Chinese University Entrance Exam.

[Pommie]

This is unbelievable, according to the BBC, these are test set by a Chinese University and a UK one. Full Story.

These are the tests!
**broken link removed**

**broken link removed**

Anyone up for the first one?

Mike.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

It's quite probable!.

University entrance in the UK requires a specific number of A-Level passes, at specific grades - the top ones require three A grade passes. However, many sixth form students are encouraged to take easy useless subjects, because a high pass rate with good grades makes the school look good in the stupid 'league tables' started a few years back. This causes most schools to concentrate on climbing up the league tables, and forgetting to turn out kids that know anything.

So the better universities started giving entrance exams in Maths and English, to ensure they meet a minimum required standard.

Bear in mind, this isn't for a maths course, it's just to prove you have at least a modicum of knowledge.

Incidently, my daughter moves to sixth form in September, she's taking:

Maths
Further Maths
Chemistry
Music Technology

So a reasonably decent selection of subjects, with Music Tech more a 'fun' subject for her.

 

[Pommie]

Incidently, my daughter moves to sixth form in September, she's taking:

Maths
Further Maths
Chemistry
Music Technology

So a reasonably decent selection of subjects, with Music Tech more a 'fun' subject for her.

My eldest daughter is currently at Uni doing Maths and Chemistry. She keeps asking me maths stuff and expects me to know it! I can at least help with the programming part of the analytical maths. They use a program called Maple - weired syntax. Be warned, she'll overtake you very soon and will be really shocked when you answer "I don't know".

Mike.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Be warned, she'll overtake you very soon and will be really shocked when you answer "I don't know".

What do you mean 'soon'? - that happened years ago!

 

[Papabravo]

My daughter blew my doors off when she took Gross Anatomy w/lab as part of her program in Sports Medicine as an undergraduate. Nothing surprises me any more.

BTW - Why are the questions in English on the entrance exam for a Chinese University? I guess I wouldn't get in, Mon Dieu!, quelle domage!

 

[Hero999]

At first I didn't believe that the second question is part of a final year exam (we had those sorts of questions back at GCSE level), but going from my experiances of Bedford college I'm not surprised at all.

I am surprised about the dificulty of the Chinese question. I hope it isn't true because if it is China have already overtaken us!

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

At first I didn't believe that the second question is part of a final year exam (we had those sorts of questions back at GCSE level), but going from my experiances of Bedford college I'm not surprised at all.

Notice it was labelled "diagnostic test", not a final year exam, and almost certainly not for anyone on a maths course.

I am surprised about the dificulty of the Chinese question. I hope it isn't true because if it is China have already overtaken us!

Their work ethic is so much better, and they aren't crippled by stupid regulations like the UK.

My wife works as a teaching assistant at our local primary school, actually in reception class (4 and 5 year olds). The lady from our local Chinese takeway registered two girls to start school, except they didn't start, and no one had ever seen her pregnant?.

Eventually, about a year and a bit later, they actually started school - in years 2 and 3 I think? - they weren't her biological children, they were sent over by relatives because the lady couldn't have children. Chinese culture still treats girls as very much second class, and unwanted.

Anyway, they came over from China, didn't speak a word of English, yet within a year even the teachers are asking them how to spell difficult words - now that's what you call impressive!. In just 12 months they have gone from non-English speaking to being towards the top of their classes in most subjects - and are apparently excellently behaved and lovely children.

 

[Papabravo]

One might well ask: "What is the difference between an entrepreneur and a salaryman"? One might further wonder why we should care about the answer. IMHO China will contiue to be a second class economic power as long as the people continue to tolerate an authoritarian political system. Is there any evidence that it will change in our lifetime -- stay tuned.

 

[j.p.bill]

Work ethic? Chinese? Don't think they relate very well.

More like work or starve. The Chinese are the best thieves and rip-off artists in the world. There's already Spiderman 3 DVDs for sale in Beijing. While we were in port in Hong Kong, the crew painting the hull (in return for the ship's garbage) broke into a fan room, stole the Coke and sold it to the ship's crew.

Motivated engineering students? Sure - get grades or do manual labor for the rest of your life.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Motivated engineering students? Sure - get grades or do manual labor for the rest of your life.

