In the afternoon.
Suburbs of Beijing.
Beijing college entrance examination question setting team stationed.
Outside, Pan Yang was waiting for him. "Teacher Zhang, you're here."
"Dean Pan." Zhang Ye got out of the car and walked up to her. "This is such a long journey. What kind of place is this? We're almost at Beihe Province, aren't we? "
Pan Yang smiled and said, "More or less. It's a small place with decent scenery. The two small buildings on the mountain are well-equipped with office facilities, so every year, the question setting team would gather here." After pausing for a moment, Pan Yang stretched out his hand. "First, give me your phone and all your communication devices. Someone will take care of them for you. See that gate over there? Once you enter this door, you won't be able to come out before the end of the college entrance examination. If you have any unfinished calls or unfinished matters, you can still make a call now. "
Zhang Ye smacked his lips. "There's no need to be so strict, right? Don't you know my character? How could he miss a question? I also have a lot of work at the TV station. If I'm not there, I'm afraid they won't be able to handle it. "
"This is the rule. It's the same for me." Pan Yang shrugged.
Zhang Ye blinked and said, "Then why did you call me today?"
Pan Yang smiled and said, "I'm one of the people in charge of the mathematics team, so I should at least have a cell phone to communicate with the Higher Education Entrance Examination Board or the other leaders. Besides, when I go up the mountain, I'll have to hand over my cell phone as well, so it's all the same."
"Alright, alright then." Zhang Ye took out his cellphone.
"We'll see if there are any special circumstances," Pan Yang said.
"Alright."
The mountain was not high.
After driving for a few minutes, they arrived at the mountainside. There were two small buildings there, and there seemed to be a few small pavilions at the top of the mountain. The mountain breeze was very refreshing.
All the Chinese Literature, Mathematics, and English question setting teams were working in Block 1. Block 2 was the dormitory for people to stay in. When the car reached the mountainside, Pan Yang led Zhang Ye out of the car. They entered the building and went straight to the Math question setting team's work area. There were quite a lot of people inside and there was even the smell of cigarettes. Quite a number of people were chatting in groups of twos and threes. Some of them were discussing the questions, while others were arguing. The atmosphere was very tense, as they had to complete the questions before Monday and satisfy the higher-ups. They were all under a lot of pressure, as it wasn't always easy to increase the difficulty of the questions and innovate.
When Zhang Ye arrived, everyone looked over.
"Professor Zhang!"
"Whoa, Teacher Zhang is here?"
"Teacher Zhang."
"Hello, Teacher Zhang."
"I've heard a lot about you."
"Hehe, this time I see one alive."
Everyone had clearly heard that Zhang Ye was coming.
Zhang Ye did not know most of the people here, nor had he seen them before. But even though he did not know who they were, they knew who Zhang Ye was. In fact, his name was like a thunderclap to their ears. Almost everyone greeted Zhang Ye. A few of those who worked in the field of mathematics education even pulled Zhang Ye over to chat.
In the Mathematics team, Zhang Ye was still very well respected. After all, Dale's Conjecture was solved by Zhang Ye. This was an existence that many mathematicians could only look up to. Zhang Ye was also one of the few remaining world-class mathematicians in China, an elite of the Chinese mathematics world. When Pan Yang invited Zhang Ye to join the Mathematics question setting team, no one had any objections and felt that it was normal. No matter how old Zhang Ye was, his mathematical standard was still there for all to see. Even if the seven or eight members of the Mathematics question setting team were added together, including Dean Pan from Peking University's School of Mathematical Sciences, their mathematical standards would still not be able to match up to Zhang Ye, so everyone had to be convinced.
Soon, everyone got down to business.
"This question won't do."
"Yeah, this kind of question doesn't have much value. The higher-ups have already said that we can't do it this way."
"We've been working on this question for a month and most of it is going to be scrapped? Hai. "
"There's no point in complaining. Let's take it slow. I'll show you the question that I asked earlier. The difficulty should be acceptable. Go and see if there are any loopholes in it."
"This one won't do."
"Oh? What's the matter? "
"If it were a question and answer question, it would still be fine. But this is a multiple choice question. If you substitute the choices, it would be too easy. This question would have been better placed at the beginning."
"Hai, it's really not easy to come up with this question. Besides, the time is too tight."
"Taking everything into account, there's only less than three days left."
"The other question setting teams are probably in a mess now."
Zhang Ye also quickly got into his work. He did not say much and only listened to everyone discuss the questions. He had to familiarize himself with his work first, such as the scope of the questions, the method of setting them, etc. From time to time, he would also ask Pan Yang and the other colleagues a few questions, hoping to quickly understand this world's college entrance examination's math questions. In the end, he discovered that this world's college entrance examination's questions and scope of questions were not too different from his previous world's. The only differences were the scores and the order of the questions. Knowing this, he felt more at ease.
