This year’s General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT) for English was easier than last year’s exam, featuring questions incorporating current events, the National Senior High School Teachers’ Union (NSHST) said on Sunday.
The GSAT, which assesses Taiwanese high-school students seeking to enroll in university, tested teens in different subjects from Saturday to yesterday.
English was the first subject tested on Sunday. It comprised multiple-choice questions, reading comprehension and writing.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
High-school teachers played a major role in formulating this year’s English test, as they were employed by the College Entrance Examination Center to review the English questions.
Teachers who assisted in evaluating the questions said this year’s test partly focused on current affairs.
Questions also covered day-to-day situations, including how to fix a leaky faucet and what is available to buy at a farmers’ market.
Teachers also said the comprehension section aligned well with the nation’s updated “108 curriculum.”
Other high-school teachers were also invited by the NSHST to analyze the tests.
The teachers said the current affairs references made the test easier than last year, as the content was more relatable.
The test also lacked the difficult vocabulary used in previous versions of the exam, with only the term “driving forces” in reference to Taiwan’s advancement in the technology industry being used in a part of the Chinese-to-English translation section posing a challenge, they said.
This year’s writing test asked students to describe two pictures related to typhoons that highlight the contrasting situations people might experience during the weather phenomenon.
They were then required to share their thoughts on why many people in Taiwan engage in recreational activities when school and work are canceled due to typhoons.
Teachers who analyzed the test said that because different parts of Taiwan have different policies on school and work cancelations during typhoons, students would likely have different perspectives on the topic depending on where they live.
Teachers said that while the topic was relatable, they would like to know if students could write about the topic while keeping a reader entertained.
‘NEVER!’ Taiwan FactCheck Center said it had only received donations from the Open Society Foundations, which supports nonprofits that promote democratic values Taiwan FactCheck Center (TFC) has never received any donation from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a cofounder of the organization wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday. The Taipei-based organization was established in 2018 by Taiwan Media Watch Foundation and the Association of Quality Journalism to monitor and verify news and information accuracy. It was officially registered as a foundation in 2021. National Chung Cheng University communications professor Lo Shih-hung (羅世宏), a cofounder and chairman of TFC, was responding to online rumors that the TFC receives funding from the US government’s humanitarian assistance agency via the Open Society Foundations (OSF),
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
ANNUAL LIGHT SHOW: The lanterns are exhibited near Taoyuan’s high-speed rail station and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the airport MRT line More than 400 lanterns are to be on display at the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, which officially starts in Taoyuan today. The city is hosting the festival for the second time — the first time was in 2016. The Tourism Administration held a rehearsal of the festival last night. Chunghwa Telecom donated the main lantern of the festival to the Taoyuan City Government. The lanterns are exhibited in two main areas: near the high-speed rail (HSR) station in Taoyuan, which is at the A18 station of the Taoyuan Airport MRT, and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the MRT
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights