Why my English name is Lanal?
2010-05-27 23:59:52 发表于 人人网
Because, my English name used to be Allan.
And after I knew that Alan Perry (one english lectuer at ZJU) got the similar name with me, I decided to give up the foolish name, one of the most common names. But, I did not want to apply an English one or an American one. I wanted a Chinese one instead. I mean that the name must be in accordance with PINYIN, such as Jim or Snopy. Also, it should be as easy as possible.
Suddenly, a flash came across my mind. Why not reconstruct the original one to get a new one. That was Lanal!
I just simply put the first two characters to the end. To my surprise, it was even symmetric.
I created my name, but its pronunciation was endowed by Kevin (another english lectuer at ZJU). As my plan, it was "LAI NO". But Kevin pronounced it as "LA NO". Wonderful! That's it!
So, my name is a combination of Chinese and English! One day in the future, I will set a patent for my name, Lanal!
Because, my English name used to be Allan.
And after I knew that Alan Perry (one english lectuer at ZJU) got the similar name with me, I decided to give up the foolish name, one of the most common names. But, I did not want to apply an English one or an American one. I wanted a Chinese one instead. I mean that the name must be in accordance with PINYIN, such as Jim or Snopy. Also, it should be as easy as possible.
Suddenly, a flash came across my mind. Why not reconstruct the original one to get a new one. That was Lanal!
I just simply put the first two characters to the end. To my surprise, it was even symmetric.
I created my name, but its pronunciation was endowed by Kevin (another english lectuer at ZJU). As my plan, it was "LAI NO". But Kevin pronounced it as "LA NO". Wonderful! That's it!
So, my name is a combination of Chinese and English! One day in the future, I will set a patent for my name, Lanal!
我与港大
发表于 【香港大学时事快讯2012年第四期】
张同学成绩优异,获得工学院颁发的多个学术奖项,并将作为交换生赴英国剑桥大学学习一年。
工程学院作为香港大学创始之初的三个学院之一,有着悠久的历史。我所在的机械系也是工程学院的老牌专业。我还清楚地记得刚进入机械系之初,系主任说了这么一番话:“在亚洲,课程这么齐全、教育设施这么先进的机械本科教育,也唯独港大有了。老实说,连欧洲、美国的大学都没有投入这么多资源提供这么好的本科教育。”与我在浙大一年的委培经历对比,他老人家的这番肺腑之言,不假。
港大的师资力量特别强大。单机械系就有不少经验丰富的教授,大多数还是毕业于像哈佛、麻省理工、剑桥这样的名牌大学。他们上课的风格、思路别具一格,有美国人的开放幽默,也会有英国人的高雅严谨。总体来说,英文教学导致的难度,不如思路瞬息万变带来的难度大。基本上,整个课堂就是教师的舞台。知识是次要的,他们分享的人生经历或许更加珍贵。所以说,香港这个中西方文化相互冲突的地方确实能迸发出不少火花。
值得一提的是,港大自由的学术氛围。课堂上,教授只涉及他认为有必要掌握的知识点。所以,对于同一门课,不同的教授往往会采用不同的推荐书目,不同的叙述方式,以及不同的侧重点。课堂外,由点及面的发散性学习过程就需要依赖学生的自觉性了。当然,教授们会非常期待同学们的疑问,基本上有问必答。另外,专业课都会配套两个由教授精心设计的实验,强调学以致用。到了大三,学生必须在一至两名教授的辅导下完成一份毕业设计或毕业论文。内容涉及流体、控制、能源、材料、工业设计等各个领域,百花齐放,百家争鸣。
港大的学术自由,学生更自由。学生社团活动是港大一大特色,所谓“大学五件事”之一“上庄”说的就是这个。我本人也担任过一年机械学生会外务副主席一职。这个学生会不同于一般的行政机构,更加接近一个服务组织。最让我骄傲的是,我成功为学生会员组织了两次公司考察活动,一次去了香港国泰航空公司的国泰城,还有一次去了香港国际机场的航站楼。这让我充分意识到“潜力是需要激发的”。现在,我也从原来一个害羞的男孩转变为了一个坦率的青年。
身在异乡为异客,怎么融入香港文化总是烦扰着很多大陆学生。香港学生有他们的特点,更加外向、好动、独立;大陆学生则更加稳重、好学、进取。我总觉得,文化冲突是正常的,互相理解包容,以乐观开放的态度主动适应,才是正确的对待方式。
我想借用国父的话来感谢港大:“我心情有如归家,因为香港与香港大学是我知识诞生之地。”
(感谢父母的养育之恩;感谢师长的栽培之德;感谢伙伴的相知之情。)
张同学成绩优异,获得工学院颁发的多个学术奖项,并将作为交换生赴英国剑桥大学学习一年。
工程学院作为香港大学创始之初的三个学院之一,有着悠久的历史。我所在的机械系也是工程学院的老牌专业。我还清楚地记得刚进入机械系之初,系主任说了这么一番话:“在亚洲,课程这么齐全、教育设施这么先进的机械本科教育,也唯独港大有了。老实说,连欧洲、美国的大学都没有投入这么多资源提供这么好的本科教育。”与我在浙大一年的委培经历对比,他老人家的这番肺腑之言,不假。
港大的师资力量特别强大。单机械系就有不少经验丰富的教授,大多数还是毕业于像哈佛、麻省理工、剑桥这样的名牌大学。他们上课的风格、思路别具一格,有美国人的开放幽默,也会有英国人的高雅严谨。总体来说,英文教学导致的难度,不如思路瞬息万变带来的难度大。基本上,整个课堂就是教师的舞台。知识是次要的,他们分享的人生经历或许更加珍贵。所以说,香港这个中西方文化相互冲突的地方确实能迸发出不少火花。
