Chapter 53 Is This Really a National College Entrance Examination Question?

Looking at the hurrying students outside the car window, Yang Xingwu felt a momentary sense of unreality.

The original host had spent ten years walking the path of this examination, only for it to prematurely collapse halfway. By inheriting the original host's unfulfilled ambition, Yang Xingwu could also be considered to have fulfilled his own elite university dream!

Strictly speaking, this was his second time taking the college entrance examination. They say the first time is daunting, but the second time brings familiarity.

Last night in the dormitory, he had suffered from mild insomnia again. Although he had started adapting to the rhythm of the college entrance examination more than ten days in advance, when the eve of the exam truly arrived, how many people could remain completely calm?

Ten years of studying in solitary hardship, aiming for success in a single stroke!

No one could simply brush this off lightly!

After the bus had run for about ten minutes, the conductor shouted loudly:

"Fourth High School has arrived! Students taking the exam, make sure you don't forget to get off!"

With that, she walked from the front of the bus to the back, asking every passenger to ensure no one was missed, before finally signaling the driver to move on.

These few days were her rare moments of patience.

Yang Xingwu got off the bus, took out his pocket watch, and checked the time: 6:50 AM. There was still more than an hour before the exam, yet there were already quite a few examinees at the school.

Today was Saturday, and some parents were accompanying their children to the exam, though the proportion was relatively small. After cheering their children on, they still had to rush off to work!

Yang Xingwu checked his admission ticket and stationery once more. Confirming there were no omissions, he stepped into the campus and circled the school playground twice to soothe his nervous tension.

Whether it was the college entrance examination or any other important test, the hardest part was not the exam itself, but the anxiety and internal torment while waiting for it to begin!

By around 7:20 AM, Yang Xingwu went to the restroom to take care of his personal needs, and only then headed to the examination room.

Examinees were allowed to enter the examination room half an hour early. The teachers would inspect the stationery in advance to prevent any prohibited materials from being smuggled in, and would also conduct a brief body search.

Upon entering the room, Yang Xingwu placed his admission ticket on the upper right corner of the desk and pressed his pocket watch on top of it to prevent the ticket from being blown away by the breeze. Having done all this, he sat quietly at his desk, waiting for the exam with peace of mind.

At 7:50 AM, all the examinees in the room had arrived.

Two proctors walked up to the podium, picked up the test papers, and began showing the sealed condition of the papers to the examinees present.

"Students, please take a look..."

Listening to the proctor's words, Yang Xingwu felt as if he were back in the school mock exams!

After the proctors finished speaking and the gathered examinees indicated no objections, they began unsealing the test papers!

When the exam bell rang, the distribution of the test papers finally began.

Once the papers were distributed, the proctors proceeded to explain the precautions.

"Attention all examinees. First, check your test papers for any misprints, missing pages, or unclear text. If you find any, raise your hand to signal!

Additionally, you must write your name and admission ticket number outside the sealing line. If you write them incorrectly, this exam score will be invalidated!"

The two proctors finished speaking and scanned their surroundings. Finding no one raising a hand to signal, they continued:

"Alright, since there are no problems, the exam begins. Pay attention to the time available for your answers. The subject for this exam is Chinese, and the allotted time is two and a half hours!"

As soon as the proctors finished speaking, the examinees began to write down their answers.

Yang Xingwu had just picked up his Chinese test paper, flipped through it to confirm there were no errors or omissions, and was about to start answering when he froze completely upon seeing the first question.

Although he knew the first question of the college entrance exam would primarily be a giveaway question, why on earth was it so simple?

It made him momentarily suspect that the wrong test paper had been handed out.

He immediately raised his hand to signal, and upon seeing this, a proctor hurriedly walked over to his side.

"Examinee, is there a problem?"

"Teacher, I suspect there is a mistake with my test paper. Could you help me check if my questions are the same as the other students'?"

