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Last year’s Suneung2韓國高考，又稱韓國大學修學能力考試。had questions about Hegel’s dialectics3dialectic 辯證法。and Bretton Woods. But do they really matter? 去年韓國高考考了有關黑格爾辯證法和布雷頓森林體系的問題，但這些知識真的重要嗎？

In the Netflix smash hitSquid Game,there is a line that resonates with most South Koreans: While boasting that she is street-smart and capable, the self-proclaimed silver-tongued4silver-tongued 口才好的；雄辯的。Minyeo says, “I’m totally smart. I just never studied.”

2The line stems from the widespread belief—not just here but in many other parts of the world—that being brainy and doing well on school exams are not necessarily the same.

3But in a country where 12 years of schooling can be summed up in a score on one crucial, potentially lifedetermining test, it resonates deeply with many.

奈飛熱劇《魷魚游戲》有一句臺詞引起了大多數韓國人的共鳴。劇中自詡能言善辯的韓美女夸自己精明能干時說：“我聰明透頂，從來就沒學習過?！?/p>

2這句話源自一個不只在韓國而且在世界很多地方都普遍認同的觀點：頭腦聰明和成績優(yōu)異未必能畫上等號。

3但這句話引起許許多多韓國人深深的共鳴。因為在韓國，12 年學校教育的成果可能會歸結為一次有可能決定命運的重大考試的分數。

The art of picking the right answer

4On Nov. 18, slightly over 500,000 Koreans sat arguably the most important exam of their life: the College Scholastic Ability Test, or Suneung.

5A day after the annual exam, a parents’ union held a protest in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education against the government’s ongoing education policies. The protesters were part of a growing movement that questions whether the country’s educational system can foster creative minds or equip young people with the skills they’ll need in the future, rather than just training them to do well on multiple choice tests.

6Among the biggest questions—both for the public educational system and the 9.3 trillion won ($8.1 billion) afterschool hagwon5hagwon 來自韓語，指贏利性校外培訓機構。industry—is how well English is being taught.

7Critics say English education is often targeted toward acing6ace 考得很好。standardized written exams, like the Suneung, rather than improving students’ practical communication skills.

8Kim Jae-joong, the head of a local English academy, said English studies at high school focus on rote memorization because of the Suneung.

9Problems had long existed, but they got worse in 2018 when the Suneung switched to an absolute grading system for its English section instead of grading students on a curve7grading on a curve 指在打分的時候，將成績按分數段區(qū)分，以中等成績?yōu)橹休S，向兩側的低分和高分逐次降低分布。通俗講就是“兩頭少，中間多”。選拔性測驗（如中考、高考）是一種難度測驗，它期望學生的測驗分數呈現正態(tài)分布（normal distribution），即比較極端的分數分布，從而有利于甄別和選拔。.

選出正確答案的藝術

411 月18 日，50 多萬韓國人參加了可謂一生中最重要的考試：大學修學能力考試，或稱韓國高考。

5在這一年一度的高考過后，一家長聯合會在首爾市教育廳前抗議政府現行的教育政策。這一抗議活動代表一場持續(xù)升溫的運動。該運動質疑韓國教育體系能否培養(yǎng)創(chuàng)造性思維或是讓年輕人掌握未來所需技能，而不僅僅是訓練他們做好選擇題。

6對于公立教育體系和規(guī)模達9.3 萬億韓元（約合81 億美元）的校外培訓行業(yè)而言，最大的問題之一是英語教學成效如何。

7批評人士指出，韓國英語教育的導向往往是順利通過各種標準化筆試，例如韓國高考，而非提高學生的實際交流能力。

8當地一所英語學院的院長金在中（音）說，高中英語學習注重死記硬背以應付高考。

9問題存在已久，但在2018年韓國高考英語成績由正態(tài)分布評分改為絕對評分之后更加嚴重了。

10The move was intended to tackle the snowballing cost of private English education in the country, but the similarities between the Suneung’s English section and the English programs on the state-run educational TV channel EBS8韓國教育放送公社，即韓國國營教育電視臺兼廣播電臺。led students to learn what patterns to look for on the test.

11“Since (the students) can access similar questions and (Suneung) sample sentences, they focus more on memorizing (the patterns) to ‘pick’ the right answers,” Kim explained, going on to say that he actually advises students against trying to understand what the text is about. “It takes much more than two minutes, so one needs instead to find clues that will help them pinpoint the answer.” Test takers are given 45 questions that need to be answered in 70 minutes.

12“We (educators) should consider the matters on the fundamental level, about why we learn English, and how English should be taught and learned well. This,of course, will take more than two minutes to solve.”

13As most students work hard to gain the skills to ace multiple-choice tests,exams have come to include “ridiculously difficult” questions to distinguish high performers from well-trained but average students. This has led to the Suneung becoming inconsistent with the secondary education curriculum.

10改變評分體系是為了解決英語私教費滾雪球式增長的問題，但韓國高考英語試題與國營教育電視臺EBS 的英語節(jié)目內容有諸多相似之處，導致學生們都去研究考題中有哪些套路。

11“因為可以看到相似的考題和（高考）例句，所以學生更加注重死記（各種套路），以‘選出’正確答案?！苯鹪洪L解釋道。他接著又說，實際上他不建議學生費力理解文章內容。“要理解文章內容，兩分鐘遠遠不夠，所以只需要找到那些有助于鎖定答案的線索即可?！?畢竟考生須在70 分鐘以內完成45 道題。

12“我們這些教育工作者應從根本上考慮問題：為什么學英語？怎樣才能教好和學好英語？當然，這些問題并非兩分鐘時間解決得了。”

13正當大多數學生努力掌握選擇題取勝技巧的同時，考試已經開始增加“地獄級”難題，目的是將高水平學生和僅掌握答題技巧的普通學生區(qū)分開來。這已導致韓國高考超綱。

14A major complaint over last year’s exam concerned a passage on Hegelian dialectics, followed by six questions about the passage. Other passages are also said to have exceeded the reading comprehension level required of high school graduates—for example, one on the Bretton Woods international monetary system and one on optical lenses for automobiles.

