高考大日子：世界各地的高校入学考试

June 7 is a big day for people in China aiming to undertake higher education as the National College Entrance Exam, or gaokao, falls that day. The exam has long been controversial for imposing uniformity in picking talents. Do students in other countries have to suffer similar pressures to win university places? Let's have a look.
对中国许多想接受高等教育的学生来说，6月7日是个大日子，因为这是高考的第一天。长久以来，高考制度因其单一的人才选拔制度而饱受争议，那么其他国家的学生是否也需要承担如此压力才能进入心仪的大学呢？让我们一起来看看吧。

1.Each year, millions of Chinese sit the exam which is held normally on June 7-8.
每年6月7、8日两天，中国数百万的学生参加高考。

It is taken by students in their final year of senior high school without age restriction. Last year 9.12 million students took the exam. Although university admission is rising, with more than 90 percent in some provinces, to enter a good university one still needs go through fierce competition.
高考在学生高三最后学年结束时举行，去年有912万考生应考。尽管高考的大学录取率在提高，有些省份高达90%以上，但想要进入一个理想的好大学还是要经过高考的激烈竞争。

2. The American College Testing assessment (ACT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are the two main college entrance exams administered in the United States.
ACT美国大学入学考试和SAT美国高考，是美国施行的两种主要高校入学考试。

While the SAT measures a student's ability to learn, the ACT was created as an alternative, measuring a student's educational development. Although many US colleges accept both exams, most students take the ACT. Each year nearly two million students pay a registration fee of about $50 to take the test, which is administered six times throughout the year. Students can also retake the exam for a better score.
SAT考查学生的学习能力，而ACT作为一门自选考试、考查学生的教育发展能力。虽然美国大多数大学对两种考试都持认可态度，但大部分学生参加ACT考试。每年有将近2000万考生支付50美元的报考费，一年有6次报考机会。学生可以重复参加考试以获取最好成绩。

3. The United Kingdom does not have a specific standardized test for determining college admission.
英国没有统一的大学入学标准考试。

Instead, each college sets up its own admissions criteria, which often only involves submission of transcripts and participation in an interview. There are subject-specific exams used by some colleges, but they are not as comprehensive as tests like the ACT and gaokao. High school academic performance is by far the main determining factor, rather than test scores or other credentials.
替而代之的，每个大学都有自己的考核标准，有些只需上交成绩单并进行一场面试就可以了。有些大学采用针对学科的考试，但这些考试都不像ACT和高考那么综合全面。目前，中学的学习成绩是英国大学录取的主要因素，而不是仅凭某一考试分数或其他证书。

4.The so-called college entrance examination is equal to the baccalaureate in June in France.
法国6月份的毕业考和所谓的“高考”等同。

Students interested in higher education have to choose between two types of educational institutes: Universities and Competitive Institutes (Grandes Ecoles). French universities are open to all students who have passed their baccalaureate. But getting into a "grande école" is a whole different game where entry is at "bac+2" level, the level of the third year of university studies.
对高等教育有兴趣的同学可以选择两种学校就读：大学或有竞争力的学院（法国“大学校”）。法国大学对所有通过毕业考的学生开放，但想进入“大学校”则有不同的准入规则，入学的学生必须达到bac+2水平，等同于大学三年级的水平。