值得一提的是,港大自由的学术氛围。课堂上,教授只涉及他认为有必要掌握的知识点。所以,对于同一门课,不同的教授往往会采用不同的推荐书目,不同的叙述方式,以及不同的侧重点。课堂外,由点及面的发散性学习过程就需要依赖学生的自觉性了。当然,教授们会非常期待同学们的疑问,基本上有问必答。另外,专业课都会配套两个由教授精心设计的实验,强调学以致用。到了大三,学生必须在一至两名教授的辅导下完成一份毕业设计或毕业论文。内容涉及流体、控制、能源、材料、工业设计等各个领域,百花齐放,百家争鸣。
港大的学术自由,学生更自由。学生社团活动是港大一大特色,所谓“大学五件事”之一“上庄”说的就是这个。我本人也担任过一年机械学生会外务副主席一职。这个学生会不同于一般的行政机构,更加接近一个服务组织。最让我骄傲的是,我成功为学生会员组织了两次公司考察活动,一次去了香港国泰航空公司的国泰城,还有一次去了香港国际机场的航站楼。这让我充分意识到“潜力是需要激发的”。现在,我也从原来一个害羞的男孩转变为了一个坦率的青年。
身在异乡为异客,怎么融入香港文化总是烦扰着很多大陆学生。香港学生有他们的特点,更加外向、好动、独立;大陆学生则更加稳重、好学、进取。我总觉得,文化冲突是正常的,互相理解包容,以乐观开放的态度主动适应,才是正确的对待方式。
我想借用国父的话来感谢港大:“我心情有如归家,因为香港与香港大学是我知识诞生之地。”
(感谢父母的养育之恩;感谢师长的栽培之德;感谢伙伴的相知之情。)
Why do you wish to study at Cambridge?
申请剑桥大学交换项目时的【自我描述】
There are mainly four motivations for me to study at Cambridge. And these are linked directly to Cambridge.
First of all, my parents reshaped my study attitude with the help of “Cambridge”. They are both engineers having a good educational background. As Cambridge has such a globally renowned teaching system, my parents have kept repeating this name since I was a toddler. At that time, they were not extremely eager to cultivate a future scientist. They merely wanted to motivate my studies since I was quite naughty then. They told me the story of Newton under the apple tree in Cambridge. They also read the poem by the famous Chinese poet, Xu Zhimo, “Gently I flick my sleeves, not even a wisp of cloud will I bring away”-Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again. These celebrities’ anecdotes greatly impressed me and a rough picture of Cambridge, which was a very bright, relaxed and classical countryside, appeared in my mind’s eye. Since then, I started to catch up on my study and paid special attention to math and physics, inspired by the story of Newton, with Cambridge becoming the kingdom of knowledge in my heart. To be honest, studying at Cambridge seemed to be one of my wildest dreams before I entered university.
My time at Zhejiang University made me more curious about Cambridge. I spent one year studying at Zhejiang University, which is famously called the “Oriental Cambridge” in China. When I first heard about this title, I was astonished and baffled as I could not believe that any Chinese University could be compared to Cambridge. So I looked up the history of Zhejiang University and realised that this title had a deeper meaning. The title was given to Zhejiang University by Joseph Needham, a Cambridge professor, who came to visit China as a British representative in 1942. After his visit to Zhejiang University, located in Western China at that time, he was deeply moved by its persistent and flourishing academic environment. He published one article describing Zhejiang University in Nature (the famous British magazine) in 1945, saying that Zhejiang University was one of the best four universities in China. Also, in several speeches, he compared Zhejiang University with Cambridge and Oxford, concluding that Zhejiang University was the “Oriental Cambridge”. Knowing this story, I felt that the flame in my heart was kindled, being proud of myself to be able to enjoy such a high standard of education. Undoubtedly, I adjusted well to Zhejiang University and gained a good attitude towards life and efficient study skills. The picture of Cambridge became even clearer with the experience in Zhejiang University. Cambridge, however, was still intangible to me.
