Yan Chunlin|Forty years ago, I took the college entrance examination

Forty years ago, I took the college entrance examination

Yan Chunlin

I took the college entrance examination in 1982, 42 years ago, but I still remember some of the scenes at that time.

I remember that I took the college entrance examination that year as a three-year high school student, and the exam time was on July 7, 8, and 9. The college entrance examination of that year also had to be pre-selected, according to the number of places to participate in the national college entrance examination issued by the county, a pre-selection examination was conducted in the county, and the number of pre-selected students was obtained from the high score to the low score, and the students who took it continued to study and participated in the national unified examination, and the students who did not have the pre-selection went home. I was lucky enough to be pre-selected and stayed in school to continue my studies.

I took the test in science, Chinese, mathematics, politics, physics and chemistry, English, but I was illiterate in English, and I didn't take a day of class, because I was in the high school of the village hat middle school, there was no English teacher, the homeroom teacher said: Strive to do well in other classes, English does not eat zero, just fill in the multiple-choice questions A, B, C, D at will, and just cover one question. When the fateful moment came, I was fighting at night, sleeping for three or four hours a day, with the thought of grinding guns in the battle. At that time, there was no review material, all up to the teachers of each subject to do the questions and students, the blackboard in the classroom was not idle, the teacher wrote the questions, the students seized the time to copy and do, the next class other teachers came to wipe the blackboard out of the questions of other classes, every day to do the questions was very tight, and then I didn't even have the homework book and pencil to do the questions, the teacher sent me the exam paper to do the questions on the other side, the test paper at that time was written on one side, and gave me a pencil, so I insisted on learning to the college entrance examination.

The day before the college entrance examination, the head teacher Mr. Tie came to me and said: "Tomorrow the college entrance examination will use a pen to answer the questions, you don't have a pen, I found you a pen, a bottle of ink, today use the pen to write and practice well, don't affect the exam." I took the pen and ink with trembling hands and nodded vigorously. The afternoon before the exam, I ran seven or eight kilometers with my classmates into the city, stayed at a distant relative's house on the outskirts of the city, and waited for the exam room tomorrow.

The next day I went to the examination room early, the exam began, the teacher sent the paper to hand, asked to write the exam number and name on the test paper, I was too nervous hand cramps, I couldn't hold the pen, anxious sweating, a female teacher who invigilated the exam saw my situation, walked up to me and said, don't be nervous, take a deep breath, relax, relax, and help me rub my hands, stroked my fingers, and then slowly stabilized, holding the pen to write.

After the exam, when I walked out of the school gate, I suddenly saw my father pushing a bicycle, or borrowing someone else's, my family didn't have a bicycle, carrying a steamed bun, hurriedly walked up to me and said: "Your mother made noodles yesterday, and only steamed the buns this morning, urging me to send them to you, how did the test go?" I didn't answer, and he said to take you to eat a good meal, and take the exam when you are full." I said angrily: "There is no goods in the stomach, and it is idle to eat a delicacies from the mountains and seas", my father glared at me and scolded me, "Kindness has become a donkey's liver and lungs, can you blame me, what have you learned in the past few years, boiling the lamp costs oil, the lamp is not yet on, and if you can't pass the exam, you will go home to beat the clods, anyway, my heart is exhausted." ”

We didn't speak, my father went to the small noodle shop to buy two bowls of noodles, I just bowed my head to eat, when I drank the soup, my father gave me a chopstick in his bowl of noodles, he also ate half a bowl of rice, when he left, he gave me a dime, said that the weather is hot, buy a popsicle to eat, a popsicle is five cents. The reason why I lost my father's temper was because the parents of other classmates didn't come, and my father came, showing how delicate I was, so that my classmates saw the joke. How unreasonable I am.

After the exam, you should evaluate your score and fill in your wishes. At that time, I didn't dare to overestimate it, for fear of slipping. Before the exam, my father said that if I can take the secondary school exam, I can count it as jumping out of the farm, and I will apply to that school if I graduate with a high salary. My first choice was Jingyuan Coal Mine School, the second was Zhangye Agricultural School, and the third was Tianshui Forest School. The head teacher, Mr. Tie, looked at the volunteer and said: "Girl, your willingness is low, at least you should apply for a junior college, why do you want to apply for a coal mine school for the first time", I said that I heard that the salary of graduating from the coal mining school is high, and my father said that if I can't pass the exam, I will let me go home to make clods, and I can go to school. Teacher Tie took my volunteer form, pondered for a while, and said, "A female doll, don't go to the coal mining school, you can transfer Zhangye Agricultural School to the first choice." "That's how I adjusted my volunteering.

