So finally, I’m writing
I have been thinking about this all week, so I am finally going to write to show my shock at the state of the Junior High School Graduation Exam (Hui-Kao).
Question 15: “I’ve wanted to read the Diary of a Young Girl for months, ________ today I finally borrowed the book from the library.” (Answers: a. and b. since c. so d. until.)
The question is clearly not only wrong, it is embarrassingly so. This would be a non-issue except for the refusal to recognize the mistake.
From the time I was a little tyke in an American elementary school, teachers pounded the idea in our head that “so” is the natural opposite of “because.”
“Because I was a bad student, I didn’t always listen carefully,” or: “I was a pretty bad student, so I didn’t always listen carefully.”
Nonetheless, I know answer “c” is correct.
While answer “a” (“and”) is also grammatically correct, we are unfortunately always given the duty of trying to force students to choose the better of two correct answers.
Putting aside that this is the antithesis of learning and enjoying the freedom of language, the testmakers have not only gotten the answer wrong, they have made a fool of themselves in the process.
Somehow, they are using the addition of “finally” as an excuse, which has absolutely no effect on the conjunction. I could write examples until blue in the face, but I’ll stop at three:
“I’ve wanted to lose weight, so I finally joined a gym.”
“I’ve been thinking about my parents, so I finally called them on Saturday night.”
“I’ve seen so many mistakes like the one on this test, so I finally decided to write to show my disapproval.”
Here is my prediction: The government will stick to its guns and say a. is correct and c. is wrong.
This action will make them look foolish and further embarrass them, but if they admit the mistake, they would have to acknowledge that all the students who wasted minutes staring at this blaringly bad exam question lost additional points because they were so flustered by such a ridiculous question.
Finally, it is hard to believe the test makers deserve to be the arbiters of good grammar when question 13 also had a cringeworthy grammatical error: “Tomorrow we are all going back home and get ready for school.”
I’m not saying my grammar is flawless. (I may include grammar mistakes in this letter just to see who is paying attention.) However, in the event of a national exam, it is unthinkable that one qualified person couldn’t have given the test a once-over.
I’ll try to hide my eurocentric bias by saying: You didn’t even need to find a Westerner. I’m lucky to work with a dozen Taiwanese who would never have made such a mistake.
If this is the best we can do, should we be surprised that Taiwanese are falling behind in international English rankings and consider this essential world language a burden to learn?
I’ve said everything I have to say on the matter, so I will finally finish with this: Shame on you responsible for this and for not owning up to the mistake.
Aaron Andrews
Taichung
Speaking at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on May 13, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that democracies must remain united and that “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism.” Earlier that day, Tsai had met with a group of Danish parliamentarians led by Danish Parliament Speaker Pia Kjaersgaard, who has visited Taiwan many times, most recently in November last year, when she met with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office. Kjaersgaard had told Lai: “I can assure you that ... you can count on us. You can count on our support
Denmark has consistently defended Greenland in light of US President Donald Trump’s interests and has provided unwavering support to Ukraine during its war with Russia. Denmark can be proud of its clear support for peoples’ democratic right to determine their own future. However, this democratic ideal completely falls apart when it comes to Taiwan — and it raises important questions about Denmark’s commitment to supporting democracies. Taiwan lives under daily military threats from China, which seeks to take over Taiwan, by force if necessary — an annexation that only a very small minority in Taiwan supports. Denmark has given China a
Many local news media over the past week have reported on Internet personality Holger Chen’s (陳之漢) first visit to China between Tuesday last week and yesterday, as remarks he made during a live stream have sparked wide discussions and strong criticism across the Taiwan Strait. Chen, better known as Kuan Chang (館長), is a former gang member turned fitness celebrity and businessman. He is known for his live streams, which are full of foul-mouthed and hypermasculine commentary. He had previously spoken out against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and criticized Taiwanese who “enjoy the freedom in Taiwan, but want China’s money”
A high-school student surnamed Yang (楊) gained admissions to several prestigious medical schools recently. However, when Yang shared his “learning portfolio” on social media, he was caught exaggerating and even falsifying content, and his admissions were revoked. Now he has to take the “advanced subjects test” scheduled for next month. With his outstanding performance in the general scholastic ability test (GSAT), Yang successfully gained admissions to five prestigious medical schools. However, his university dreams have now been frustrated by the “flaws” in his learning portfolio. This is a wake-up call not only for students, but also teachers. Yang did make a big
RSS