Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The morning’s language exam was largely uneventful, as it was similar to the past years’ format. The essay component, however, at the very end, had undergone a huge transformation. The candidate could choose to answer one of three questions.
Su Zipeng read each question carefully.
“1. Is freedom of choice equivalent to freedom itself?
“2. What is more important: ethics or law?
“3. What is the relationship of the individual to the nation?”
F*ck, those are some sharp questions!
Fortunately, Su Zipeng was not someone who was unaware of external matters. He paid close attention to current social news on a regular basis, thus he wrote an essay on the first topic. He thought he did quite well on it.
The mathematics exam in the afternoon was different from the previous years, to the degree that the exam duration was extended by 20 minutes. The questions in the first half of this exam were not too challenging, as the majority were linked to foundational topics. Several more difficult questions had a high number of points allocated to them, but Su Zipeng was confident of scoring at least 140 points out of a total of 150.
As he confidently approached the last page, though, he was instantly stumped by three additional questions, which were noted on the paper as not counting toward the calculation of the candidate’s final total score.
…
When the exam ended, the candidates submitted their papers and outside of the exam hall began discussing the exam. Su Zipeng walked out of the hall muddle-headed, surrounded by the flurry of voices.
“How could such a question appear?”
“I had no idea how to answer at all.”
“Although they don’t count toward our total score, there must be some sort value assigned to them. We have to provide a good answer regardless.”
…
In the family group chat “A Lovely Family,” Su Yun anxiously posted a message, “Little Peng, has the math exam ended? How do you think you did?”
Su Zipeng posted, “:’-) I don’t know. I don’t think my answers were too good.”
“Ah! Isn’t math your strongest subject? Were the questions especially difficult this year?”
“The questions weren’t that hard overall. I’m confident of getting 140 points or more. It’s the three additional questions at the end that gave me a headache, especially the one asking us to ‘use your own method to prove that 1 + 1 = 2.’ Does that even need to be proven? 1 + 1 = 2 is a universal truth. But they’re asking us to prove this truth? Did the question writer experience some kind of mental lapse?”
Su Yun was shocked. “Prove 1 + 1 = 2? This…”
“This is a question to test how well you can think out of the box. Moreover, it’s not too difficult.”
Chen Jin posted in the group chat, “You don’t have to arrive at the given conclusion via the use of complicated formulae. You can prove the question by providing counterevidence. Let’s hypothesize that 1 + 1 does not equal 2, maybe it equals 1 or 3. What would happen to this world then? If 1 + 1 = 1, the world would shrink at a continuous rate until it finally disappears or becomes an infinitesimal speck. And if 1 + 1 = 3, this world would continue to expand at an accelerated rate until it becomes unimaginably enormous. Therefore, considering the balance of the universe, 1 + 1 can only be equal to 2.”
“If you answered via this logical process, you’ll be able to get a good score for the ‘special points’”.
“Ahhh!”
Su Zipeng slapped his forehead and yelled, “I went about it the wrong way. I used a very complicated formula to prove that 1 + 1 = 2. I don’t think I’ll be getting a high score for this question.”
Chen Jin consoled him. “Don’t panic. The main components of the college entry exam this year still comprise the regular questions. There are only a few questions that require you to think out of the box. Even so, they are very important, so please remember that you must not answer them using typical lines of reasoning. Try your best to think out of the box. The more you go about it in an unexpected way, the better.” He could only provide so many hints.
“Hmm, thanks, brother-in-law!”
Su Zipeng had no idea how his brother-in-law knew so much about those additional questions; however, he was suddenly able to see everything in a much clearer light.
…
In the comprehensive natural sciences exam on the second day, Su Zipeng completed the regular questions before looking at the additional out-of-the-box questions.
“Physics Additional Question 1: Archimedes said, ‘Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.’ You are given a fulcrum, a lever, and a place to stand. How will you move the world?
“Physics Additional Question 2: You are given an object weighing 1 kg. Using your own method, put it in motion until it achieves superluminal speeds.
“Chemistry Additional Question 1: The ability to transform common metals into gold is a technique that alchemists have been in pursuit of for thousands of years. You are given H, O, C, Si, Cu, U, Pb, and other common elements. Create three alchemy formulae to transform these common metals into gold.
