to education is far from impressive. According

to a UNESCO study, China spends less than 3%

of its GNP on education, compared with 5.4% in

the US and 5.3% in other Western countries and,

of international expenditures on education,

China accounts for little more than 1% of the

world total.

..........................

These students’ ascent to the top began

immediately following elementary school with

high scores on their first scholastic examination.

Such tests dominate much of their scholastic

careers: rigorous standardized exams direct their

passage from one level of schooling to the next.

The best schools, termed “key schools,”

maintain tuition schedules that make enrollment

more expensive for students who perform poorly

on such standardized tests. In one key Beijing

high school, for example, a single point below

the average admission score can cost the

student an additional 10,000 yuan—more than

$1,200. It is more than likely that Tsinghua

students would have achieved extremely high

scores on their first test after elementary school,

and therefore would have enrolled in one of the

few key high schools. In contrast, those students

unable to attend a key school are randomly

assigned to a neighborhood school and enroll

without cost. This could hamper their education,

however, as the resources available at key

schools greatly exceed those at other schools.

While the government has tried to encourage

families to send their children to the schools in

their neighborhoods, the pull towards the few

key high schools is irresistible. These schools

often resemble college campuses, with several

acres of land in downtown settings filled with

dormitories, libraries, and laboratories. Most

importantly, these schools excel at securing

admission for their students at the elite key

universities like Tsinghua. Beijing No. 4 High

School, considered the best secondary school

in China, sends 95% of its graduating class to

key universities every year, with almost half

enrolling at China’s most elite universities,

Tsinghua and Peking.

Conversely, an entire western province may

only send a handful of students to key

universities, with only one or two enrolling at

Tsinghua or Peking. While those exceptional

provincial students are often treated like

celebrities, the vast majority of their classmates

will arrive from cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and

Guangzhou. Most Tsinghua students, in fact,

will have attended schools similar to Beijing No.

4, making full use of programs designed

specifically for success on the Gao Kao.

 

Choosing a Destiny

Recent reforms have allowed students some

degree of choice in the content of their

education. Math, Chinese, and English—

subjects emphasized since elementary school—

are required for all students and will appear as

separate sections on the Gao Kao. At the

beginning of the second of three years in senior

high school, students choose whether to pursue

a liberal arts or a science track. The choice will

dictate the three other subjects tested on the

Gao Kao—either physics, chemistry, and

biology for those electing science, or politics,

history, and geography for those in the liberal

arts track.

While it is up to the student to decide which

course to follow, there is immense pressure to

choose the track that will yield the higher score

on the Gao Kao—not necessarily the track in

which the student’s interests lie. As coursework

in primary and secondary schools emphasizes

the sciences, the only education a student may

receive in the liberal arts, other than language, is

an abridged version of Chinese history. This

familiarity with the sciences, more often than

not, ensures their continued study of science in

preparation for the Gao Kao. Extracurricular

activities, for which a student may be awarded

additional points on the Gao Kao if he

demonstrates exceptional accomplishment, are

also pursued on a basis of talent and not of

interest.

Many students resent being forced into

taking classes they would rather not take. In

speaking about which track she chose to pursue,

one Beijing No. 4 High School student

commented, “I really like history and politics,

and I wanted to choose liberal arts. Instead, I

chose science. Not only does science pay well,

but, also, I do not want to give up studying

math, physics, and chemistry....The choice made

me very sad and ambivalent.”

Students typically choose the major for which

they feel they have the best chance of gaining

admission. The prestige and higher paying jobs

come with the more elite universities; hence,

should a prospective Tsinghua student be

extremely talented in physics, but interested in

other subjects, he will still list physics as a major,

as his best hope is to compete against other

physics majors seeking admission to Tsinghua.

As a sophomore biology major at Peking

University told the Globalist, “Most of the

students here who can do a good job in math,

physics, and chemistry will choose the sciences,

and those who can’t are likely to choose the

liberal arts. We don’t choose one thing because

we like it—of course there are some liberal arts

students who do have an interest in liberal arts,

but they are not very many. We choose it

because we know we can achieve the best score

in the Gao Kao in this way.”

 

 

Pragmatic Education

 

China’s new appetite for business is in the air

at the elite Peking University: their most popular

departments are economics, finance, and

English. Students aspire to jobs in the private

sector, hoping to go into business and become

the executives they see so often making

headlines.

Indeed, for the students at Peking, all of whom

ascended China’s steep meritocracy to their

present success, such fantasies do not seem at

all too lofty, as they have already accomplished

much—especially those who are majoring in

fields like economics. Given the national

popularity of the subject, the prerequisite Gao

Kao scores are extremely high. Even at an average

university, there is immense competition to

secure a place as an economics or finance major.

