What it's like sitting the
Gaokao, the world's most notoriously difficult exam
Pre
discussion questions
How do
you feel about exams?
What
do you think the girl in this picture is feeling?
Halfway through the year, millions of
Chinese high school students will sit a terrible university entrance
examination.
The "Gaokao" exam started in
1952. It is a notoriously difficult
three-day test.
These high school exams have so much
expectation for the future lives of all the students. The exams are exhausting for the 9.4 million students
who experience the "weekend from hell" each year.
Some parents even pay for "Gaokao
hotels" close to the exam center.
In some cities, "test taxis" are
allowed to go first through the traffic on this day.
The test is so important across China that
it changes Chinese life for one day.
Students sitting the Gaokao are tested on
their Chinese, mathematics, English and either a science or humanities subject
of their choice.
The exam is a mixture of problem-solving
that requires strong memorizing. There are vague
philosophy questions to test a student’s creativity.
These are some examples of essay questions
from previous years:
• A teacher asked the students to look at butterflies
under a microscope. At first, they thought the butterflies were colorful, but
when they looked at them closely, they realized that they had no color. Based
on this story, write an essay.
• Who do you admire the most? A
biotechnology researcher, a welding engineering technician or a photographer?
Based on this, write an essay.
• You are free because you may choose how
to cross the desert; you are not free because you must cross the desert either
way. Write an 800-word essay on this.
Chinese students spend up to 80 hours or
more studying every week. Holidays and school-breaks are rare. And a student
has almost no social life.
Students have at least 11 classes every
single weekday, with nine classes on Saturday and up to five on Sunday.
Total daily class-time is roughly 10 hours,
but in the actual year of the exam, students cram in as many extra hours as
they can. They feverishly do practice
exams in private.
It's the norm to spend every waking moment studying.
The pressure seems to never end. Students have
immense pressure - but they just
have to grin and bear it.
The Gaokao is controversial in China. The test is criticized because it is largely
about memorization learning rather than actually using that knowledge.
But at the same time, it's very important
for any Chinese student wanting a good future.
Why is the Gaokao so important? The whole
future of a Chinese student is about this test. Getting into the best
universities means the best future and the best of everything.
Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, is maybe
the most famous Gaokao "loser".
Ma failed the exam twice - and the chief
executive billionaire is now one of the richest men in China.
Last year, he wrote an open letter to
Chinese students which fast went viral.
"Life is so changeable," he
wrote. "Today it goes well, yet tomorrow it may not; today you fail, but
it doesn't mean you have no chance to succeed in future."
Try
to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest
meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and
have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the
reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary
depending on how they are used.
The
answers are below the table.
notoriously |
A |
1 |
To do something in a very urgent way like
in a manic or crazy (mania) way |
exhausting |
B |
2 |
Very very tiring. |
vague |
C |
3 |
usual |
feverishly |
D |
4 |
Famous but in a bad way |
norm |
E |
5 |
To endure, to not give up but keep going
through a difficult time |
immense |
F |
6 |
disagreement |
grin and bear it |
G |
7 |
Big, huge, |
Controversial |
H |
8 |
Not clear, confusing, not easy to see or
understand |
A=4, B=2, C=8, D=1, E=3, F=7,
G=5, H=6
Some
example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they
are used in the reading to help you understand better.
1.
Be careful, this area of the
city is notorious for thieves.
2.
Running a marathon is exhausting.
3.
In mathematics you can not be vague, you must be exact.
4.
The transport strike at Christmas
was terrible, people were feverously
tying to get out of the city to see their families.
5.
It is the norm to take off your shoes when you enter a house.
6.
The president felt immense pressure to resign after the
protests.
7.
The weather this week is very
cold, you will have to grin and bear it.
8.
There was a lot of controversy about the mayor’s decision
to build the park.
Some
questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your
answer.
1.
How notorious is the university entrance test in your country?
2.
What subject did you find the
most exhausting to study in high
school? Why?
3.
If someone is too vague when they speak to you, then how
do you ask them to speak more exact?
4.
How feverish is the Korean SAT exam?
5.
Is it also the norm for high school students in your
country to study hard like these students in China?
6.
What do you do when you have immense pressure?
7.
Do you agree that grinning and bearing difficult
situations can make you a stronger person?
8.
What topics are controversial in your country these
days?