Zhang Ye said, "Dean Pan, I'll take a few sets of the exam papers back to study them. I also want a copy of the questions that everyone came up with for the first edition."
Pan Yang said, "Alright, they're all ready-made."
A young team member said, "Professor Zhang, it's all up to you now."
Zhang Ye quickly waved it off. "I'm just here to serve as a foil."
But Pan Yang said, "Don't serve as a foil. The Math team is still counting on you to solve the questions. I've already communicated with everyone about the math questions this time. You'll be the one in charge."
"Huh?" Zhang Ye said, "Why am I the one in charge? Aren't you all going to set the majority of the questions and I'm only in charge of the more difficult ones? "
Pan Yang smiled. "You, Zhang Ye, are one of the top names in the world of mathematics. Since you've joined the Math question setting team, how can you let others take charge of the exam papers? No one would want to be ahead of you, and there's no such thing. So don't be unreasonable. When the Math team's question setters are announced to the public, your name will definitely be at the top of the list. The majority of the exam papers will also depend on you. I've already discussed this with the Higher Education Entrance Examination Board and they agreed with me. "
Zhang Ye said nervously, "You really know how to order me around. With so many questions, even if I were to come up with half of them, it would still be quite tiring, wouldn't it? Besides, I have to go to the Chinese Literature team as well. "
A member of the Math team was taken aback. "Why are you going to the Chinese Literature team?"
Zhang Ye said, "I've also agreed to help out at the Chinese Literature question setting team."
Someone exclaimed, "You can even set the Chinese Literature questions?"
Pan Yang: "…"
The other team members: "…"
F * * k! Why couldn't they come up with the Chinese Literature questions? These mathematicians suddenly remembered that Zhang Ye was not just a mathematician. He was also an official lecturer at Peking University's Chinese Department, so it wasn't strange that the Chinese Literature question setting team would look for him. Thinking about it now, Zhang Ye was also very proficient in history, so it would be normal for the History question setting team to look for him. Professor Zhang was different from them, who had spent their entire lives in the field of mathematics education. Zhang Ye's path was … much wider!
Pan Yang said, "Then I'll leave it to you to manage your time. I don't care about the Chinese Literature team, but we, the Math team, will definitely complete the task on time."
Zhang Ye said, "Sure, I'll try my best. I'll go over to the Chinese Literature team to have a look first."
Pan Yang nodded. "Alright, familiarize yourself with your work first. Let's meet here tomorrow morning before 9 AM to continue discussing the questions."
"Alright, I'll try to write a few questions tonight." Zhang Ye then bade farewell and left.
He asked around for the location of the Chinese Literature team before heading over himself. He planned to greet them first and get a few sets of the exam papers to study.
The door to the Chinese Literature team was open.
Inside, there were less than ten people discussing the exam papers. However, it was not as intense as the Math team. Everyone was speaking softly and it was quite quiet inside.
When Zhang Ye walked in, he saw a familiar face. It was an old acquaintance of his and they had always been on good terms. "Teacher Su!"
Peking University's Chinese Department's lecturer, Su Na, suddenly turned around and said in a startled manner, "Teacher Zhang?"
"You're here too?" Zhang Ye thought about it and thought so too. Peking University was ranked number one in the Chinese Literature department in the country, so it wasn't surprising for a Chinese Department teacher to be here.
When the others heard the commotion, they also looked over.
Eh?
Zhang Ye?
Wasn't that Zhang Ye?
Everyone from the Chinese Literature team was stunned again!
Su Na immediately came up to him. "What are you doing here?"
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "The Math question setting team asked me for help, so I came over. Oh yes, is Chief Yu from the Chinese Literature team around? Dean Chang asked me to look for him when I arrived. "
Su Na said in surprise, "Look for Chief Yu?"
At this moment, the door to an office at the back opened. A middle-aged man in his forties or fifties came out and said, "Teacher Zhang, you're here. I'm Yu Fan."
Zhang Ye shook hands with him and said, "Hello."
Chief Yu said, "Did you go to the Math team?"
"Yes, I did," Zhang Ye said.
Chief Yu nodded, then turned around to the other colleagues from the Chinese Literature question setting team and said, "Let me announce that from today onwards, Teacher Zhang Ye will be officially joining the Chinese Literature team."
When everyone heard this, many of their expressions did not look quite right.