Followed by the physical examination, at that time the physical examination items were simple, check weight, height, eyesight, hearing, smell, etc., in the sense of smell is used in the use of wine, vinegar, kerosene, I did not smell the wine, before I have not been exposed to wine, let alone drank alcohol, the staff on the table of wine in the square crossed, I went to the door and cried loudly, thinking that this is over, the physical examination is not passed, then a teacher came out of the physical examination room, asked me do you know that Zhumen wine and meat stink? I immediately knew that this was wine, and the teacher said that it was normal for the baby from the countryside to not know the smell of wine, and it would not affect your admission.

Here, I would like to thank my homeroom teacher, Mr. Tie and other teachers, in my most difficult time, you extended a helping hand, sent me pen, paper and ink, thanks to the invigilator's care and encouragement, so that I successfully completed the test papers, thank the physical examination teacher for answering questions and solving doubts, relieve my doubts, thank you for your help and support to make me walk through the single-plank bridge of the college entrance examination, so that my life has a turning point, so that I have moved from a sand nest to a broader world, I will remember and thank you for the rest of my life.

After the college entrance examination, all the formalities were completed, and I went home to do farm work and waited for the notice. At that time, it was just a big package, the production to the household, the peasants' enthusiasm for labor was high, the payment was enough for the country, the rest were their own, they wanted to get rich overnight, they were all throwing off their arms and doing a big job, and then planting autumn grain, vegetables, etc., after the summer grain was harvested, in short, I could not let the land be idle, I was plowing, watering, hoeing, planting vegetables and other farm work had to be done, and I was busy until dark, two months passed, I heard the teacher say that the score was online, and the score could be obtained to Zhangye Teacher's College, but I did not report. I applied for a Zhangye Agricultural School, but I still haven't seen the admission notice, and I have nowhere to ask.

In the anxious anticipation, I waited until the end of September and finally waited for a telegram urging me to report, saying that I was reporting to Zhangye Agricultural School, I knew in my heart that it was Zhangye Agricultural School that was admitted, the whole family was very happy, and the whole production team was also very happy, I was the first person in that village to be admitted to school. Hurry up and pack up to go to school, there is no travel expenses, my father begged my grandfather to tell my grandmother to sell an old cow when the big bag was dry for 80 yuan, or pay 40 yuan first, and pay off the rest at the end of the year, with 40 yuan to buy me a sheet, a set of clothes, a wool felt, a weaving quilt, this is all my belongings for school. Two weeks after the school opened, I came to the school with my luggage, and the teacher in charge of registration only asked my name and home address, and then registered me, and said that I was in the first class of agriculture, and where the dormitory was. At that time, there was no ID card, let alone a phone, and the name was correct.

In this life, I took the college entrance examination by going to school, but I haven't seen what the admission notice looks like, which is a regret that I can't make up for in my life. At that time, the college entrance examination policy was really good, the secondary school was all free, there was no tuition, books, accommodation, and living expenses and food stamps were issued every month.

From the bottom of my heart, I am grateful to the country's college entrance examination policy, which has not only changed the fate of the country and the nation, but also changed the fate of many people, so that students from poor families can enter higher colleges and universities for further study and become useful talents in society.

Time is like an arrow, the sun and the moon are like a shuttle. It has been 42 years since my college entrance examination, and I have changed from a rural Cinderella to a retired old man who is obedient to the age. Seeing that the current college entrance examination students received a high admission letter, but also with a bouquet of flowers, really envious of the hot eyes, before going to college parents also set up a few tables in the hotel banquet, entertain relatives and friends to congratulate, to the students to buy high-end mobile phones, laptops, brand-name clothes, etc., bedding and luggage school has long been ready, can be said to be complete, just waiting for the day of the girl to come to the college to study, complete the study.

This is all the good news brought about by the reform and opening up of the people of the whole country led by our party and government, and it is also the continuous innovation of the college entrance examination system by the party and the government that has enabled the mainland to move from a big country in the college entrance examination to a strong country in the college entrance examination. We are grateful to the leadership of the party and the government, to the fruitful results created by reform and opening up, and to the society for creating a happy life for us. I hope that our society and our people can rise with the wind one day and soar up to 90,000 miles.

(About the author: Yan Chunlin, a native of Minqin, Gansu.) He likes to read and write, and has published several essays in "Zhangye Daily" and "Zaolin" publications. ）