VOA慢速英语:South Korean Students Stressed Over College Entrance Exam

More than half a million South Korean students in their final year of high school recently took the university entrance examination. Many people consider success on this test the first step toward a good life. But South Korean students say they feel stressed from the pressure.
最近韩国50多万高三学生参加了大学入学考试，很多人认为这个考试的成功是迈向美好生活的第一步，但韩国学生们说感到压力很大。

Seventeen-year-old student Lee Jee-woo is not ready yet to take the test. But he has a strong opinion about it. He says, "This test can determine the rest of your life."
17岁学生Lee Jee-woo还不能参加高考，但他对此事有强烈看法。他说，“高考可以决定你接下来的一生。”

South Korean high school students spend years studying for the university entrance examination. People say good scores guarantee entrance to a top university and the possibility of a high-paying job. Some say good test results even improve chances for a good marriage in the future.
韩国高中生要花费几年的时间来准备大学入学考试，人们说高分能确保进入名牌大学，并有可能获得高薪工作。有的说好的成绩甚至能使将来获得美好婚姻的几率提高。

The test is multiple choice, meaning that the student may choose among several possible answers to a question. Some observers say this system does not help the students learn to think for themselves. They also say South Korea is not the only country to use these tests.
该考试是选择题，也就是说，学生们可以在几个可能的答案选项中进行选择。一些观察家表示，这一体系不利于学生独立思考。他们还表示，韩国不是唯一采用这种考试的国家。

Jasper Kim is a professor at Seoul's Ewha Women's University.
Jasper Kim是首尔梨花女子大学的一位教授。

"I think you'll see similar things in China and to a lesser degree in Japan. It became the end all, be all, the standardized test, what you got on it. What it created was a system of teaching to the test. So everyone was geared, in terms of, getting to the right answer ... and not knowing why that is the right answer."
“我想中国的情况类似，日本也是，但没这么严重。高考成了标准化考试，你能从中得到什么呢？它制造了应试教育，所以每个人都要知道正确答案，却无需知道为什么是正确答案。”

Vietnam also is known for its university entrance examination.
越南的高考也很著名。

Professor Kim says this system of learning by memorization produces a lot of stressed students. A recent government study found that South Korean children are the least happy compared to children in 29 other developed countries. Many South Koreans blame educational pressure for this unhappiness.
金教授说，这种靠死记硬背的教育制度制造了大批有压力的学生，最近政府研究发现，与另外29个发达国家的孩子相比，韩国的孩子是最不快乐的。很多韩国人将这种不快乐归咎于教育压力。

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has promised to reform her country's educational system. She urges the system to increase creative thinking and reduce student tension.
韩国总统Park Geun-hye已经承诺改革该国的教育体系。她督促该国的教育体系提高创造性思维，减少学生的紧张情绪。

But Jasper Kim does not feel sure that reforms by the top government alone will solve the problem. He says, "The bureaucrats, they can say all they want. But it really starts at home."
但金教授不相信政府高层独立改革能够解决问题。他说，“官僚官员可以说他们希望如此，但问题出在学生家庭。”

Still, getting South Korean parents to ease the pressure on their children might not be so easy. Shin Jeong-yeon says she would like not to put so much pressure on her daughter. But, she says there is a lot of competition, so it is impossible for parents not to do so. For now, all Ms. Shin and other parents can do is hope that the pressure brings good results.
不过，让韩国父母们减轻施加在孩子身上的压力并不容易，申贞妍说她也不想给女儿太大压力，但她说竞争很激烈，所以父母不这么做是不可能的。对目前来说，申贞妍等父母们所能做的就是希望这种压力能带来好的结果。