Tag: entrance examination

Overview of Education in China中国教育概况

China Education（教育jiàoyù） is the largest education system in the world. On June 2013, there were 9.12 million students taking the China's National Higher Education Entrance Examination (Gao Kao)(高考gāokǎo). Investment in education accounts for about 4% of total GDP in China. In 1986, the Chinese government passed a compulsory education(义务教育yìwù jiàoyù) law, making nine years of education mandatory for all Chinese children. Today, the Ministry of Education estimates that 99.7 percent of the population area of the country has achieved universal nine-year basic education.中国教育是世界上最大的教育系统。2013年6月，在中国有912万学生参加了全国高等教育入学考试（高考）。教育投资约占国内生产总值的4%。1986年，中国政府通过了《义务教育法》，对所有中国学生强制实行九年教育。今天，国家教育部估计，中国99.7%的人口区域已经实现广泛的九年基础教育。
International students(国际学生guójì xuéshēng) have enrolled in over 660 higher education institutions in China. China has a long history providing education to international students studying in high schools and universities in China. Over the past few years, the number of international students who study abroad in China has significantly increased every year.中国已有超过660家高等教育机构有国际学生注册进入。在为国际学生提供在华高中和大学教育这方面，中国已有很长的历史。过去的几年中，在华留学的国际学生数每年都有显著增加。

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Foreigner‘s view：Chinese Gaokao

China Prep follows five Chinese students through their final high-pressure year at an elite high school in Sichuan Province. Eighteen hundred students vie for spots in Beijing’s top two universities. Last year only 59 made it.《中国高考》的镜头跟随着四川省一所精英高中的五名学生，报道了他们度过的高强度高三。1800名学生同时为了北京顶尖两所大学而激烈竞争。而在去年一年中只有59人成功了。
Studying seven days a week, the students’ lives are regimented almost every minute of the day as they prepare for the end-of-year exam that can determine their fate. For many students from poor or rural backgrounds, a strong performance on the test is the only way to climb the social ladder and excel without connections. Competition is fierce and the majority of high school seniors will be relegated to vocational schools.一周七天不间断的学习，这些学生的生活的每一分钟都在为高考准备，因为高考决定了他们的命运。对于那些来自贫困或者农村家庭的孩子们来说，在这场考试中好好表现，毫无置疑是他们爬上社会阶梯并成功的唯一的方法。竞争是激烈的，大部分的高中生最后不得不被分配到职业学校去。
We meet Zhang Lie, who wants to study law and become a Communist Party member like her father; Mei Jiachin, a genius mathematician from a farming family; Chen Zhibo, a misfit science student with big plans to become China’s Bill Gates; and Gao Mengjia, a dedicated student who loves money and aspires to be a hedge fund manager.我们见到了张烈（音译），他想学习法律专业，并想和他父亲一样成为一名党员；梅佳琴（音译），一名来自农村家庭的数学天才；陈志波（音译），一个不太合群的理科生，他想成为中国的比尔盖茨；还有高梦佳（音译），一位努力学习的孩子，很爱钱并想成为一名对冲基金经理。
Nicknamed the “I want” generation by the Chinese press, these only children – the sole focus of their parents’ and grandparents’ nurturing under China’s one-child policy – will be the new class of corporate managers, lawyers, and civil servants who are expected to propel 21st century China to surpass the United States as the largest economy in the world.被中国媒体戏称为“我想要”的一代，这些独生子女——中国计划生育政策下家里父母和祖父母精心培养的宝贝儿——将成为公司经理、律师、公务员等新阶层，人们希望他们能推进21世纪的中国使之成为超越美国的世界最大国家。
How do the ambitions of these teenagers reflect the realities of today and tomorrow’s China? Who among them will be most likely to succeed – the daughter of the Party official or the farmer’s son? Who will be the boss?那么这些青少年的志愿将如何反应在当代和以后的中国社会中呢？他们其中的那些最可能成功呢——是党员的女儿还是农民的儿子？哪一个会成为老板呢？

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China’s Education Syestem

The Chinese government has placed priority on developing education, putting forward the strategy of revitalizing the country through science and education, making constant efforts to deepen the reform of educational system, and implementing the nine-year compulsory education. Governments at all levels are increasing investment in education and encourage people to run education through different channels and in different forms.

