书会

▲线上辩论课支教

尾声

文学只是Maggie丰富人格的一隅。在学术与文学之外，她的高中生活同样精彩纷呈：在辩论与模联世界赛场上，她凭借敏捷的思维与出色的表达斩获佳绩;

在运动场上，她热衷双人赛艇，在协作与拼搏中挥洒活力；在艺术领域，她取得钢琴八级的优异成绩，用旋律滋养心灵。

多元探索，深耕热爱，让她成长为全面立体的少年。这正是新哲的教育初心——“既有成绩、又有快乐、还有可持续发展”的缩影。

相信带着新哲赋予的成长力量，她会在牛津大学这所世界顶尖学府持续突破自我，遇见更广阔的天地、成就更丰盈的自己。