Recently a growing number of foreign universities, such as the University of Cambridge, are accepting China's gaokao results as one of their admission standards. Is the Chinese college entrance exam being recognized globally?Forum readers share their opinions:
Cecilia Zhang（China）
The gaokao is a really tough exam. If possible, it can be used as one of the indicators（指标）for foreign universities, in addition to other indicators, such as how well they speak the target language. The students, who perform well in the gaokao, also have the ability to successfully adapt to Western styles of education. I believe accepting the gaokao as an indicator is a win-win for Chinese students and overseas universities.
Wchao37（US）
In fact, gaokao is perhaps much more difficult than the SAT or ACT exams. You can get a perfect score of 1600 on the SAT but not in the gaokao, partly because the SAT is a machine-scored multiple-choice exam. Do you know anyone that has ever achieved a perfect score in the gaokao?
Harry01(UK)
Hundreds of students from China have entered universities in the UK using their gaokao scores, which requires that their knowledge of English be above a certain level. This measure has benefited specific groups of students from various backgrounds in China.
Mbursian (Canada)
In order to attend a university in an English-speaking country, a student needs to have an acceptable band score on the IELTS. Most importantly, students need an acceptable knowledge of the language spoken in any country they plan to study in. Now the Chinese gaokao is closer to meeting the requirements of different countries.
New arrivals to China often get the impression that Chinese people spend all of their time working. Yet, people in China devote quite a bit of time to leisure（休闲）.
Surprisingly, the Chinese love to relax. They love to spend their time taking care of flowers, raising birds and other pets. Chinese people are also fond of leisurely games, like the Chinese game Mahjong. The Chinese also love to play cards to pass the time. It is a national sport almost as widespread as petanque in France.
The Chinese have many ways to idle（休闲）, including gossiping or chitchat, which is seen as a true art. Taking a walk and doing some light reading are also considered as idleness. If a person does all of these things, they are definitely an idler.
Busy people should also have free time. When at work, Chinese people often say that they need to "steal some time" from work.
Taoism（道教）teaches that people should improve moral character through relaxation, and be happy to lead a simple and honest life. This is why Chinese people believe so strongly in enjoying a carefree and relaxed life.
Poet Tao Yuanming set up a way of life that emphasizes a balanced country life. In a sense, his way is both earthy and spiritual. It has given us a way to be relaxed and well, while being balanced and carefree.
In China, having a life that is too full is not a sign of wisdom. It is only when things are empty that they can be filled. Hopefully, this information will remind people to rest a little and make room for free time in a busy life.
A facial recognition app, recently developed by scientists, will make it easier to identify（辨认）pandas.
Wan Yongqing, a Beijing photographer, visits Sichuan Province to take photos of pandas every other year. He has watched them for more than a decade. "My friends say I'm a big panda fan. It is a shame that I find all pandas look the same, with black eyes and white fur. It does not matter as all the pandas are cute to me, "he said.
Yet, identifying one panda from another does matter to researchers, according to Zhang Zhihe, chief of the Chengdu panda research base.
"Identifying individual pandas is important for conservation（保护） management and research. For captive（圈养的） pandas, it is important for their daily feeding schedules, family background and data management. For wild pandas, it helps researchers study their population structure and provides scientific support for their protection and management, "he said.
China has carried out four scientific surveys on wild pandas, and now has a big databank about them. The number of wild pandas in China is mostly known. However, it is still difficult to determine the age, sex, health and other specific information about the population.
"It's difficult track and watch the structure because wild pandas tend to live alone, deep in the mountains, and their living environment is vast," Zhang added.
In 2017, the Chengdu base began researching individual panda identification technology by analyzing images. Over the past two years, they have built a databank of more than 120,000 images, over 10,00 video clips, and completed organizing nearly 10,000 images.
Using the databank, researchers have started a facial recognition app that can accurately recognize captive pandas by analyzing and comparing the unique features of panda faces.
Panda researchers hope the data and AI technology will help them analyze data for both captive and wild pandas.
A month before the High School Entrance Exams, Susan was making a plan. It had always been her 1 to get her friends together for a graduation 2 to celebrate the end of this important stage. With some close friends' support, she began to 3 prepare for the journey; otherwise the teachers would say 4 to the idea.
Since she had to do some small surveys to 5 opinions about the details, their secret was eventually discovered. She was blamed for wasting time on things not related to the 6 and distracting（分心）her classmates from their study, but her 7 plans, sincere motivation（动机）, and serious promise to study hard 8 the teachers.
Susan then divided her classmates into several groups and chose captains to help solve problems. Meanwhile she still 9 her studies, taking every chance to memorize one more vocabulary word, because she knew she had to 10 her time well in order to both complete the travel plans and keep her grades up.
I lived in Suzhou for one year, working as an English Language Assistant for the British Council. Teaching Chinese students was one of the most rewarding (experience) I have ever had. In a relatively tough education system, I (try) to provide a space for them to relax and have fun while learning English. made me feel part of the school community was some school activities such as (make) Zongzi for the annual Dragon Boat Festival.
They also enabled me to get closer to my students and learn (much) about their culture and daily life.
For my farewell party, I encouraged my students (perform) the song "See you again "on stage in front of their peers. Seeing their confidence and language ability progress throughout the year was really amazing experience. I was also invited on stage to give a farewell speech Chinese. At the end of the party I received a beautiful silk scarf as a symbol of the school's (appreciate) for my time at the school. I will treasure it as it reminds me of the support and care I received from (they) during my stay.
One morning, little William was taking the bus to school. As usual, the students were doing all sorts of things on the school bus, like chatting with friends, listening to music, or just staring out of the window. Meanwhile, William was watching news reports on his phone. It was about 10 minutes before he would get off when he heard a loud noise. Some students in the front were screaming, and Willam, surprised, looked up to see what was happening. He found that the bus driver was no longer in his seat. He had passed out and fallen onto the bus steps.
The students were scared and didn't know what to do. William, however, had received bus safety training in Grade 5 and had learned how to use the bus' two-way radio in an emergency.
Now, in the face of danger, he quickly jumped out of his seat, grabbed the radio, and reported that the driver needed immediate help. The radios on other buses allowed the bus driver's workmates to hear William report the emergency. Soon, another bus driver and an ambulance arrived to help.
When they got there, the bus driver was awake, sitting up but unable to speak. They sent the driver to hospital. After the incident, William and everyone else on the bus went to school as usual.
William used what he had learned to help a sick bus driver get quick medical treatment. His brave actions attracted a lot of attention. People in his hometown now call the 11-year-old a hero. A local TV station even interviewed him, although he didn't want to be the focus of the public.