Hearing this, the proctor was utterly bewildered. Looking closely at Yang Xingwu's expression, he didn't seem to be joking.

Only then did the proctor pick up the test paper to look at the questions. Understanding the origin of the matter, he then checked the test papers of several other examinees and found them to be identical. He finally said:

"There is nothing wrong with the test paper. Focus on answering the questions properly!"

Hearing this, although Yang Xingwu remained slightly puzzled, he felt reassured once he had the teacher's confirmation.

The reason he suspected a problem with the questions was simply because the first two questions of the Chinese college entrance exam were far too basic.

He had actually encountered a dictation exercise on the college entrance exam paper—wasn't that the sort of thing tested in primary school?

A standard question asking to look at pinyin and write the characters was actually worth a staggering four points!

No wonder he had lost his composure somewhat. Was he really taking a college entrance exam paper?

How did it give him the strange sensation of being back in primary school writing characters with multiple pronunciations?

It was no wonder his mind had wandered, but now, having received confirmation from the teacher, he began to answer earnestly. Unfolding the test paper, he read:

Focus on grasping systemic reforms well;

Must strictly enforce financial discipline.

After finishing the first two questions, he looked at the third. The third question tested Lu Xun's works, requiring him to place an "X" next to any option that was not written by Lu Xun.

Yang Xingwu picked up his pen and was about to make a sweeping judgment when he realized that all of these seemed to have been written by Lu Xun.

Yang Xingwu realized he had grown careless and re-read the prompt carefully. Only then did he spot the catch: he needed to find the works that were not novels, mark them with an "X," and arrange these published novels in chronological order. The value was only two points.

Seeing this, Yang Xingwu broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, he hadn't relied on blind confidence.

Following nearly two months of review, this question was still not enough to stump him. Having been through this close call, Yang Xingwu became increasingly cautious and meticulous.

The Classical Chinese section tested the multiple meanings of the character "fu" (to carry / to bear / to owe / to turn one's back on), with the source texts being *The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains* and *The Jade Disc of Lord Bian*.

Yang Xingwu progressed very smoothly. The second classical Chinese question was a matching exercise.

The prompt required matching twelve ancient literary figures with their corresponding works.

However, there were traps hidden within, and the slightest carelessness would lead to mistakes.

The question asked to select and match the figures and works belonging specifically to the Tang Dynasty among the twelve famous figures.

The total value was ten points, meaning there were five Tang Dynasty poets in total.

Although the questions at this time were simple, there was a point-deduction penalty mechanism in place.

That is, for every incorrect match, two points would be deducted. In such a scenario, a well-meaning student could end up with a score of zero even if they managed to match everything else correctly.

Having learned his lesson from earlier, Yang Xingwu approached the prompt with even greater caution and quickly completed the matching.

Answering diligently, Yang Xingwu finished the twelve questions and reached the essay prompt. Glancing at the time, he saw there was still an hour and a half remaining, giving him plenty of time to properly outline and structure his essay.

Half an hour after the exam had started, the two proctors began checking the students' admission tickets, and afterwards patrolled back and forth across the classroom, proctoring attentively.

At ten-thirty in the morning, the exam ending bell rang precisely.

The two proctors moved—one toward the podium, the other standing at the back row.

"Alright, time is up. Everyone stand up, please stop writing. Anyone who continues to write will have their paper invalidated!"

As the examinees stood up and the proctors verified that no one was violating the rules, they finally began collecting the test papers!

Once all the papers were collected and double-checked for accuracy, the two of them walked out of the examination room carrying the papers.

After collection, the test papers would be sealed and dispatched to the provincial capital that very day.

Examinees walked out of the examination room in twos and threes.

Yang Xingwu packed up his belongings, stepped out of the classroom, and came to the playground. Looking at the surrounding classmates communicating enthusiastically, he could hear hearty laughter echoing from time to time.

It seemed everyone had done quite well; he only hoped everyone would maintain their stamina for tomorrow!