Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
On the sixth of June, the Senior High School Entrance Exam was about to take place. It was a selection process for junior high schoolers who were about to enter their senior year, and it was an exam that happened only once a year. It was an extremely important day for the parents of students in their final grade of junior high school.
The Senior High School Entrance Exam was finally here. However, the exam this year was somewhat different from the exams of past years. The entrance exam this year had attracted much more attention. Today, in the country, there would be about 100 million netizens with a definite scientific knowledge closely watching the official live streaming platform, focusing on each and every update that came with the latest feed.
Today was also a grand gathering for scientists all over the nation. All scientists squeezed out whatever little bit of time they could and put aside their work temporarily. They were filled with anticipation as they focused on one thing: the Little Star learning machine’s participation in the entrance exam.
At 9 am sharp, the first exam, Language, began.
…
At the third entrance exam venue in Shang Hai City, there was a door that was tightly locked. Liu Xinyu gripped the automatic rifle in his hands as he scanned his surroundings, on high alert. He was a member of the Armed Special Police Force. He was 28 and had been in the force for eight years. He had participated in six escort missions for the safe delivery of the entrance exam papers. It had been a success every time.
However, his current mission was somewhat different. Just before the start of the exam, he and his comrades carried a heavy strongbox into this special classroom. Thereafter, they immediately left and locked the door. A special anti-cheating interference vehicle was parked beside the classroom, and its interference function was turned up to the highest level.
The bell rang at 11:30 am, signaling the end of the first language exam session. The vast number of third grade junior high schoolers had finished their exam and were exiting the exam venue in droves. The interference vehicle stopped its work.
The team leader of the special police force in charge of carrying out this mission took out his key and unlocked the door to the classroom. He said to the two technicians from Xing Hai Technologies who were waiting at the door, “Quickly take that thing in for the exam. You are given a total of 10 minutes. You have to hand in the answers at 11:40am!”
The time given was extremely tight. It took the special force’s team leader one minute to open the classroom door, another minute to open the safe box. Tearing open the seal strip and taking out the exam papers required at least another minute. They were delayed for a total of three minutes. Therefore, they realistically only had seven minutes to complete the exam. However, the two technicians from Xing Hai Technologies were not even feeling a bit of panic. After taking out Little Star, they quickly scanned the papers. They finished the exam in less than five minutes and submitted the answers. Then, they left the venue. The exam inspector took away the learning machine.
Another 20 minutes passed. The answer sheet completed by Little Star was published on the live streaming platform. The teacher in charge of marking the exam immediately calculated the results on the spot. Soon, the exam results of the Little Star learning machine was ready. Out of a total of 120 points, it only got 65 points.
As for the language test from the other twenty-seven provinces, the results of Little Star was ordinary. Out of 120 points, its highest score was 72 points and its lowest score was 58 points.
Netizens expressed their disappointment.
“Isn’t it extremely intelligent? It can’t even achieve a passing grade.”
“And they call this a learning machine? They sang its praises to high heavens. It can’t even pass and they dare to shamelessly boast about transforming Z country’s education structure?”
“Please get the situation right before ranting. Little Star got a low score for Language because it didn’t write the essay, which comprises 40 points! As for the remaining questions, some questions that test reading and comprehension skills require Little Star to elaborate on its thoughts and write down its feelings and opinions about the text… Sorry, these are purely subjective questions. Humans may not even excel in these questions, much less Little Star. If it gets about half of the points, it means that it got all the foundational questions right!”
“Speaking of the thoughts in my mind, I’m reminded of ‘a tree beside Luxun’s door.’ It’s just a few damn words, yet someone could write thousands of words in appreciation. It’s even clear and logical from beginning to end. Everyone had to admit defeat. But, I just want to say f**k you to the person who came up with this type of question. They have s**t in their brains. It’s completely normal that Little Star is unable to answer this question.”
An overwhelming majority of netizens expressed understanding and generosity towards Little Star’s lousy start in the Language exam. The results of Little Star in the arithmetic exam in the afternoon amazed everyone.
A perfect score. 28 perfect scores. No matter how difficult the toughest questions were in some of the provinces’ papers, the Little Star learning machine could provide the correct answer within 30 seconds. Its rate of accuracy was 100%. Netizens expressed their awe.
“I really want to see the expressions on the teachers who came up with those math questions. Are they very disappointed?”
“As someone who’s terrible at math, I really want to have a Little Star learning machine now.”
“The Little Star learning machine is so terrifying!”
“I finally understand the significance behind this learning machine. It can put an end to all arithmetic exams because it has fully conquered the subject. With the possession of a Little Star learning machine, you will become the king of all arithmetic exams.”
The next part of the entrance exam continued on the seventh of June. Chemistry and physics exams were held in the morning. They had a total of 200 combined points. After this exam session, it was revealed that Little Star, again, got perfect scores for all twenty-eight test papers! The responses from netizens became even more enthusiastic, and the scientists’ excitement was through the roof.
Little Star’s results for the English exam on the afternoon of the seventh was similar to that of the Language exam. It did not do very well. Especially when it came to listening and reading comprehension, it frequently could not follow the turns in conversations and was unable to understand deeper meanings. Its behavior was like someone who was intellectually disabled… meaning that its intelligence was still not up to par.
For the English exam papers, it only got an average of 67 points out of 100. However, there was a question on grammar in the English paper from Shanxi province that caused a debate between many English experts. They felt that the standard answer provided might not be the only one. Under certain circumstances, the answers provided by Little Star were correct too. There was an inherent problem with the question.
After discussions with many parties, the Department of Education made a final decision. The question had more than one answer, so Little Star was correct too. Many exam-takers from Shanxi rejoiced.
“The answer I chose was the same as Little Star’s! I also feel that it’s the right answer.”
“Thank you Little Star for getting this one point back for me. Although it’s only one point, it means that I’ve moved up at least a hundred ranks.”
“Yeah, if not for Little Star, I would have lost this point! Who knows, I could have missed going to a top senior high school without this point.”
On the eighth of June, the last day of the entrance exam, not only did Little Star achieve perfect scores for the last exams of Biology and Geography, it even discovered a mistake in one of the papers. There was a question in the biology paper from Fuchi Province that was worth three points. The standard answer provided was actually wrong.
The Little Star learning machine realized this mistake and gave the correct answer. Countless biology teachers also agreed that the standard answer for that question was wrong. The teacher who set that particular question from the Fuchi Province received a harsh reprimand.
“What happened? You can’t even do a question that you yourself have set?”
“It’s three points. You’ve nearly deducted these points from tens of thousands of students and impacted their rankings!”
“Can you be more attentive when you’re making the questions? Can you hire some biology teachers who are more professional?”
Finally, the national senior high school entrance exam across the provinces had officially ended. It was not necessary to talk about the results of Little Star again. Countless people had paid a high level of attention to its exam results. In any case, it could get into a top senior high school at the very least.
Its prowess was especially apparent when solving a problem that had answers that were clearly divergent or when it noticed some very obvious errors in the questions. Nobody would doubt its ability again! Some of the answers provided by the Little Star learning machine were even called “the most authoritative” or “the most fitting.” It was more reliable than the teachers who set the questions! At this point, the already wildly popular Little Star learning machine had become a worldwide phenomenon!
Not only was it a national sensation, but it was also a global sensation!