Chapter 299: Chapter 299: College Entrance Examination
Wednesday, July 7, 1999, Xiaoshe (the beginning of summer).
At 6:00 a.m., Feng Yiping did not get up at the usual time of 6:00 a.m. as usual, but waited until 7:00 a.m. The exam did not start until 9:00 a.m., and if he got up too early and was too excited, he might fall asleep as soon as he entered the exam room.
Huang Jingping had entered Feng Yiping's room twice that morning. Now she was sitting on the sofa, staring out of the window. When she saw him get up, she hurriedly said, 'I'll go draw you a bath,'
'No, brush your teeth first. Have breakfast before you take a bath,'
'You're not even going to wash your face!' Huang Jingping laughed and gave him a reproachful look.
In the morning, it was still noodles and milk from the milk bar. The noodles were abalone and prawns in soup. Feng Yiping had been eating this way for a month or so, and his stomach was used to it.
After breakfast and a shower, it was only 7:40. Feng Yiping had the time to turn on the TV to watch the news. Huang Jingping, as usual, nestled in his arms and chatted casually, 'It's very hot today,'
'Don't worry, I'm not afraid of the heat.'
'Do you feel that today is especially quiet?' Huang Jingping asked him, tilting her head.
It was true, the noise of daily life in the neighbourhood had disappeared. Sitting at home, you could hear the sound of cars passing on the road in front of you, but of course none of them were honking their horns.
In fact, it wasn't just today, the noise had been quieter since the beginning of the week. From dusk onwards, it was even quieter than the nights in Fengjiachong, no, quieter than the nights in Fengjiachong, not even the barking of dogs.
'It's better now!' Feng Yiping said without thinking.
It's true, isn't it? Although the government has not reiterated it on TV and in the newspapers, the taxi drivers have not set up special cars to take students to the exams, and the community has not spontaneously set up special cars to take students to the exams out of love, but everyone has been conscious these past few days, whether or not they have children taking the college entrance exam.
For example, Mei Yiliang gave all the employees in the engineering department three days off, a move that was also approved by the homeowners who were renovating their homes.
In cities along rivers, on such hot summer evenings, after dinner, it is normal for families to go out for a walk to escape the heat and summer. Some squares are very lively in the evenings, but these past two days, everyone has spontaneously been mindful of their words and actions. Dancing has been cancelled for these few days, and they have switched to walking instead, trying not to make too much noise.
Later, those few elderly people whose mental energy was better than their physical strength, during the college entrance examination period, danced in the square with more enthusiasm and passion than usual, as if if they didn't dance for these three days, they would suffer from high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and old cold legs...all these problems would immediately recur.
It doesn't matter if the urban management officers come, or if the police station comes, it is certainly a kind of progress in society: you can't sacrifice my freedom to exercise just because you want to take the college entrance exam. But from another perspective, isn't this also a kind of regression?
The lives of ordinary people nowadays are definitely not comparable to those of twenty years ago, and the overall social morality has also regressed compared to previous years. But compared to twenty years from now, it is much better. The elderly on the road collapsing to the ground will not become news, because it is not a big deal, and a few people who pass by can help.
Later, the better life got, the more laws there were. Everyone followed the law in everything, but some public morals that had been passed down for thousands of years were also swept into the dustbin of history by many people. Just like Feng Yiping, who later watched a few episodes of a talk show on a Hong Kong TV station featuring several people. Feng Yiping was initially interested, but later he could no longer watch it.
After all, morality is a higher level of existence than the law. And the legal system they boast about all day long cannot solve the social chaos they face.
At 7:50, Feng Yiping and Huang Jingping went downstairs. Feng Yiping was carrying a small bag in his hand, with stationery and documents inside. The car from the metal products factory was waiting downstairs. When they saw the two of them coming down the stairs, the driver got off the car, and Ding Qiang came out from there as well. Feng Yiping felt a little embarrassed, 'Why did you come too? You should have called me, so we could have come down earlier!'
'We just got here a while ago. Let's go. We just went for a walk around the school, and the traffic is still pretty smooth.'
Not only had he not called today, but the phone at home and his mobile had not rung since yesterday. Last weekend, everyone, including Zhang Yan, had called or sent a text message to express their greetings and best wishes. After that, the day before yesterday, Feng Zhenchang and Mei Qiuping had called him in the evening and just told him to eat well and drink well for the next two days.
They were sitting in the back seat, fastening their seat belts, when the driver, smiling, said as he drove, 'I'm not used to the quiet these past two days, from morning till night.'
Isn't it so? Those who like the hustle and bustle really can't get used to it these past two days.
Unlike every September when the semester starts and the area around Zhongshan Road is jam-packed with all kinds of cars, today the area is very smooth and unblocked. There are traffic police and police officers on duty at the intersections, advising unrelated vehicles to detour. Feng Yiping and the others were actually able to drive smoothly to the traffic restriction line near the school. In the front section, only ambulances and police cars are inside.
'You go back too, don't worry,' Feng Yiping said to Huang Jingping. Although he had repeatedly told his family and the provincial capital not to come today, who knew if they would sneak over and secretly keep an eye on things? There weren't many days left before going to university, and it would be better not to cause such a melodramatic situation.
Even if the family does come, as long as they don't take the initiative to come forward, Feng Yiping won't be able to find them today. There are too many parents on both sides of the road, coming to see their children off for the exam. It's okay for parents from this school, but those from other schools and other places have had an even harder time than their children these past two days.
Not only were parents coming, Feng Yiping saw that in some families there were four or five elderly people surrounding a child. Of course, most of them were just smiling and chatting as usual, but only a few parents were like coaches sending athletes to the playing field, whispering in their children's ears. Feng Yiping wanted to go up and persuade them that at this time, anything that makes the examinees nervous is not advisable.
When he entered the school, he habitually glanced over the heads of the crowd and took in the convenience store across the street. In front of the two large barrels of free tea at the entrance, some parents were waiting in line to refill their water bottles. It looked like business was good today, as there were a lot of people inside.
Cai Hong, who was standing near the entrance, immediately hugged Hui Hui and ducked inside. 'It's okay, he can't see in here,' Feng Yuxuan and Mei Yiliang were actually looking over with binoculars.
Soon after Feng Yiping entered the school, there was a commotion near the entrance. A father was running towards the ambulance with a girl in his arms, shouting, 'Doctor, doctor!'
Immediately, a group of parents gathered around, concerned, asking, "Is she okay?'
It was nothing serious. This was the first girl to faint from stress.
Feng Yuxuan, watching from across the street, was still shaken, and sighed, "It really wasn't easy!'
The candidates entered the examination hall half an hour early. After the invigilator at the door had checked their admission tickets and the stationery they were carrying, they sat down according to the seat numbers on their admission tickets. Everyone was very quiet. A few students who were obviously from other schools looked around excitedly.
Feng Yiping's seat was better than it had been for the middle school entrance exam. It wasn't under the watchful eye of the invigilator at the front, and it was in the third row, near the window, so it was a good spot.
Feng Yiping was very relaxed. The college entrance exam was important, but in the course of his life over the next 30 years, he would experience times when it was even more important than the college entrance exam. He had experienced more than a hundred exams, and naturally knew that the more important the moment, the more one must calm one's mind.
So he looked out of the window, and quietly took a deep breath.
Five minutes before the exam, the Chinese language paper was distributed. Feng Yiping didn't skim through it like many of his classmates, but started with the first question and worked his way through the paper in silence. In the five minutes, he did five multiple-choice questions. He didn't find them too difficult, but the sixth question was a bit more troublesome. It was about choosing and connecting six sentences, and he was still thinking about it when the time was up.
He was just a little stuck on the sixth question, but he did the first ten multiple-choice questions in the first part very quickly.
The second part was a reading comprehension question in classical Chinese, which was also one of his strengths. There were six questions, but they didn't take him long.