Right now, Cambridge become a realistic opportunity to me at HKU. After entering HKU, I note that there are three professors in the Mechanical Department, who graduated from Cambridge, Prof. Huang L.X., Prof. Lam J., and Prof. Chen M.Z.Q. To be honest, it is of great honour for me to have lectures from two of them. They are responsible for teaching me Aeronautics (Prof. Huang L.X.) and Control (Prof. Chen M.Z.Q.) and I am amazed by their teaching styles. Their lectures are not just about engineering, regardless of equations on blackboards. They are presenting knowledge in a special way with their own understanding of engineering history and their own stories. Quite obviously, they enjoy sharing stories of Cambridge. Prof. Huang Once showed a picture of one aeronautic laboratory in Cambridge and told us about an interesting scientific competition among two groups of scientists taking place in this laboratory, later mentioning: “I also worked in this laboratory when I was in Cambridge and I had one bike, because my college was very far away from this laboratory. You see this door. I normally locked my bike over there.” In addition, Prof. Chen once also shared his research at Cambridge on “Inerter”. He worked with other Cambridge professors to design the suspension system for Formula One vehicles using “Inerter”. Their research improved the manipulation properties significantly yet sadly got banned by the F1 committee. It sounds like a sad story but it is actually a brilliant chapter in F1 history. All these features make their lectures not only more entertaining but also easier understandable in terms of content. Consequently, I became more enthusiastic about the topics being taught. To some extent, these study experiences fulfil me with the deep desire to enjoy the well-organized lectures at Cambridge.
Last but not least, looking forward to continue my future studies at Cambridge, I could do extensive preparations through this one-year exchange. I am in my second year of study and, as a result of my strong academic background, I feel ready for an exchange abroad. In my first year, some exchange opportunities were available, yet I did not apply to any of them, as I thought my knowledge was too superficial to make good use of study resources or exchange ideas with professors. I prefer to learn useful knowledge rather than simply have a look at an exotic culture or scenery. Now, after studying one more year, my engineering knowledge and insights have grown to a point that I am certain I can reap the fruits from an exchange. Just two month ago, I was informed about a summer exchange programme to Cambridge, which interested me. Because of my duties in the HKU Robocon team, I did not pursue it. This time, my faculty nominated me to exchange to Cambridge for one year. I know, this is what I want right now. I can finally realise my childhood dream and will be able to discuss my future with Cambridge Professors as well.
Apart from the personal motivations linking me to Cambridge, I want to state two academic reasons related to my study plan at Cambridge.
1. I appreciate the learning culture at Cambridge, with small-group and large-group study, taking place through regular supervisions and lectures. With the help of small-group study, I can build up solid friendships with other students. In large-group study, students can freely share different ideas and experiences, which I can learn from. Under the supervision system, I can build up relationships with professors and get direct access to solutions to problem with their guidance.
2. Cambridge strongly emphasizes the importance of Mathematics and Physics for engineering students. I feel I am strong in both areas, because I follow lectures easily and greatly enjoy my core courses. I believe my grades are a good reflection of these abilities. Outside the lectures, I do lots of unassigned in-depth reading on related topics or topics I am interested in the field. According to Prof. Lam J., who also studied once at Cambridge, the pace of lectures at Cambridge is very fast and students need to seek for knowledge by themselves. I think there will be no problem for me at all, as I am good at self-teaching and fast-learning. During my study at Cambridge, I look forward to further improve my mathematics and engineering knowledge at large.
There are mainly four motivations for me to study at Cambridge. And these are linked directly to Cambridge.
First of all, my parents reshaped my study attitude with the help of “Cambridge”. They are both engineers having a good educational background. As Cambridge has such a globally renowned teaching system, my parents have kept repeating this name since I was a toddler. At that time, they were not extremely eager to cultivate a future scientist. They merely wanted to motivate my studies since I was quite naughty then. They told me the story of Newton under the apple tree in Cambridge. They also read the poem by the famous Chinese poet, Xu Zhimo, “Gently I flick my sleeves, not even a wisp of cloud will I bring away”-Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again. These celebrities’ anecdotes greatly impressed me and a rough picture of Cambridge, which was a very bright, relaxed and classical countryside, appeared in my mind’s eye. Since then, I started to catch up on my study and paid special attention to math and physics, inspired by the story of Newton, with Cambridge becoming the kingdom of knowledge in my heart. To be honest, studying at Cambridge seemed to be one of my wildest dreams before I entered university.
