The Exam Season

China's gaokao(高考gāo kǎo), the nation-wide college entrance exam, is considered the most grueling and competitive of all. For most Chinese students, their performance in the exam will determine their fate in the future. One Chinese saying likens the exam to “thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of horses squeezing through a single log bridge”(千军万马过独木桥) , and now the exam season is once again upon us—with students, teachers and parents all sharing the pain. 对话 Dialogue:        kàn xiǎo lǐ de xióng māo yǎn kěn dìng zuó wǎn yòu xué tōng xiāo le  A：看小李的熊猫眼，肯定昨晚又学通宵了。        Look at Xiao Li's raccoon eyes! He must have pulled an all-nighter again last night.       tāzhè yàng de xué bà，wǒ xiǎng yīng gāi méishén me yā lìba B：他这样的学霸，我想应该没什么压力吧。        He is a straight-A student. I don’t think he should be too stressed about it.         bù xíng a xiàn zài lián xiǎo lì dōu zài tōng xiāo xué xí le 。 A：不行啊，现在连小丽都在通宵学习了。        He can’t afford not to. I mean, even Xiao Li is studying all night now.         tā yī bān zhǐ  yǒu sān fèn zhōng rè dù B：她一般只有三分钟热度。       I doubt she can keep it up. She’s a typical “three-minute passion” person. 语言点 Language Points: 通宵 tōng xiāo   whole night/all night Eg.通宵电影院 all-night cinema      通宵学习/工作 study/work all night      我昨晚通宵未眠。I didn't sleep a wink last night. 学霸xué bà super student "学霸" is an online buzzword, referring to those who are not only smart, but also study hard and get impressive academic records in schools (typically straight A’s). The character "学" means to study and "霸" literally means a conqueror or a person with power, and in this particular word, a top student. 连......都...... lián ......dōu ...... even Eg.你连他都不认识？ You don't even know him?      她连自己的名字都不会写。She can't even write her own name. 三分钟热度 sān fēn zhōng rè dù  "3-minute passion" is a Chinese phrase to describe the type of situation in which a person feels passionate about someone or something, but then quickly loses interest. Eg.他对那个女孩只有三分钟热度。       He had never taken more than a passing interest in the girl.      我们的兴趣只有三分热度。      Our interest was purely perfunctory.