The third part was also reading, a reading of scientific and technical texts, with a total of four questions. Feng Yiping felt that it mainly tested the ability to summarise and analyse the main points in the text and understand important phrases in the text. For someone like him who has been in the business world for more than ten years, good at listening and hearing, and hearing from a lot of nonsense from other people that the biggest problem with this single business deal is not the price, but that he wants an iPhone and iPad, how can a short essay of a few hundred words written on paper be difficult for him?
The fourth part was actually reading. It seems that this year's college entrance examination focuses on the assessment of abilities, and the content of knowledge has been reduced. Unfortunately, I have memorised so much.
The fifth part has only three questions, which mainly test the ability to express oneself. Feng Yiping's on-the-spot expression may not be outstanding, but his written reasoning really did not stump him.
For example, the second question was to write a news article of no more than 22 words based on a press conference by the Ministry of Information Industry about a price adjustment.
After this question, there was only one final composition left. Feng Yiping once again lamented the fact that he had memorised so much. He discovered that in this year's Chinese language exam, as long as you had good comprehensive skills, you could get a good result even if you had never read a single Chinese textbook in high school.
However, he was quite happy with the composition, because there was only one question, and there were no restrictions on the style (except for poetry), although the composition was based on a somewhat brain-burning topic such as 'if memory could be transplanted'.
Feng Yiping looked at the time and saw that it was just ten o'clock, so he decided to think about what style would be good.
In fact, for someone who has read a lot of online literature, there are many options. For example, you could write about science fiction, which would give you too much scope to express yourself. Imagine if you mastered this unique technology and then opened a hospital specialising in this, what a wonderful money-spinner it would be.
You could also write about supernatural powers. By chance, you could transplant the memories of all kinds of people. Would studying and exams be a problem?
Of course, you can also write an argumentative essay from a worried perspective, but it's not easy to make an argumentative essay stand out, and it's not very pleasing either.
...
There are so many options that Feng Yiping is hesitant, but he doesn't hesitate for long. For any exam like this, if you want to know what to do to get a high score without causing controversy, the predecessors have already set a good example for him. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
For example, during the imperial examinations in the feudal era, scholars would study the habits of the chief examiner, inquire about his preferences, and also pay attention to the intentions of the supreme ruler, the emperor, and then write a comprehensive essay.
No matter when, in order for an essay to be recognised and not be picked apart, political correctness is always the prerequisite. Even in the United States, where business is most developed, the Oscar awards in the most imaginative film industry actually also pay attention to political correctness?
The exam is not about becoming famous, it's about getting a high score. Let's leave the controversial science fiction genre aside. Feng Yiping chose the prose he was good at, starting with life, and writing about history and reality and the future, human emotions and technological development, etc., fusing thought, history and poetry into one. As a result, he wrote a lot, nearly 1,200 words.
This is not a big problem. He refined it on the draft paper. It took him a long time to write that novel before, but the benefits are also great. For example, now, the paragraphs of text he has left behind are beautiful and concise, with a plain and calm style that is also self-possessed. He feels that this should be a masterpiece that will not cause controversy!
The previous invigilator looked at the smile on his face and was a little surprised. This poor boy, is everything okay?
Of course everything is fine. I don't think the teachers could have imagined that a candidate would be so narcissistic at a time like this!
After neatly copying out the composition, there was still a full 40 minutes left. Feng Yiping carefully checked it from beginning to end three times. There were still more than ten minutes left, so he just stared blankly for a while.
As soon as the bell rang, the parents waiting outside became restless. Many of them leaned over the school's wrought iron fence, stretching out their hands towards the children coming out of the examination room. The mothers surrounded them, asking after their well-being, 'Are you tired? Are you thirsty?' Of course, most of them added, 'How did it go?'
As she watched Feng Yiping come out smiling, Feng Yuxuan rubbed her neck and said, "Brother-in-law, I'm going back now, I won't come in the afternoon." She knew that the politics subject in the afternoon would be even less of a problem for her brother.
Once in the car, Huang Jingping asked with concern, 'How did it go?'
'It went pretty well!' Feng Yiping smiled and kissed her on the cheek.