“Biology Additional Question 1: Dinosaurs dominated this world long ago, but they were mysteriously eradicated. You are given a laboratory to revive the dinosaurs. What kind of thought processes will you employ?
“Haha!” He laughed with confidence at these questions. Now that he knew how to approach them, they were not difficult at all.
…
After the comprehensive natural sciences exam ended, Su Zipeng walked out of the exam hall feeling clear-headed and refreshed. Many students who had taken the same exam were complaining.
“How can an object achieve superluminal speed? Had the question writer forgotten about the commonsense laws of physics?”
“I couldn’t make heads or tails of this year’s exam.”
“Talk about moving Earth. The reality is this. Even with a strong fulcrum, you won’t be able to move Earth according to the principle of the lever. On the contrary, the crust of Earth will be broken unless the lever is overwhelmingly strong.
Su Zipeng shook his head.
…
In the family group chat, Su Yun asked impatiently, “Little Peng, how did it go? I saw the additional questions, and I couldn’t even begin to answer them. How did you answer those questions?”
“It was simple. Just think about the hypothetical situations as boldly as possible.” He rambled on about his thought processes when he answered the questions, while Su Yun was so stunned she could only read his detailed reply.
Chen Jin asked, “Little Peng, how did you answer the additional question number two on physics? Tell us your answer.” Chen Jin was very curious about the answer to that question.
How did he get the object to achieve a superluminal speed?
“The object should be put into a tunnel of unlimited length. Excluding all other factors, I will accelerate the gravity in the tunnel such that the object will be pushed downward. After about a year, the speed of the object would exceed the speed of light.”
Su Yun widened her eyes. “It can be answered in this way?”
“Of course.”
Chen Jin said, “Even if it’s on a theoretical basis, it will be accepted as long as it can be achieved according to your stated conditions. It probably cannot happen in reality. But first you have to be bold enough to conceive of the idea, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. We should support this type of thinking, even if it may seem laughable. These extraordinary ways of thinking can be very important sometimes.”
“Little Peng, I believe that you will score quite well on that question.”
A total of seven to eight questions to test the candidates’ out-of-the-box thinking had been added to the natural sciences portion in this year’s exam. The scores from these questions would be excluded from their total scores, and the candidates’ rankings would be unaffected. The special values allocated to these questions, however, comprised a total of 100 points.
If the number of top scorers remains in the manageable range, these additional 100 points would only be a point of reference and would not affect students’ entry into the top universities; however, if the number of top scorers exceeded the capacities of the top universities, the importance of the additional questions would be realized.
If a student’s regular scores were high, but his special scores were only average at 30 to 50 points, then that student would only be admitted into a university that was ranked slightly lower.
If a student’s regular and special scores were outstanding, then he would certainly be a talent that various top universities would vie over.
Even if one’s regular score was only average, he could still be admitted as an exception by the top universities if he had an outstanding special score, because of its measure of an extraordinary way of thinking. Therefore, the questions that tested students’ out-of-the-box thinking were extremely important.
But was this too unfair to the top students who could not really think out of the box? After all, not everyone was gifted with such unique creativity, and this was the only viable method!
What this society needs in the future are talented people who can think out of the box and with extremely strong problem-solving skills.
The impact of these additional 100 points outside of the total score was very limited. If a student scored very well on the regular questions, it would not affect his entrance into one of the top universities. The Department of Education employed a special formula in their calculations to maintain a basic sense of fairness. The vast majority of the college entrance exam candidates had also accepted this change.
…
The last exam, the English paper, was finally concluded. Millions of college entry exam candidates walked out of the exam hall with mixed feelings. Su Zipeng had never felt so relaxed before. Everything had ended, and this long race—this intense competition—had finally come to an end.
As for his results, he estimated his various scores and said, “I’m not too certain if I can get into Jing Hua University or the National University, but I should be able to get into Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Fudan University.”
Su Yun said excitedly, “That’s great! Come study in Shang Hai, and you can live in the same city as me!” What a bonus that she could look after her brother if they were in the same city.
“We’ll talk about it after the minimum admittance scores have been announced.”
…
On the other side of the country, Xing Hai Technologies had been intensely preparing for a major product launch event, and the widespread press release was about to begin.