Chief Yu then said to Zhang Ye, "Let me introduce you. This is Teacher Liao Qi from Tsinghua University. This is Teacher Li Rui from Renmin University. This is Teacher Ma Qi from Normal University. This is Teacher Su Na … Oh, Teacher Su, there's no need for introductions. You're all from Peking University's Chinese Department, so you definitely know each other."
Su Na giggled and said, "Teacher Zhang, welcome."
Zhang Ye pretended to shake hands with her and said, "Thank you, Teacher Su."
As for the others, they were not that enthusiastic. Many of them did not even have the mood to come up to Zhang Ye to get to know him or exchange a few words.
Chief Yu could also tell that these pedants from the education and literary world might have some conflict or disagreement with Zhang Ye, so he did not say much. He got Su Na to bring Zhang Ye around to familiarize himself with the work while he went back to his office.
In the Chinese Literature team, Zhang Ye did not receive the same respect as he did in the Math team. The reason was very simple, probably because scholars despised each other. Zhang Ye was still young and inexperienced. He had only worked at Peking University for a semester before he was suspended from his duties. He even had countless arguments and scolding battles with his peers from the literary and education worlds. There were definitely some peers who had a good relationship with Zhang Ye, such as Su Na, but there were even more who did not. Some of the people from the literary and education worlds had not even met Zhang Ye before and already hated him. This fellow, Zhang Ye, had offended quite a few people. Naturally, when they saw that Zhang Ye had actually joined the Chinese Literature question setting team, many of the teachers were unconvinced and looked down on him.
They were all whispering to each other.
"Why is he here?"
"I don't know."
"What's Old Yu thinking?"
"Just because he knows how to write a few poems, he can set the college entrance exam questions?"
"That's too sloppy. Wasn't he suspended for scolding others?"
"The controversy over 'Dream of the Red Chamber' that he proposed is still ongoing. Many people are questioning how such a person who is not rigorous academically can be allowed to set the college entrance exam questions."
"I admit that Zhang Ye's Mathematics level is high. Yes, you are awesome in the Mathematics field, so no one would have any objections to you being the first question setter for the Mathematics team. But the Chinese Literature team is different. It requires a rigorous standard of Chinese and also an understanding of Chinese education. This is not something that a teacher who has only been in the profession for half a year can do!"
In the field of Mathematics, Zhang Ye's achievements could be seen at a glance. This was because when it came to a question or a mathematical conjecture, if you solved it, then you solved it. If you couldn't solve it, then you couldn't solve it. The level of proficiency was very clear. There was no need for anyone to say anything. It was something that everyone had to acknowledge. But in the Chinese literature field, the boundaries were blurred. There was no second place in martial arts, and there was no first place in literature. It was very difficult to distinguish who was better. No matter how many people read or paid attention to your work, as long as the experts and the Literature Award Committee recognized you as good, then you were good. But on the other hand, no matter how many people read or paid attention to your work, the industry insiders would not recognize you and would pick on your flaws. There was nothing that could be done about it.
Zhang Ye was in such a situation now. As he had offended too many people, in the field of literature, there was always a lot of controversy over his works.
Young.
Never won an award.
Controversial in the industry.
Just these three points had doomed Zhang Ye to an awkward position in the literary field. Those who liked him felt that he was the new leader of the Chinese literary world, while those who didn't like him felt that he was the black sheep of the literary world. They were always thinking of ways to get rid of him, and it had always been like this.
Zhang Ye was not surprised by their reactions. He just chuckled and did what he needed to do. He did not intend to have anything to do with this group of people.
After chatting with Su Na for a while to understand the situation, Zhang Ye took a stack of test papers and went back to his dormitory in Building 2. He leisurely lay down on his bed and began to study the test papers page by page. In between, he would also flip through the high school Chinese and Mathematics textbooks.
Actually, Zhang Ye already had an idea in mind. To suddenly overturn this batch of college entrance exam papers and increase the difficulty, it might be very difficult for the other question setting teachers. They might not know where to start or they might not have enough time, but to Zhang Ye, it was not a big deal. As long as he understood the situation of this world's college entrance exam and the scope of the questions, it would be a piece of cake for Zhang Ye. This was because this fellow might not have other things in his mind, but the college entrance exam papers were stacks upon stacks!
2009 Jiangsu exam papers.
2010 Hebei exam papers.
2011 Shanghai exam papers.
There were as many as he wanted. Zhang Ye had even done the college entrance exam papers in the 90s. He was also someone who had participated in the college entrance exam in his previous world. He had done and seen the college entrance exam papers. If there weren't a hundred of them, then there were at least a few dozen of them. What he needed to do now was to find some suitable and difficult questions to put together effectively!
Picking up a pen, Zhang Ye tried to come up with the questions.
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