15YouTuber Korean Englishman9常稱“英國男人”，是一名英國人在優(yōu)兔上發(fā)布的系列節(jié)目的名稱，主要介紹英韓兩國文化。recently posted a video of British students in their final year of high school taking the English portion of the Suneung.They struggled despite English being their native tongue, as the reading comprehension section contains excerpts drawn from philosophy, literature and technical manuals rather than everyday English.

16When asked, “What did it feel like you were being tested on?” one student jokingly answered, “Not English.”

17“It’s done in a way every answer could be the answer,” said another.

The roots of the exam obsession

18In June, the Korean Society for the Study of Education held its annual meeting of 1,500 scholars from across the country. The theme was the present and future of education in the country.Naturally, its hyper-competitive, examfocused nature dominated the discussion.

14對去年高考的一大不滿涉及有關黑格爾辯證法的一篇閱讀理解題，該題包含六問。人們認為，就高中畢業(yè)所要求達到的閱讀理解水平來看，其他幾篇考題也已超綱——例如一篇講布雷頓森林國際貨幣體系的文章，以及一篇關于汽車光學鏡片的文章。

15優(yōu)兔博主“英國男人”最近發(fā)布了一段展示英國13 年級學生做韓國高考英語試題的視頻。盡管英語是母語，他們做起來卻很吃力，因為閱讀理解題并非取材于日常英語，而是節(jié)選自哲學、文學和技術手冊的文章。

16當被問道“你覺得它考了你什么？”，一名學生開玩笑說：“不是英語?！?/p>

17“這種出題方式使得每一個選項都可能是正確答案，”另一名學生說。

癡迷考試的根源

18韓國教育研究學會于6 月舉辦了年會，來自全國各地的1500 位學者參會，會議主題是韓國教育的現狀與未來。韓國教育的高度競爭性、應試性自然而然成為熱議話題。

19Professor Yoon Pyung-joong of Hanshin University said that was a reflection of Korean society.

20Koreans tend to hold the view that“college entrance is the front line in the clash of the classes,” he said, adding that one should be mindful of the political and philosophical aspects of Korean education when discussing how to reform it.

21Almost regardless of age, Koreans live under constant pressure to outexcel peers, and exams offer the most cost-effective way to evaluate and rank people.

22In a country where well over 70 percent of high school graduates advance to college, getting good Suneung scores and enrolling in an elite university is proof of success—at least early in life.

23InSquid Game, protagonist Gihun’s weird obsession with boasting that his childhood friend Sang-woo is the “pride of Sangmoon-dong” and“graduated from Seoul National University with honors” reflects this same outlook.

24Of course, this is why the Suneung is considered among the most important days of one’s life, if not the most important. On the eve of last year’s exam,the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family10女性家族部，直譯為性別平等和家庭部，是韓國負責制定政策以保護婦女、兒童和青少年權益的中央行政機關。announced that it would offer round-the-clock counseling for teens dealing with post-Suneung stress—part of an effort to prevent violence and even suicide.

19韓神大學的尹平中教授說，韓國教育的這種特性是韓國社會的一個寫照。

20尹教授說，韓國人往往認為“大學入學考試（高考）是階層沖突的前線”，并補充說，在討論韓國教育體制改革時，應當考慮其政治和哲學因素。

21幾乎無論多大年齡的韓國人都時時活在要超越同齡人的壓力之下，而考試是將人區(qū)分高下最具性價比的方式。

22在韓國這樣大學錄取率穩(wěn)超70%的國家，以優(yōu)異的高考成績考入名牌大學是成功的標志，至少是在人生早期取得了成功。

23《魷魚游戲》的主角奇勛沒完沒了地夸他童年好友尚佑，說他是“雙門洞的驕傲”，是“首爾大學畢業(yè)的高材生”，也反映了同樣的觀點。

24當然，這也就是為什么高考在韓國被視為人生大事——高考日即便不是最重要的，也是極其重要的日子。去年高考前夕，韓國女性家族部宣布將為青少年提供應對高考后心理壓力的全天候咨詢服務，這是預防暴力和自殺的一項舉措。

25At Global HR Forum 2021, the presidential candidates shared their respective visions on education, which ranged from an emphasis on smart teaching and learning technologies to reforms that would emphasize creativity over exam skills.

26Although they differ on policies,they share one big question: How should Korea prepare its children for the future?

27Perhaps the fate of the fictional “pride of Sangmoon-dong” inSquid Game, considering where his SNU diploma landed him, is a reflection of where Korean education is headed unless something changes.

25在2021 年全球人力資源論壇上，各位總裁候選人分享了各自對教育的展望，有人認為應重視智慧教學技術；有人認為須推行改革，強調創(chuàng)造力的重要性，弱化考試技巧。

26他們雖然在政策方面意見不同，但都一致關注一個大問題：韓國如何幫助孩子們?yōu)槲磥碜龊脺蕚洌?/p>

27或許《魷魚游戲》中虛構的“雙門洞的驕傲”的命運（想想首爾大學文憑讓尚佑落到怎樣的地步）就反映了韓國教育若不有所改變的話會走向何方。