p******o
发帖数: 9007 | 1 Why failing the gaokao was the best thing that ever happened to me
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/07/asia/china-gaokao-shen-lu/
CNN's Shen Lu took the gaokao -- China's fearsome college entrance exam --
in 2009. Here she reflects on the test, her failure and how it changed her
life.
Beijing (CNN)This week, millions of Chinese high school students will take
the two-day college entrance exam, or gaokao.
When I took that grueling test in 2009, I had been told since I was a small
child that it would be the most important task I ever completed.
For generations of Chinese -- and this still holds true for thousands living
in rural China today -- a college education was their one ticket to success
and upward mobility. Failure meant no degree, poor job prospects and a life
full of regret.
So I studied hard, got into key junior and high schools, and hoped to get
into a good university in Beijing. To study what, I didn't know.
Fear of failure
Studying for gaokao was exhausting both mentally and physically. A typical
high school senior's day ran from 7 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Most of my classmates
stayed in school for an extra self-study session that didn't end until 9 p.m
. I was one of the few who chose to study at home at night, mainly to escape
the tension hovering in the air.
Teachers would tell us to focus on nothing but our studies. Parents would do
anything and everything to ensure an optimum learning environment for their
children.
Would you pass the test? Take our quiz
Gaokao: China's toughest exam
Millions of students across China are sitting the "gaokao" this week, which
decides which university they will go to. The famously hard quiz causes huge
amounts of stress and has led to several major cheating scandals, how will
you fare against some of its easier questions?
Start the quiz
Even my mother and father, far less stressed out than most Chinese parents,
would cook me an extra meal every night when I was preparing for the gaokao,
even though I didn't really need it.
At home, I would usually sit at my desk after dinner, trying to make sense
of the mumbo-jumbo, while sneaking peeks at a magazine or book hidden
beneath my work, always wary of a sudden parental inspection. This of course
only stretched my already extended days even longer.
Torn up by the guilt of not studying hard enough and fear of failure, I
developed severe anxiety, having to rely on medication to sleep during my
last year of high school.
When it came to the test itself, I failed spectacularly.
'My life is doomed'
Shen Lu revisits her old high school classroom in 2011, two years after
taking the gaokao.
The day the results were released, I thought I was prepared for bad news.
But when it came, my brain went into shock. I thought my life was doomed. I
was so ashamed I locked myself in my room all day until my worried parents
broke through the door.
I had hoped to go to a university in Beijing to study languages, a hard ask
for a kid from the provinces. Of course that didn't happen.
My parents asked whether I would consider studying another year and sitting
the test again. The thought sent a shiver down my spine. I said no.
Instead, I attended a third tier university in my hometown on Hangzhou. I
majored in editing and publishing. It wasn't bad, but I was unhappy and
unmotivated. During my two years there I never completely understood why I
had to study so much extra nonsense, or why my fellow students were so
obsessed with joining clubs and organizations to get "leadership experience"
(something I later discovered wasn't unique to Chinese universities).
Journey to the West
Chinese student enrollment surges at University of Iowa 05:01
So I dropped out, in what many of my fellow students probably thought was an
insane decision, and transferred to the University of Iowa in the U.S. to
study journalism.
Thinking back, the stress and heartache of the gaokao seems somewhat
insignificant. My life was neither changed or ruined by my "failure."
What truly shaped me were my experiences at Iowa, where I studied journalism
, developed a passion for it and cherished every opportunity I got to
practice.
I'm actually rather grateful I failed the gaokao. Had I gone to a
prestigious Chinese university, I would never have experienced Western
schooling -- a system not without its own flaws -- and I would certainly not
have understood the true meaning of education. |
s*********a
发帖数: 3436 | |
s****6
发帖数: 7614 | |
b**********r
发帖数: 2530 | 4 只要大部分老中在美国还是BOTTOM OF FOOD CHAIN,这骚逼娘们就是WINNER。事实就是
这样UGLY |
p******o
发帖数: 9007 | 5 她“成功”关键还在于她老爸给她掏了两倍于美国学生学费的钱来到了U Iowa! |
Y*T
发帖数: 677 | 6 人家transfer的
比普通小留还省了一半钱，赚了
而且她现在能去CNN已经超过绝大部分文科小留了，逆袭成功
【在 p******o 的大作中提到】
: 她“成功”关键还在于她老爸给她掏了两倍于美国学生学费的钱来到了U Iowa!
