USAD | 祝贺国际部学子斩获美国学术十项全能多个奖项

曹树晨 Andy Cao

我参加比赛的原因，是为了能和同学们一起学习进步，锻炼自己的阅读和学习能力。在准备比赛的过程中，我们都学到了不少的东西。

The reason I joined was to study and improve along with my peers, and to practice our reading and writing skills together. In the process of preparing for the competition, we did end up learning many useful things.

李逸伯阳 Raphael Li

我在此之前参加过面向初中生的USAP比赛，我非常喜欢那种小组一起学习的氛围。我们会每周见一次面，互相分享自己学到的内容。对我来说，这是我最喜爱USAD的原因。

The main reason I joined USAD was simply to study and have fun with my classmates. I had already attended a USAP competition before, and I loved the academic environment while we prepped together. We would meet at school once per week, and we would give mini lectures to each other, sharing what we learned. To me, this was the best part about the competition. 

另外，USAD的课程既注重多样性，还注重相互之间的联系。我认为这样的学习方式比独立的科目有趣很多。比如说，我刚读完杰克伦敦的《海浪》，就可以读到音乐书里拉赫的第二钢琴协奏曲，USAD的内容是相通的，自洽的。

Additionally, I appreciate the sheer diversity of topics and how they are all related to each other. Learning is much more interesting when, for instance, you can read “The Sea-Wolf” by Jack London followed with an introduction and analysis of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. In essence, studying for USAD gives you a coherent, interconnected web of knowledge that compliments and gives context to each other.

田明瑄 Michelle Tian

我认为参加USAD可以很有效的提升自己的学术能力，并且可以学习到一些在学校不会学到的知识。

I think participating in USAD can effectively improve my academic ability and learn knowledges that I won’t be exposed in school.

张清嘉 Julia Zhang

我依旧清晰的记着一月份考试的前一周，每天都要学习八个小时以上才能在考试前把所有的知识点都过一遍。我当时主攻的是社科和科学，从十一月份就开始学习科学的我直到考试的最后一晚也还在赶着复习。USAD的快乐在于一个小组所组成的学术氛围，从前我一直都是自己学习很多东西，而USAD提供了一次机会，让我和一群人一起进步，并且在学习的过程中互相提问。

I still remember clearly that the night before the January exam, I had to study for more than eight hours every day to go over all the key concepts before the exam starts. I was majoring in social sciences and science, and I had been studying science since November and was still revising on the last night of the exam. The joy of USAD lies in the academic atmosphere formed by a small group. I used to learn a lot by myself, but USAD provides an opportunity for me to make progress with a group of people and ask each other questions in the process of learning.

李逸伯阳 Raphael Li

我参加USAD最主要的感受是，当我们用新的视角看待已知的事物时，我们可以学到新的知识。比如，在音乐部分的教材中，作者对比了谭盾，拉赫，和拉威尔的关于水的作品。谭盾通过创新的乐器奏法表达水的声音，拉赫用激扬、爆炸一般的肢体阐述大海的雄壮辽阔，而拉威尔用轻巧的半音阶写法表达喷泉那种蝴蝶般的轻盈。这样的结论是只有在通过“水”一主题才能得出的。

The biggest lesson I learned from USAD is that you can learn new things when you analyze things through a different lens. For instance, in the music curriculum, it makes a the comparison between Tan Dun, Rachmaninoff, and Ravel, all composing pieces depicting water. While Tan Dun plays with scoring to achieve new sounds in instruments, Rachmaninoff uses heavy and bombastic textures to express the majesty of the ocean, while Ravel uses dancing high notes to create music that is rich and childlike. I would never have made this comparison if not for the theme of the year: water.

刘美怡 Meiyi Lau

在准备比赛的初期，我们小组的同学们想出了一个方案，由每位成员自愿负责一部分的比赛准备。我们摇身一变成了“老师”，每个人都为组员们准备了一节课，以便大家对知识有更好的理解，帮助记忆。这个过程是很享受的，也增加了我们彼此的沟通和交流。

In the early stage of studying this, we came up with a plan to let each person to be responsible of one or two sections on their voluntary. We then turn into “teacher” and is needed to create a lesson for the rest in order to have a better understanding than just scan over every section and not remembering the information. This experience of teaching is very enjoyable and had a lot of conversations because of so.

谢子骏 Darrin Tse

我觉得比起知识储备的收获，这场竞赛更能给学生们开阔眼界，认识新的事物，也能告诉学生们他们将来要面对的学术竞赛将有多么“充满挑战”。

Instead of widening the knowledge of students, USAD widens the views of students and boosts their experiences on competition, and give them a peek of what competitions will be like after this.

刘彦岑 Sarah Liu

从比赛前一周争分夺秒的复习，再到比完赛后“如释重负”的愉悦，整个过程都给我留下了深刻的印象。和组员一起在教室里学习，分享自己做的ppt，犒赏彼此的冰淇淋，在比赛开始前紧张地在微信群里互相安慰…最终我们成功的拿到了奖项，但比起荣誉和奖状，于我而言意义更重大的是和他们一起付出的努力和大家一起学习的时光。共同进步，互相成就，我们怀着探索之心，享受学习，享受竞赛。

From the race against time reviewing the week before the competition, to the joy after the test, the whole process left a deep impression on me. Studying in the classroom with my team members, sharing the ppts we made, rewarding each other for ice creams, and nervously comforting each other in the WeChat group before the start of the competition… In the end, we successfully won the award, but to me the hard work and time spent learning together is way meaningful than the award. We make progress together and achieve each other. With the heart of exploration, we enjoy learning and competition.

张清嘉 Julia Zhang

USAD属于是全能型学术竞赛，需注意的是，比赛过程中需要学习整整七大门学课。如果你已经有自己喜欢的领域，我会更建议你去寻找跟这个领域更加相关或者切近的竞赛去参加。USAD适合的人群为：

a. 想要尝试多门学课去寻找自己兴趣领域的同学；

b. 想要扩展全面常识的人；

c. 想要训练短时间内快速规划学习/掌握知识点的同学。

USAD is a comprehensive academic competition. It should be noted that there are seven full academic courses to be studied during the competition. If you already have a field that you like, I would recommend looking for competitions that are more relevant or close to that specific area of interest. USAD is suitable for the following students: 

a. Students who want to try multiple subjects to find their own areas of interest; 

b. Students who want to expand their general knowledge in many academic fields, 

c. Students who want to train intensive-styled learning and master an intensive amount of concepts in a short amount of time.

李逸伯阳 Raphael Li

对于新来参加的选手们，我的建议是一定要妥当地安排时间。考试的内容非常多，所以不可能在最后两周之内抱佛脚学完。一定要做好时间规划，每天学习一点，就不会那么难啃了。不过如果拖延症还是犯了，我建议重点学一到两个学科，以保证自己可以在几个学科的比赛中有好的表现。

For new participants, my advice is to manage your time wisely. There is a lot of curricula to cover, and it is impossible to try and learn all of it in the last two weeks. If you divide it up into smaller pieces and study bit by bit every day, it isn’t that hard to swallow, and you will do fine in the test. If you do end up procrastinating, focus on one subject so you can safely win at least one award.

刘美怡 Meiyi Lau

如果想要在比赛中取得好成绩，我的建议是可以关注在自己比较感兴趣或比较擅长的部分。因为备赛的时间还是很紧张的，想掌握全部的知识点时间是远远不够的。

If you want to earn a award or more in this competition, I advice you to focus on the sections that you are either interested at or good at. There isn’t enough time for you to dive deep on every textbook and grab every information.