Consequently, only the most extraordinary

students—those who scored well on all six

subject areas, including English, and were active

in extracurricular activities—are able to choose

economics or similar majors. When asked why

so many of his classmates were pursuing these

degrees, a Fudan University student explained,

“Economics is practical, and, in these changing

times in China, other majors will not get you a

very good job.”

.................

The Chinese government, while giving free

reign to students’ dreams and ambitions, strives

to ensure that their private success will

contribute to the success of the whole homeland.

At Beijing No. 4 High School, when students

were asked what they hoped to become, the

students’ answers ranged from biotech engineers

to CEOs. Almost every student, however,

concluded his response by saying that they want

“to make China better.” Their answers

demonstrate that their teachers have

encouraged students’ individual aspirations to

include helping China as a whole. For the vast

majority of the country’s students, those dreams

will be forever beyond their reach, but for the

student elite—given the very best China can

offer—such fantastic dreams are certainly

attainable.

.................

 A vast majority of

students may be left behind as China’s few

educational resources fuel those at the top, but,

as the pattern of Chinese economic growth

demonstrates, China would rather accelerate a

select cadre than slowly develop the entire

country. Those who make up the upper echelons,

however, are hardly few. Tsinghua and Peking

Universities claim a total enrollment of 27,000

and 46,000 students, respectively. China already

graduates more undergraduate engineering

majors than any other country in the world, and,

by 2010, according to the National Bureau of

Economic Research, China will also lead in

graduating science doctorates. The Chinese

system ensures that these students, scientists,

and engineers will not just be the few lucky ones

who receive an education; rather, they will be

those who are most able to create anew century

for all of China’s 1.3 billion citizens.

AFP/STR

 

(转蛋蛋)这家伙总让我因为英语而感到自卑……我们一起犯的低级语法错误总是让苏老师无可奈何……

                              一  思维极具跳跃性型
1  我们以前学的“just now”都是——我让你记笔记！记笔记！（突然对某同学）

2  （中午吃饭时）这可都快期末了，咱可得紧张起来，别还整天疯疯癫癫的！——哎，这白菜挺
好吃的，你们都给它吃喽！（看着某茫然中的同学的饭盒道）

                            二  晕头转向不走脑子型
1  （徐猫和支小可站在操场边值周，苏上班经过）
苏——你们俩干吗呢？
他俩——我们俩值周呢。
苏——你们俩干吗呢？？？
他俩——我们俩值周呢！
苏——我知道，你们俩干吗呢？！…………噢！（转身离去）

2  看今天发的报纸最后一版“点点拨拨实战过关”！（报纸上：“要点点拨实战过关”）

3 苏——Class over!
王晨健——Good-bye teacher!
苏——Good-bye teacher.

4  Close your books. Turn to page 126.

5  （举着评价手册）目标测试做了吗？啊？

                         三  出人意料吓人一跳型
1  苏——你们知道香港人管狗叫什么吗？（神秘地……）
   我们——……？
   苏——狗狗！

2  苏——放学都早点回家，都别在学校逗留。咱们三点多就放学，那天都五点了我还看见有俩学
生在好邻居门口转悠呢！
   我们——哇！哪个班的啊？
   苏——不是咱们学校的！

3  （世界杯中国队VS哥斯达黎加，苏在阳台上看书。开战后20分钟，苏走进教室）
    苏——咱们进了吗？
   我们——没有呢。
   苏 ——哎呦我的吗呀 ！
   （教室后面认真的看了约10分钟后）
   苏——哪个是中国队？

4  （家长会上）那个，费翔啊，费翔不错……塌实，认真，成绩啊，比较平稳，心态也好。啊，
费翔不错。啊，那个那个龚翔！是龚翔！

                             四  说都不会话了型
1  行为文明要举止

2  （读单词，读到“rub”，大家同时大笑：“RUA呗”）
   苏：什么叫rub，看我，——这就叫rub！（拿起板擦和抹布互相摩擦着）

3  （在讲台上捡到一支钢笔）这是谁的钢谁的笔？

4   一会儿啊，大家都去上操，某某某留在班里作值日，因为她——没——穿——裤子！！！

                                五  前后矛盾型
1   咱们班已经评上区级优秀班级体了，马上要申报市极。我看啊，咱们班的素质，——绝对没
问题！哎，高中我不敢说，可这初中啊，我敢说咱们班的素质绝对是年级最好的！！！可是啊，我
现在发现老有人不交作业！

