Tomorrow is the official start of school. Zhang Lei doesn't know much about the education level in Shanghai, but he does know that the textbooks used in Shanghai are different from those in Northeast China. He is still a little nervous.
Episode 2, Metropolis, Chapter 18: The "Preliminary Test"
Perhaps this is a common practice in Shanghai schools; Zhang Lei hadn't even warmed up to his new school before the placement test arrived. I know many readers might misinterpret the term "placement test," but here please take it in its most traditional sense.
The middle school entrance exam in Shanghai this year was rather easy. Anyone scoring below 20 points in the three main subjects was ineligible for admission to a top-tier municipal high school. Keep in mind that there was also a Chinese composition section, which was unlikely to receive a perfect score. Even for a school like Zhiguang, which was near the bottom of the district-level key schools, a score below 30 points was practically a death sentence.
This leads to a lot of chance. Some students who should be at the level of a top-tier school might fall behind because they didn't do well on one question. Others who aren't particularly good at something might happen to have reviewed all the questions or just happen to be the ones they know how to answer. Therefore, even though teachers have already assigned class representatives to each subject based on exam scores, they still want to use a diagnostic test they create themselves to understand the students' actual abilities.
In fact, these diagnostic tests are still highly unpredictable. Most students will go crazy playing after the high school entrance exam, and even the most studious students might not touch a book at this time. For example, Zhang Lei didn't even think about what books to read during the summer vacation. Zhang Lei's mother wanted him to read some foreign languages, but Zhang Lei was not cooperative at all.
During junior high school, Zhang Lei excelled in all subjects, even achieving the best score in all subjects except for one or two. In addition, he was polite to teachers and was the child of a teacher at the school, so he was naturally the darling of most teachers, especially after his original homeroom teacher was hospitalized.
However, in the new class, Zhang Lei clearly felt something was different, especially with his homeroom teacher, Ms. Wu. Zhang Lei always felt that she seemed to have a different opinion about him.
This is actually related to Zhang Lei himself. The textbooks in Shanghai are indeed different from those in Northeast China, especially in mathematics. In some places, courses that have already been taught in junior high schools in Northeast China will be taught again in high schools in Shanghai. In other words, some content that has not yet been taught in Northeast China has already been taught once in junior high schools.
Zhang Lei's basic skills were quite solid, so there was no need for him to review the content that had already been taught. He simply used the class time to review the content that had not been taught in Northeast China and had been skipped here.
How could a teacher like a student who doesn't listen in class and is just flipping through books on their own? Especially since Zhang Lei was among the few male students who didn't bring their books on the first day. Normally, unless they are hopeless, male students won't waste this opportunity to make a good impression on the teacher.
Wu Ping had once thought of sneaking around to see what Zhang Lei was looking at, but each time she only saw him looking at his math book during class. Perhaps he was more alert and had gained more experience in dealing with teachers, or perhaps he was simply pretending to read while actually daydreaming. Unconsciously, Wu Ping's impression of Zhang Lei worsened.
She was, after all, a new teacher. Although she could write lesson plans and teach without problems, her understanding of her students was far inferior to that of experienced teachers. An experienced teacher might have noticed that Zhang Lei's absence from the book-moving trip was simply due to his somewhat unsociable nature, and that his reading during class was genuinely about unfamiliar topics. Of course, he wasn't exactly likeable either; no teacher enjoys lecturing while the students are doing their own thing.
'They're from out of town, after all. Who knows if their grades are real? They won a math competition, and who knows where they printed that certificate? It looks so real! But with the Ministry of Electric Power, where can we verify it?' That's exactly what Wu Ping was thinking. 'Let's see how long you can keep up this act once the mock exam results come out!'
The diagnostic test was a surprise attack, giving the students no time to prepare. It tested what they had learned in the past two weeks, plus some junior high school knowledge.
Many students had already guessed it; they could learn about the school's customs from the previous year. But where could Zhang Lei find people? Even in this class, he could only name a handful of people.
One of them was his deskmate in the first row, a skinny guy named Wang Ze who was about the same height as him. According to Wang Ze, although he was skinny, he was very strong and could do forty or fifty pull-ups. Zhang Lei, of course, thought he was just bragging.
Then there's Lin Feng, whom I met on the first day. Although the two of them would greet each other after that day, Zhang Lei didn't know what to say to him. It seemed that Lin Feng had a lot to say to the other students, so even if Zhang Lei wanted to say something, he couldn't get a word in edgewise.
The other two I could name were Liu Chu and Wu Chen, the strongmen from the competition that day. Zhang Lei remembered their names because of their special performance. However, it's hard to say whether Zhang Lei remembered them or not.
Actually, there's another one. Her voice is sweet and pleasant. Zhang Lei is a bit shy about looking directly at girls, so his ears became the best collectors. When the teacher asked questions, he also wrote down her name: Chen Zilai. Her name is also very nice. No wonder she speaks so pleasantly.
The more introverted a child is, the more sensitive they are. Wu Ping may not have felt that she hadn't shown anything yet, but Zhang Lei's feelings had already clearly told him that the teacher didn't like her.
Zhang Lei was only slightly introverted, but in this environment, apart from class, the students spoke in a language he couldn't understand. Although it wasn't as exaggerated as a foreign language, it was still difficult for a kid who had just returned from the north to understand even a small part of it, let alone join in. Every time Zhang Lei said a sentence, he would be laughed at for no reason for a long time. Even if he mustered up the courage to occasionally interject, he would be laughed at until his face turned red.
In such an environment, Zhang Lei's introverted personality was further amplified. However, Zhang Lei was a sensible child. When he returned to his grandmother's house, he would pretend that everything was normal at school. Perhaps Zhang Lei performed very well, or perhaps his grandmother was too old to tell. At home, Zhang Lei still seemed normal.
Fortunately, apart from the physics teacher, the other teachers weren't as senior, and they mostly taught in Mandarin, which Zhang Lei could understand. As for physics, Zhang Lei's foundation in science was exceptionally strong, so he didn't have much trouble even if he studied on his own.
Exams, exams, exams—the teacher's magic weapon; grades, grades, grades—the student's lifeline. The saying may be old, but it holds considerable truth. However, one point is not entirely accurate: grades are not only crucial for students, but also for teachers, as they represent a teacher's educational level, especially when many classes are taking exams together, and these classes are not taught by a single teacher.
"Zhang Lei got 77 points!" As it was the homeroom teacher's subject, the first to receive the results was the homeroom teacher, Mr. Wu, who also taught math to another class besides Zhang Lei's class.
As we all know, the subjects taught by the homeroom teacher are the easiest to do well in due to their special nature. If the same teacher teaches the same subject, the math scores of Class 4 will definitely be higher than those of Class 2.
While 77 points isn't a low score, it's definitely not a high score in Class 4. There were plenty of papers with scores in the 90s and 80s that were just handed out.
The classes nowadays are nothing like the ones in Zhang Lei's small town. Take Class 4 for example, there are a full forty-five students in one classroom, not counting those who are temporarily enrolled. Zhang Lei is alright because he transferred from a provincial key school to a district key school, so he is at least a regular student and doesn't have to deal with the others, whose exam scores are counted separately.
Zhang Lei lowered his head. He had never achieved this score before; it was too low. If it weren't for Teacher Wu's words, everything might have been different.
Sometimes life really does change with just one sentence. Perhaps without Wu Ping's words, Zhang Lei might not have reacted the way he did.
"And he won a math prize like that? Ah, Zhang Lei." After saying that, Wu Ping had already walked over, completely unaware that Zhang Lei had clenched his fist.
Zhang Lei certainly didn't want to hit the teacher. He didn't have Lei Xiaofeng's brains, and this wasn't a school for children of employees. Zhang Lei had simply made a decision in his heart.
From a young age, Zhang Lei's temperament was one of gentleness containing strength; in other words, he was a competitive child. Wu Ping may not have thought that much about it when she said those words. The consequences could be completely different depending on the child's temperament. It might not necessarily be an encouragement, but it could have the opposite effect. However, it worked at least for Zhang Lei.
Actually, if you look closely at Zhang Lei's test paper, there are basically no mistakes. All the answers are correct, and the points deducted are for the process. The problem-solving process required by teaching in Northeast China is completely different from that in Shanghai. The teaching syllabus used by the two teachers is also different.
Zhang Lei didn't listen at all in class and just wrote out the solution steps as he always had. How could he not get points for the process? He didn't take the necessary steps and wrote out the unnecessary ones, so it's already a lenient decision not to deduct all points for not showing the process.
After reading it, Zhang Lei's confidence, which had just been somewhat low, swelled up again. "You look down on me, huh? I'll make sure none of the class representatives you chose can stay in office."
Thinking of this, Zhang Lei, whose head was almost drooping to the table, stubbornly raised it again.
Back in Northeast China, Zhang Lei was the math class representative. He originally planned to do the same in Shanghai, but before school even started, all the class representatives had already been filled. The teachers had simply selected the class representatives based on the students' middle school entrance exam scores.
Zhang Lei's deskmate was the physics class representative. Whether it was psychological or not, Zhang Lei noticed a hint of schadenfreude on his face. Perhaps he was just being paranoid. Zhang Lei was well aware of his own personality; he often misunderstood others. Fortunately, he usually kept these things to himself, and the person being misunderstood was generally unaware of it.
The selected class representative is not entirely without the possibility of being replaced. If other students excel in this subject and the original class representative is mediocre and unsatisfactory, then they may be replaced.
Zhang Lei had this in mind: 'Hmph, I'll make sure none of you class representatives can continue being in office.'
After weighing it in his mind, Zhang Lei secretly added, "Chinese doesn't count!" Zhang Lei's Chinese has never been very good, and he's too lazy to put in the effort, so he'll skip it.
Then, "Uh, forget about English too!" Zhang Lei knew that his English level was really bad. He couldn't understand many parts of the class. Unlike in Northeast China where English classes start in the first year of junior high school, students in Shanghai start learning English in the fifth grade of elementary school. The two-year gap was not easy to bridge. After thinking it over again and again, Zhang Lei decided to give up on English. He would make up for the poor score in English with other subjects.
"Hmm, maybe history too!" History requires memorization, and getting a high score in history definitely takes a lot of effort. Although Zhang Lei has less time to absorb internal energy each day, he needs to spend more time strengthening his internal organs. Time is already tight for trying to master so many subjects at once, and Zhang Lei doesn't want to become a bookworm. He still needs some time to play.
Speaking of internal energy, Zhang Lei originally thought that the vital energy in a metropolis like Shanghai would definitely be inferior to that in the mountainous areas of Northeast China. The environment there is so much better; you can smell the fresh grass even in the open fields. Compared to the smoke and exhaust fumes flying everywhere here, it's far superior.
Zhang Lei was eager to strengthen his internal organs for two reasons. First, the excessive new muscle and bone tissue would put even more pressure on them. Second, the air quality here was terrible; since arriving in Shanghai, he hadn't seen more than ten stars a night. For most people, this might not be a problem—they could adapt—but Zhang Lei's internal organs, especially his lungs, were already operating at their limits. Even the slightest extra burden could cause them to collapse. Therefore, strengthening his internal organs couldn't be done as he had before, waiting for ample free time; it was too late.
"It's settled then! I, Zhang Lei, swear that, except for Chinese, English, and History, I'll make all of you class representatives lose face. I'm going to snatch one of you class representatives!" On his way home, Zhang Lei finally sorted everything out and considered all the possibilities before making this vow. There's a reason why the seemingly quiet can be so cunning; Zhang Lei, a quiet person forced to evolve by his environment, also possesses this trait.
This oath was made rather weakly, and the oath itself was not made in a straightforward manner. It was simply a matter of completing all subjects, not eliminating this and that.
However, if Zhang Lei were the kind of person who would casually make a vow, it would be uncertain whether that vow could be fulfilled. But since Zhang Lei had removed those courses from the list, his vow was no longer just empty talk; he had already considered its feasibility before making the vow.