At times the words feel almost random. The 1928 paper offered “Time”; the 1956 one “Islands”; 2006, “Water”. At other times the single-word essay titles that All Souls College, Oxford(牛津大学万灵学院，以入学考试极难著称) put in its entrance exams might have felt more pertinent(切题的，相关的). In 1990, for instance, the paper offered students—or perhaps demanded of them—“Memory”. Sometimes the exam was preeningly(自鸣得意地) self-referential(自我指涉的). In 1952 it asked students to write about “Oxford”; in 1948 it stylishly offered the single word “Style” on an otherwise almost blank page(在一张除此之外几乎空白的纸上). Less stylishly, it repeated that in 2005, which rather lacked “Originality” (1932).
这些词有时几乎像是随机抽取的。1928年的试卷给出的是“时间”；1956年是“岛屿”；2006年则是“水”。而在另一些时候，牛津大学万灵学院入学考试中的这些单字作文题，或许会让人觉得更加切题。比如1990年，试卷给学生——或者说要求学生——出的题目是“记忆”。有时这场考试还会自恋地自我指涉。1952年，它让学生写“牛津”；1948年，它在一张几乎空白的纸上优雅地给出“风格”一词。2005年它又重复了这道题，但这次就没那么优雅了，反倒显得缺乏“原创性”（1932年题）。
The All Souls entrance exam, which this year finished on October 1st, has been called the “hardest exam in the world” and “the SAS(英国特种空勤团，以严酷选拔著称) of academia”. Each year over 100 students, most of them recent graduates of Oxford, sit(参加（考试）) its four papers (two general, two specialist), each lasting three hours, over the course of two days. Two students alone will win the glittering(耀眼的，诱人的) prize of a seven-year fellowship(研究员职位；奖学金) at the college. Depending on your view, the exam is either a demanding tool to distinguish “Genius” (1935) or an intellectual “Error” (1993).(取决于你的看法，这场考试要么是甄别“天才”的严苛工具，要么是一个智识上的“错误”。)
万灵学院的入学考试今年于10月1日结束，它被称为“世上最难考试”和“学术界的SAS”。每年有100多名学生——其中大多数是牛津应届毕业生——在两天内参加四场考试（两场通识、两场专业），每场持续三小时。最终只有两名学生能赢得那项耀眼的奖励：学院为期七年的 fellowship。在你看来，这场考试要么是甄别“天才”（1935年题）的严苛工具，要么是一个智识上的“错误”（1993年题）。
A similar dichotomy(二元对立，两分法) dogs(困扰，纠缠) the college. It is variously seen as either the brainiest and grandest of the grand and brainy Oxbridge colleges, or as a snooty(势利的，傲慢的) backwater(死水一潭的地方，闭塞之地) where “the best brains of Oxford are preserved—in alcohol”. Whereas other colleges churn out(批量产出) celebrities (Boris Johnson went to Balliol) or are celebrities themselves (Christ Church starred in “Harry Potter”), All Souls is more recondite(深奥难懂的). A sign in its porters’ lodge informs “Harry Potter Fans” that they have “come to the wrong place”, tacitly(含蓄地，默示地) implying that to have done so is sheer “Vulgarity” (1947). Cambridge dons(（牛津剑桥的）导师，教师) used to refer to All Souls as “Arseholes”, which is yet to be used as an essay title.
类似的二元对立也困扰着这所学院。人们对它的看法不一：它要么是牛津剑桥中最聪明、最气派的学院，要么是一个势利的死水一潭之地，“牛津最优秀的大脑被保存了下来——泡在酒精里”。其他学院要么批量产出名人（鲍里斯·约翰逊毕业于贝利奥尔），要么本身就是名人（基督教堂学院曾出演《哈利·波特》），而万灵学院则更加深奥难解。其门房的一块告示牌告诉“哈利·波特粉丝”们“来错地方了”，含蓄地暗示这样做纯属“粗俗”（1947年题）。剑桥的导师们过去称万灵学院为“混蛋们”，这个称呼至今还没被用作作文题。