|
p******o
发帖数: 9007 | 7 她逆袭需要几个条件，一个是老爹有钱，二是对中国还有满腔仇恨，缺一不可。
【在 Y*T 的大作中提到】
: 人家transfer的
: 比普通小留还省了一半钱，赚了
: 而且她现在能去CNN已经超过绝大部分文科小留了，逆袭成功
|
b*********5
发帖数: 591 | 8 有无耻的想法，并能够用无耻的手段付诸实施，同时蔑视一切别人的鄙视，觉得是一种
非凡的能力 |
F*****y
发帖数: 3877 | 9 成功三要素，坚持，不要脸，坚持不要脸
她那篇文章我看了，前面说她高中多么苦，高考砸了上了个烂校，后面说转学到了ui，
一切豁然开朗了，看起来真是一个完美的出身邪恶国家的姑娘靠着自身努力获得成功的
故事，标题也是高考不上对她多么好。
问题是，她无非就是一个公平竞争环境下的失败者，靠着家里有俩钱，把她送到美国而
已，她应该写一篇文章歌颂她的有钱爹爹，而不是写一篇文章声讨高考宣扬高考无用。
【在 b*********5 的大作中提到】
: 有无耻的想法，并能够用无耻的手段付诸实施，同时蔑视一切别人的鄙视，觉得是一种
: 非凡的能力
|
b********n
发帖数: 38600 | 10 UI的国际写作计划还是很有名的。聂华苓在哪工作到死
【在 p******o 的大作中提到】
: 她“成功”关键还在于她老爸给她掏了两倍于美国学生学费的钱来到了U Iowa!
|
|
|
h****g
发帖数: 11365 | 11 这他妈的就是一个贱皮子外f，靠挖中国负面新闻讨洋主子欢心。
中国负面不是不能说，那是内部说的，成天跟外人说有个屁用。 |
x****o
发帖数: 29677 | 12 在北京，得考得多烂才能去杭州上三本？
另外去了那烂地方，GPA打水，靠着这个转到美国上本科，臭不要脸 |
a******1
发帖数: 1031 | 13
负面新闻对内说了给判个煽动颠覆，得劳驾送饭
【在 h****g 的大作中提到】
: 这他妈的就是一个贱皮子外f，靠挖中国负面新闻讨洋主子欢心。
: 中国负面不是不能说，那是内部说的，成天跟外人说有个屁用。
|
m*****t
发帖数: 16663 | 14 所以高考还是公平的，起码这种人渣不能靠有钱侵占中国的教育资源。
北京还考不上大学的，文化水平估计都不如卖淫女。
这人真是臭不要脸到极致了，卖国求荣，连低调点都不肯，哪个男的将来娶她，得有甘
为人梯的精神准备才行。
华女就不要吹牛皮自己多么是人才了，我自己就是华女，亲身体验，说真的，白人在招
人时对华女是很照顾的，也不知出于啥情结。
【在 x****o 的大作中提到】
: 在北京，得考得多烂才能去杭州上三本？
: 另外去了那烂地方，GPA打水，靠着这个转到美国上本科，臭不要脸
|
S******D
发帖数: 8437 | 15 国男招年轻漂亮国女，也很照顾。
【在 m*****t 的大作中提到】
: 所以高考还是公平的，起码这种人渣不能靠有钱侵占中国的教育资源。
: 北京还考不上大学的，文化水平估计都不如卖淫女。
: 这人真是臭不要脸到极致了，卖国求荣，连低调点都不肯，哪个男的将来娶她，得有甘
: 为人梯的精神准备才行。
: 华女就不要吹牛皮自己多么是人才了，我自己就是华女，亲身体验，说真的，白人在招
: 人时对华女是很照顾的，也不知出于啥情结。
|
C*******f
发帖数: 13152 | 16 能被cnn雇佣的，老远就能闻到自恨外发老将的味。 |