My time at Zhejiang University made me more curious about Cambridge. I spent one year studying at Zhejiang University, which is famously called the “Oriental Cambridge” in China. When I first heard about this title, I was astonished and baffled as I could not believe that any Chinese University could be compared to Cambridge. So I looked up the history of Zhejiang University and realised that this title had a deeper meaning. The title was given to Zhejiang University by Joseph Needham, a Cambridge professor, who came to visit China as a British representative in 1942. After his visit to Zhejiang University, located in Western China at that time, he was deeply moved by its persistent and flourishing academic environment. He published one article describing Zhejiang University in Nature (the famous British magazine) in 1945, saying that Zhejiang University was one of the best four universities in China. Also, in several speeches, he compared Zhejiang University with Cambridge and Oxford, concluding that Zhejiang University was the “Oriental Cambridge”. Knowing this story, I felt that the flame in my heart was kindled, being proud of myself to be able to enjoy such a high standard of education. Undoubtedly, I adjusted well to Zhejiang University and gained a good attitude towards life and efficient study skills. The picture of Cambridge became even clearer with the experience in Zhejiang University. Cambridge, however, was still intangible to me.
Right now, Cambridge become a realistic opportunity to me at HKU. After entering HKU, I note that there are three professors in the Mechanical Department, who graduated from Cambridge, Prof. Huang L.X., Prof. Lam J., and Prof. Chen M.Z.Q. To be honest, it is of great honour for me to have lectures from two of them. They are responsible for teaching me Aeronautics (Prof. Huang L.X.) and Control (Prof. Chen M.Z.Q.) and I am amazed by their teaching styles. Their lectures are not just about engineering, regardless of equations on blackboards. They are presenting knowledge in a special way with their own understanding of engineering history and their own stories. Quite obviously, they enjoy sharing stories of Cambridge. Prof. Huang Once showed a picture of one aeronautic laboratory in Cambridge and told us about an interesting scientific competition among two groups of scientists taking place in this laboratory, later mentioning: “I also worked in this laboratory when I was in Cambridge and I had one bike, because my college was very far away from this laboratory. You see this door. I normally locked my bike over there.” In addition, Prof. Chen once also shared his research at Cambridge on “Inerter”. He worked with other Cambridge professors to design the suspension system for Formula One vehicles using “Inerter”. Their research improved the manipulation properties significantly yet sadly got banned by the F1 committee. It sounds like a sad story but it is actually a brilliant chapter in F1 history. All these features make their lectures not only more entertaining but also easier understandable in terms of content. Consequently, I became more enthusiastic about the topics being taught. To some extent, these study experiences fulfil me with the deep desire to enjoy the well-organized lectures at Cambridge.
Last but not least, looking forward to continue my future studies at Cambridge, I could do extensive preparations through this one-year exchange. I am in my second year of study and, as a result of my strong academic background, I feel ready for an exchange abroad. In my first year, some exchange opportunities were available, yet I did not apply to any of them, as I thought my knowledge was too superficial to make good use of study resources or exchange ideas with professors. I prefer to learn useful knowledge rather than simply have a look at an exotic culture or scenery. Now, after studying one more year, my engineering knowledge and insights have grown to a point that I am certain I can reap the fruits from an exchange. Just two month ago, I was informed about a summer exchange programme to Cambridge, which interested me. Because of my duties in the HKU Robocon team, I did not pursue it. This time, my faculty nominated me to exchange to Cambridge for one year. I know, this is what I want right now. I can finally realise my childhood dream and will be able to discuss my future with Cambridge Professors as well.
Apart from the personal motivations linking me to Cambridge, I want to state two academic reasons related to my study plan at Cambridge.
1. I appreciate the learning culture at Cambridge, with small-group and large-group study, taking place through regular supervisions and lectures. With the help of small-group study, I can build up solid friendships with other students. In large-group study, students can freely share different ideas and experiences, which I can learn from. Under the supervision system, I can build up relationships with professors and get direct access to solutions to problem with their guidance.
2. Cambridge strongly emphasizes the importance of Mathematics and Physics for engineering students. I feel I am strong in both areas, because I follow lectures easily and greatly enjoy my core courses. I believe my grades are a good reflection of these abilities. Outside the lectures, I do lots of unassigned in-depth reading on related topics or topics I am interested in the field. According to Prof. Lam J., who also studied once at Cambridge, the pace of lectures at Cambridge is very fast and students need to seek for knowledge by themselves. I think there will be no problem for me at all, as I am good at self-teaching and fast-learning. During my study at Cambridge, I look forward to further improve my mathematics and engineering knowledge at large.