2   邱尚文，去把我办公室桌上的小挂历拿来！就是那个大的写字的！

                             六  长篇不容你喘气型
1  咱们班啊，上周因为有人没穿校服扣了4分！也就是说，有两个没穿的。我那天问值周生了，
没穿裤子扣不扣分，他明确地告诉我：扣！所以啊，你们以后记着，别光穿上衣，一定得穿裤子！
以后上操的时候你们两个班长就专门查谁没穿裤子——彭靖雯，你就专门盯着女生没穿裤子的，李
彬彬，你就专门盯着男生没穿裤子的！咱们给市里写的报告，只写了优点还没写缺点呢！咱们可得
实事求是啊，评这优秀班级体，咱们啊，行就行，不行就行！——不行就不行！

2  ……（不好意思，这种经典的本来就少，何况我的记性……我实在想不起来了~~~~~~~~~~）

                                七  匪夷所思型

1  你们呀，可千万别瞎折腾，容易出事儿！我告诉你们，我呀，有一亲戚，特远的亲戚，远的都
快没关系了！他们家有俩孩子，哥哥跟弟弟打架，把姐姐眼睛给戳了！

2  苏——杨毓文！读黑板上的单词！
   杨毓文——苏老师，是那个横着的吗？
   苏——对，就是那个竖着的！

3  爱屋及鸟

4  这目标测试你们可得好好做啊，区里的题好多都从这上出！我可完全信任你们，没让你们撕答
案啊，我告诉你们，别的班都把这练习给撕了！

5  好了，我就不多说了！……我重（chong）说！

 

                                     后记
   很早以前就想要弄一个“苏子语录”了，毕竟众所周知，她的话语实在是太有意思了，真的一点都不逊于韩乔生。我不很喜欢英语课，但也并不讨厌，因为每节英语课苏老师都会在教英语语法的同时提供给我们一些汉语的低级语法错误作为一天的笑料。印象中好象有很多非常经典的，可是我的脑袋都快想炸了，也竟只想起这么几个，恐怕有很多一辈子都难得遇到的关于苏老师笑料已经被我遗忘了吧！！！实在是非常可惜~~~~一定还有很多的，欢迎同志们在回复里补充！！！听说苏子下学期不当我们的班主任了，感到极为惋惜。的确，苏子的话有时会很过激，但我想这完全可以谅解。记得期末听李璐的作文，说苏老师“刀子嘴，豆腐心”，听了查点没流下泪来。真的十分怀念那段每天中午一边吃饭，一边听苏老师唠叨班里的、年级里的、报纸上的事的日子。毫不夸张的说，那样的中午是我一天中最快乐的时候。记得那时，苏常会出现一些非常莫名其妙的口误，惹来同学们的大笑，这时她便会把眼珠往右上方一翻，非常有趣的样子。我不知道一个月后，大家是正在疯狂地爱着我们的新班主任并不时把他与苏老师对比，还是在感叹“失去了才懂得珍惜”，总之我要对苏老师不再做我们的班主任表示十分的惋惜——我们将失去一位充满争议的，但又十分值得我们尊敬的伟大的班主任；我们恐怕也很少再有机会把新的经典话语收进我们的《苏子语录》了。

（转落雪） 你们被包围了！ （说一部关灯特别早 有些好学的同学就躲厕所里看书 后来张无忌用真气捕捉到厕所里有人 野兽般的直觉告诉她里面的人一定在看书 于是她在厕所外面绕来绕去绕来绕去 里面的同学就是不出来 死一般的寂静 对峙 现场紧张的气氛逼得内力不够的苍蝇蚊子纷纷逃逸 终于无忌开口了：“里面的人 你们已经被包围了！”……(Cos注)）