That sounds a good incentive to me!

 

[Papabravo]

....
Motivated engineering students? Sure - get grades or do manual labor for the rest of your life.

What's so great about engineering careers? Uncompensated overtime, verbally abusive and incompetent management, reward for doing a good job is that you get to keep it? At least here you always know where the door is and can walk anytime. I certainly wouldn't want to be an engineer on a project with any sort of Party visibility. Can you imagine the consequences of missing a deadline?! Literally!!

 

[3iMaJ]

Its true that China's primary/secondary eduction system far exceeds most, but by the time the first 4 years of college is completed most everyone is on a level playing field once again.

Colleges pick up the slack of a terrible secondary education system. As far as the US goes anyway.

 

[Hank Fletcher]

Competition due to population size is a big factor, as is the already mentioned incentive to dig yourself out of your own perceived hole. China can afford to tell people they're failures, because there will always be menial labour for the oppressed to be subjected to. Engineers in the free world: consider all possible scenarios before you start feeling oppressed. As hard as your job may be, there are plenty of people living (can you call it that?) lives that are pure sh*t, and they deserve better, or even for the conservatives among you, the option to make their lives better, and for the most part they don't have that because their individual needs (not to mention wants) are not their countries' concern.

So they set hard exams that are not designed to instruct, but rather to exclude. They exclude the majority, who can thus be relegated as I've said, and offer the accepted minority a slightly better smelling sh*t. Their options to that are to attempt to escape their own country, travel miles to a land they know nothing about, endure racism in the new country through formal and informal means, and they do it all in the belief that life can be better. It's a compliment to your nation for someone from elsewhere to put themselves through that, so open your minds and hearts. You're making the world better by being accepting, and obviously there are gains to you personally for this if the person you're accepting has commited so much to making life better. Recognize in them fellow brothers and sisters.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Incidently, I saw that exact (and I mean EXACT, the same graphic) same 'supposedly chinese' question somewhere the other day, and it wasn't anything to do with a chinese exam!.

It's also a little suspicious that a chinese exam would be in English - looks like a 'made up' news item to me!.

 

[Papabravo]

...
It's also a little suspicious that a chinese exam would be in English...

Yeah..that's what I asked a month ago and nobody responded. Are we the only ones that noticed?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Yeah..that's what I asked a month ago and nobody responded. Are we the only ones that noticed?

I just wish I could remember where I saw it?, it was only a few days ago - it might have been in one of my daughters maths books?, as she's currently doing her GCSE exams.

 

[psecody]

I don't mind them being in our country, better life, blah blah blah but I have the same belief about all minority groups, let me explain, I live in Texas where as we speak whites are becoming the minority because of all the mexicans...no big deal you might think, I hang out with some they're cool but the problem comes when most of them can't speak english or communicate with anyone but their own racial group. I work in a grocery store, I'm a booth clerk so I have to cash checks for people all day long 85% are mexicans hardly any have any form of ID and can't understand what your saying, today a man tried to get a "mail in cash rebate" cashed... I just stared at him like "you're joking right" but this leads me to my point there are also indian (like from india) and chinese people that come in for some reason or another and no one there can understand what the hell they are saying. If they're going to come to our country they at least need to make an effort to learn our primary language and whats even sadder to me is the ones that actually know some english only use it to insult you or something but then when you try to communicate they act "dumb" and pretend they don't understand you. So I'm pretty much against immigration and all that...sorry I just felt that I needed to let my opinion be known

 

[marplots]

I like Bill Gates' quote: "If you are one in a million in China, there are 1,500 people just like you."

 

[mechie]

We all *love* Bill !

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the
computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up
with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00
cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."


In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release
stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be
driving cars with the following characteristics :-

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash. Twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You
would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off
the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For
some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a manoeuvre such as a left turn would cause your
car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to
reinstall the engine.

5. The oil & the water temperature, and the alternator warning lights
would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation"
warning light.

6. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.

7. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and
refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle,
turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

8. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how
to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the
same manner as the old car.

9. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

10. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable,
five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five
percent of the roads.

 

[Torpedo]

possible that its still an actual question though, but translated. i mean comparing the two would be a little difficult if one was written in a language you cant read.