The start of December------Busy With Tests

There was no snow that winter. With December came the high-school entering test and math competitions.

I decided to go to an International school since my parents want me to go to an American university and learn more. I applied to Shanghai World Foreign Language Middle School.

School Entrance Tests

The test was arranged as follows

• 8:00-10:00 Math

• 10:30-12:00 Chinese

• 1:00-3:00 English

This is the schedule of the test. The math test was very easy and in the end, there were only 2 problems I didn't work out. The English test was hard and I didn't write the composition well.

In the evening, I felt tired and went out for a walk.

In 12.1 I came to Shanghai Pinghe Bilingual School to take their application test. They only have math and English tests.

The math test is very easy and I soon worked out all the problems and checked it again. The English test was very strange. Of all the entrance tests I've participated in, I never saw a test like that. The cloze has a total worth of 16 points, while its total is only 28 points. I spent my time wisely and did the test.

After two tests I went for a walk along a small river, it was really relaxing.

Because of me doing well in the tests, I was asked to enter the second part of the entrance exam. The second part was to be interviewed by two
teachers.

On 12.11 I went to WFLS. They asked me to introduce myself in Chinese and English and ask questions to the others.

It was 3:00 in the afternoon and I was sitting in a room with 3 girls and 2 boys(including me).

The teacher: Stand up and introduce yourself. If you're ready, please raise your hand.

One by one, the others stood up and introduced themselves. A boy is good at walking long distances, a girl good at singing, English, and always helping community.

I was the fourth to raise my hand. I described my math skills and English ability. I also said I can run really fast and can run 1km in 3:27. They seemed impressed. The others never said about their math skills. They only said about their TOELF points and social activities.

Then I went home feeling anxious and excited.

Math Competition

In 12,14 I went to join a math competition held by Shanghai math school. It was easy and I had done so many similar tests at school (in fact, one day doing at least two of them). I did well in that test and got second prize(I was first in second prize).

School Interviews

In the afternoon I went to Pinghe school. Pinghe is located in Green City in Pudong district. What beautiful places! The street is lined with trees on both sides and you can see foreigners and big houses everywhere. It is one of the most beautiful places in Shanghai and an international community, Such an escape from the pressured, competing environment at school!

I went inside the school, and, since I was to be called an hour later, I sat down in their cafeteria and read "Ordinary World".

Then I was called, I went inside and to be interviewed by a foreign teacher.

I said I liked math, and number theory best. He asked me if I would like to explain whether number theory is invented or is being discovered. I said man invent numbers and then the theories and hidden there for them
to discover.

I was then called up to the third floor and was interviewed by two female teachers. Looking back, I was really dissatisfied.

Firstly the teacher asked me for my basic information.

• You study till how late in the night?

• Till ten, sometimes till eleven. I think efficiency is more important than huge amounts of time spent. I think sufficient sleep brings me more energy to focus in the daytime.

• You want to live on campus, right?

• Yes.

• Then what do you do if your roommate study at night?

• (I felt taken aback by this sudden attack.) I will associate with him. If not successful I will call my parents and teachers and listen to their advice.

• (sounding not OK)Ok

• You good at mathematics?

• Yes.

• What prizes have you got.

• Second prize in Shanghai math school competition in eighth-grade.

• That a prize in your school?

• (I felt surprised. They didn't even know what I was saying. How strange! My brain froze at that time and I didn't know how to explain myself. Amateur math school isn't a school like Shibei middle school.) No.

• How many participants?

(The teachers didn't seem impressed at all. I wanted to say, you don't know my ability in math, and she was like thinking I'm not so good. But those three hundred participants are among the best in Shanghai and I got second prize. Pinghe school hasn't got one on the list. I feel confident I can be number one in mathematics in your school.)

• Give you 1 minute. Explain this drawing.

(It was a drawing of two robbers stealing artwork from a gallery. Except at that time, I didn't really understand. I thought they were preparing for a gallery or something.)

(It showed two thieves, instead of stealing the artworks, took the label away. This drawing was supposed to tell us we need material objects more than things from the surface.)

• Ok, you may go.(This time sounding Really not ok)

I failed this interview. However, WFLS admitted me;

Reflections and Results

There are three reasons for my failure.

1. The teacher wasn't satisfied for my styles.

2. I am really not good at explaining things.

3. I am not good at identifying what pictures are going to tell.

Actually Green City is always my favorite place so failing it was kind of sad for me, even though it didn't matter since I wasn't going to that school anyways.

After these two tests, December was drawing to an end.

How school was at the end of December

At the end of December, things in school became duller than ever.

There were no more new things to study. every day was reviewing and repeating.

Teachers were getting anxious, and students were more anxious. Teachers worried whether students would be admitted to good high schools. The first mock exam was drawing nearer.

Some students had already been admitted to good schools, only afraid to be rejected. Other students were working so hard, trying to be admitted to lower-level schools.

That was why some students were preparing for their high school competitions and busy showing off while other students were struggling under great pressure.

Although I said I wanted to go to an International school, the teacher still moved me to the front row. Being in the front row meant being watched by the teachers 10 hours a day and sitting with lots of other anxious students.

I felt extremely lonely these days. The school was killing me.

How I walked to entertain myself

Every Friday I walked along the Huangpu River. I walked on the south part of the route, from the China Art Museum to the Oriental Sports Center. These days were too cold for running, so my only entertainment was walking. Looking into the wide space, seeing how big the world really is made me realize how little I was.

There are lots of places to rest along the route. I walked inside to get hot water and a place to rest. I saw the date 19-12-21. I thought about how much of 2019 was left. Oh, such a long year. I matured a lot. Yet it was suddenly ending.

I thought about the famous poet Su Shi said

If you look at its changing aspect, the universe passes in the twinkling of an eye; but if you look at its changeless aspect, all creatures including ourselves are imperishable.

Everything is going to pass away, even money, people. We are but little insects in the world, our lives nothing of a matter. Life is changeable and unstable. Thus treasuring the present, making use of the things you have, and not wasting time is important. Knowing this can only make us pay more attention to the present joys and enjoyments and be more than happy to accept everything we have and the way they are instead of blaming the world for bad fortunes and few opportunities.

Huangpu River is a beautiful river, so beautiful at night. There is a Bowl-like building in Puxi and a tall white building in Pudong. There is a big temperature building and a huge stone hand near the Nanpu Bridge. Rivers with shiny bridges, green lawns, and beautiful flowers are all along the way.

I found a world of mine on those walks. It seemed I can put all my problems on the wide horizon and never fill it up. I wanted to be like that.

How I found interest in Math

Math appeals to me more than ever. I studied math to get rid of the stress of other subjects. Math is so beautiful, so strict, yet so flexible.

I studied maths at the organization Xueersi. The teacher is very smart. He can calculate numbers fast as lightning. He is young and skinny. He always smiles and he never talks about anything other than math in his classes.

I studied complex numbers, calculus, and vector there. I felt as if I was going into a great new world when I study math. My skills improved really fast these days.

How the first 10 days of 2020 was

On 2020.1.1 I went to Daning park to play. I saw many young children, but not one as old as me.

On 1.7-1.9, we finally had the test. I got a good score, mainly because I got 129 in Chinese. I was really lucky that time.

These were the days when everything was happening at once. It was the climax of 9th-grade.

The winter holiday I was waiting for finally came.

But then covid came.