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Chinese idioms：名落孙山(Míngluòsūnshān )

Sòngcháo shí yǒu gè míng jiào Sūn Shān de rén, tā shífēn yōumò, érqiě shàncháng jiǎng xiàohuà. Yǒu yí cì, tā hé tóngxiāng de érzǐ yìqǐ qù jīngchéng kǎoshì. Kǎoshì jiéguǒ gōngbù hòu, tāmen qù kànbǎng. Sūn Shān de míngzì zài bǎng shàng zuìhòu yì míng, dàn hái shì kǎo shàng le, ér tóngxiāng de érzǐ méiyǒu kǎo shàng. Sūn Shān huíjiā hòu, tóngxiāng de érzǐ hái méi huílái, tóng xiāng jiù lái xún wèn jiéguǒ, Sūn Shān wěiwǎn de shuō:” jiěmíng jìnchù shì Sūn Shān, xiánláng gèng zài Sūn Shān wài.” Yìsī shì, bǎng shàng zuìhòu yì míng shì Sūn Shān, ér nǐ érzǐ de míngzì hái zài wǒ hòumiàn, tā luòbǎng le.
宋朝时有个名叫孙山的人，他十分幽默，而且擅长讲笑话。有一次，他和同乡的儿子一起去京城考试。考试结果公布后，他们去看榜。孙山的名字在榜上最后一名，但还是考上了，而同乡的儿子没有考上。孙山回家后，同乡的儿子还没回来，同乡就来询问结果，孙山委婉地说：“解名尽处是孙山，贤郎更在孙山外。”意思是，榜上最后一名是孙山，而你儿子的名字还在我后面，他落榜了。There was a man named Sun Shan who lived in the Song Dynasty. He had a great sense of humor, and was very skilled at telling jokes. One time, he went to the capital to take civil examinations with a fellow villager's son. When the results were posted, he went to look at the list. His name Sun Shan was the very last on the list, but at least he passed. Nevertheless, his companion's name was nowhere on the list. After Sun Shan returned home, the son had not returned yet, and his father came to ask about the results. Sun Shan tactfully said:" the last name on the list is Sun Shan, your son's name is still behind Sun Shan." It suggested that your son didn't pass the exam.
Words：
幽默yōumò：humorous (adj.)
擅长shàncháng：be good at (v.)
公布gōngbù： make public (v.)
榜bǎng： published list of names(n.)
询问xúnwèn： inquire (v.)
委婉wěiwǎn： euphemistic (adj.)
落榜luòbǎng： to fail in the exam for a job or school admission(v.)

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OMG! Chinese Buzzwords! (32)

炒冷饭(chǎo lěng fàn)
Rehash, repeat old content, flogging a dead horse

Shanghai locals are mostly rice eaters. So, if there’s any leftover cooked rice, they tend to 炒冷饭, meaning to “stir-fry the cold rice,” usually by adding a spoon of edible oil, a pinch of minced green onion or even an egg. As a result, 炒冷饭 is a common meal among many Shanghainese.

But when the phrase is used figuratively, it means to rehash old materials, repeat old content or reproduce an old idea. It’s like flogging a dead horse or putting old wine in a new bottle in English.

So, this colloquial term has a connotation of cliché, banality, bromide and lack of excitement.
Despite the fact that many Shanghainese do eat 炒冷饭 from time to time, few like it in speeches and writing. Locals also tend to use a vulgar alternative to express their dislike of this type of 炒冷饭: “Why do you always eat today’s fresh rice, but fart yesterday’s gas?”

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