Foreigner‘s view：Chinese Gaokao 中国高考

China Prep follows five Chinese students through their final high-pressure year at an elite high school in Sichuan Province. Eighteen hundred students vie for spots in Beijing’s top two universities. Last year only 59 made it.
《中国高考》的镜头跟随着四川省一所精英高中的五名学生，报道了他们度过的高强度高三。1800名学生同时为了北京顶尖两所大学而激烈竞争。而在去年一年中只有59人成功了。

Studying seven days a week, the students’ lives are regimented almost every minute of the day as they prepare for the end-of-year exam that can determine their fate. For many students from poor or rural backgrounds, a strong performance on the test is the only way to climb the social ladder and excel without connections. Competition is fierce and the majority of high school seniors will be relegated to vocational schools.
一周七天不间断的学习，这些学生的生活的每一分钟都在为高考准备，因为高考决定了他们的命运。对于那些来自贫困或者农村家庭的孩子们来说，在这场考试中好好表现，毫无置疑是他们爬上社会阶梯并成功的唯一的方法。竞争是激烈的，大部分的高中生最后不得不被分配到职业学校去。

We meet Zhang Lie, who wants to study law and become a Communist Party member like her father; Mei Jiachin, a genius mathematician from a farming family; Chen Zhibo, a misfit science student with big plans to become China’s Bill Gates; and Gao Mengjia, a dedicated student who loves money and aspires to be a hedge fund manager.
我们见到了张烈（音译），他想学习法律专业，并想和他父亲一样成为一名党员；梅佳琴（音译），一名来自农村家庭的数学天才；陈志波（音译），一个不太合群的理科生，他想成为中国的比尔盖茨；还有高梦佳（音译），一位努力学习的孩子，很爱钱并想成为一名对冲基金经理。

Nicknamed the “I want” generation by the Chinese press, these only children – the sole focus of their parents’ and grandparents’ nurturing under China’s one-child policy – will be the new class of corporate managers, lawyers, and civil servants who are expected to propel 21st century China to surpass the United States as the largest economy in the world.
被中国媒体戏称为“我想要”的一代，这些独生子女——中国计划生育政策下家里父母和祖父母精心培养的宝贝儿——将成为公司经理、律师、公务员等新阶层，人们希望他们能推进21世纪的中国使之成为超越美国的世界最大国家。

How do the ambitions of these teenagers reflect the realities of today and tomorrow’s China? Who among them will be most likely to succeed – the daughter of the Party official or the farmer’s son? Who will be the boss?
那么这些青少年的志愿将如何反应在当代和以后的中国社会中呢？他们其中的那些最可能成功呢——是党员的女儿还是农民的儿子？哪一个会成为老板呢？
Key words：

高考gāo kǎo：National Higher Education Entrance Examination
竞争jìng zhēng：competition
降级jiàng jí：relegated