我觉得考试是特能净化人心灵的一件事儿。比如说我这两天就给净化了。 我是心无杂念心无旁骛心如止水再加上心如死灰啊。   昨天放了学我就垮了因为我知道我们就一科了，那心，浮的啊。然后我就听见有人问安胖胖： ——安老师，告我们吧地理考什么啊？ ——就是中国地理！ ——那考什么题啊？ ——选择题和综合题！ ——选择题答案是什么啊？ ——ABCD都有。 ——那综合题呢？ ——都是中国字…… 紧接着刘T问他题难吗？ ——难！不难哪成啊。 刘T于是嚎叫道：啊！！！我要死给你看！ 安胖听了很欠地摆摆手说：我不看……   今天上午就考完了，我们就开始犯欠，故意跑到理科班门口举着个水灵灵的大橘子一边吃一边嘻刷刷嘻刷刷地唱：考、完啦考完啦，考、完啦考完啦！啊啊！结果被理科班给掐着脖子扔出来了。 后来我才知道我们那根本就不算什么欠。就在我们堆在门口兴致勃勃地商量去哪儿玩儿去的时候，安胖幽幽地踱了过来，怀里抱着一堆白花花的纸，满脸笑容地说：机读卡的分都判出来了，看么？我们嚎叫着把他轰走了。   复习的过程中劳动人民的创造力被发挥到了极致。 The first beautiful little black Chinese wooden bridge被广为传唱。班里不时发出类似于飙高音的声音。那是我们在学习英语。 背政治本来是很无奈的事情。邓小平理论的主题“什么是社会主义怎样建设社会主义”等等等等一大堆，被简化成了“what社，how to设”。 多党合作制：我执政，你参与，很亲密。 最强的是民族区域自治：我统一你自治，我方针你特色，我繁荣你繁荣，我爱你你爱我。   语文——石灯灯坚持认为“让苹果闻到香气”里面“苹果”的位置一定要替换成一个水果。于是她写了“让橘子触摸温柔”。 数学——监考老师很奇怪为什么大家都在把卷子对折对折再对折…… 政治——剥削资本主义的社会主义败类。我们社会主义不养猪。 地理——第一道综合题让我怀疑我们在考文理大综合。你知道带小数点儿的连乘是不在我的计算能力范围之内的。 英语——你们太狠心了怎么能让所有的人都掉进冰窟窿里呢。   那天我看见李贺写的一句诗“十二门前融冷光”。我想了想我们班门前是挺融冷光的。 昨天下午dage和牛哞哞在楼道窗户那儿聊，说现在12班人都一个模样，快分不出来谁是谁了。 说着，向北跟Doro就出来了，俩人都小头发帘儿耷拉着小步伐蹒跚着小脸儿郁闷着一副我不想活了的表情走过dage和牛哞哞面前。 牛哞哞就说，比如说你看这俩…… 话音刚落，cos就出来了，小单眼皮儿耷拉着小步伐蹒跚着小脸儿郁闷着一副我不想活了的表情走过dage和牛哞哞面前。 牛哞哞又说，比如说你再看这个…… 紧接着我就出来了，小脑袋耷拉着小步伐蹒跚着小脸儿郁闷着一副我不想活了的表情走过dage和牛哞哞面前。 那俩人笑得都不能忍了。   下午我们就很闲地游荡。先去好伦哥暴殄天物，然后一堆人就浩浩荡荡地奔了北海。 泛舟于北海之上，三个船并在一起，称为三江并流。 在湖中心撕心裂肺地大喊：李志强——   在九龙壁的附近看见一个柱子，上面有一条大裂纹。 有一人说：啊，酸雨的危害！ 另一人说：不是吧，那是地震造成的。 又一人说：滑坡泥石流。 又一人说：水土流失。 最后，在一阵短暂的沉默后，我们就如梦初醒地走了。   现在的树是最好看的了，黄的和红的，都特别漂亮。 黄的银杏，橙色的枫树，和红色的不知道什么树。 唉，又伤感了。一看见美好的事物就伤感，这是一种病态…… 我知道贪得无厌的人才会喜欢七这个数字。比如我和Doro。我最喜欢的数字一直是七和十四。 我们七个人，在北海看见了传说中的七叶树。它叶子的形状极好看，没有一种其他的树可以有这样漂亮的叶子，包括五角星形的枫树。我向着天空照了它的照片。 我曾经在主页上放过一个黑色的图片，全是树叶和句子的。那就是七叶树。尽管直到今天我才知道它的名字。   我走在最后的时候我就想，今天我们七个人像什么？七星瓢虫？七子之歌？还是北斗七星？最后我终于想到了金刚葫芦娃…… 我告诉你一个秘密咱们龙哥他不叫赵晓龙他叫赵小双啊！体操健将平衡木王子……我们在那儿走草坪旁边的窄条儿，看谁走得稳，龙哥就一边走一边说：你看我，走了这么多年，就是不掉……我不仅会走，还能跑（开始跑）……我还会大跳……（大跳了一下）……我们看见那娴熟矫健优美的动作都纷纷钦佩的不能忍了。你想象一下，龙哥啊…… 北海是有很多猫的。由于我们沿袭了在四中的习惯，看见猫就叫张世杰，现在师父已经提出要求，说以后咱们叫他的时候，必须要叫张世杰括号人。   他们是一个巨大的温暖气场，那是安全感。 我已经离不开了。