The Reincarnated Science Whiz

Chapter 3: College Entrance Exam Past Papers

As someone who had been reborn, Qin Yuanqing naturally wouldn’t spend money on past exam papers. He logged onto the classroom computer, opened Baidu, typed in “2008 college entrance exam questions,” downloaded them, and had them printed at a print shop off campus—it cost him less than 10 yuan. Both his parents were farmers who didn’t earn much money all year round; it was already difficult enough for them to pay for his education. As a result, Qin Yuanqing didn’t have much monthly spending money—enough to eat his fill, but nothing to spare. If he could save even one yuan, he would never spend it unnecessarily. His monthly allowance of 600 yuan wasn’t exactly meager, but it wasn’t exactly lavish either—after all, just three meals a day cost about 15 yuan. Qin Yuanqing spent every day immersed in solving problems. After finishing a set, he’d check his answers—it was immediately clear which ones were right and which were wrong, and he had a good sense of what knowledge he’d mastered. “About 580 points—that means I’ve just barely made the cutoff for first-tier universities, but I’m still a long way from being a top student!” Qin Yuanqing thought to himself. For completing one past exam paper, he earned one Study Coin. After finishing the 2008 college entrance exam, Qin Yuanqing had accumulated 25 Study Coins. At the same time, he jotted down a few questions in his notebook—ones that felt familiar, as if they were from the 2009 college entrance exam. So much time had passed that he couldn’t remember many of the exam questions, though he did recall the Chinese essay prompt—which was actually one of his strengths. As long as he prepared thoroughly for the essay, he could boost his score by at least a dozen points. His usual essay scores hovered around 45 to 50 points, but if he could write a perfect essay, that would make all the difference. Qin Yuanqing kept working through past college entrance exam papers from 2008—not just from Fujian Province, but from other provinces as well. Whenever he encountered a question he couldn’t understand, he would ask his teacher for help, and his teacher was always willing to explain it to him. After all, teachers knew full well that working through practice problems was an excellent way to improve scores; otherwise, there wouldn’t be daily exams in senior year. Having an endless supply of practice tests was all part of the training—training in problem-solving approaches and techniques, while also using them to analyze key and difficult points. Past Gaokao exam papers, meanwhile, represent the essence of the exam content. The teachers on the Gaokao question-setting committee are undoubtedly highly capable; their understanding of the textbooks far surpasses that of us regular teachers. Even teachers themselves might not necessarily get every question right. Sometimes, a seemingly simple question can contain a trap. After Qin Yuanqing worked through all the 2008 provincial Gaokao exam papers, his scores improved significantly. With a maximum score of 750, he was scoring around 630—a score that would be sufficient for admission to Lutiao University. Lutiao University is the most renowned university in Fujian Province—a “985” and “211” Double First-Class university that consistently ranks between 20th and 30th among domestic universities and is classified as a key “985” institution. Qin Yuanqing’s study coins had also reached 100, and his attributes in all subjects had been upgraded to Level 2. In the Basic System, the highest level is Level 10. Reaching Level 10 means that a student has achieved the level of a high school academic star in a particular subject. Qin Yuanqing checked his stats panel: Host: Qin Yuanqing Age: 18 IQ: 115 Emotional Intelligence: 100 Subjects: Chinese: Level 2 (100/1000) Math: Level 2 (100/1000) English: Level 2 (100/1000) Physics: Level 2 (100/1000) Chemistry: Level 2 (100/1000) Biology: Level 2 (100/1000) Physical Fitness: Level 1 (0/100) Qin Yuanqing looked at his stats. He understood very well that his scores had improved rapidly over this period, but he had now reached his current limit. After all, this was his inherent potential; he had simply tapped into it during this time. The higher he climbed, the harder it became to gain even a single point. “Cramming is a blast—the more I cram, the better it gets!” Qin Yuanqing took a deep breath. He’d been reborn for a while now, and he wasn’t willing to settle for less. He wanted to become a top student, achieve a sky-high score on the college entrance exam, and bask in the glory of everyone’s admiration and his parents’ joy and pride. Qin Yuanqing exchanged all 100 Study Coins for IQ. After all, he was still a student—emotional intelligence wasn’t important. He just wanted to be a top student; what use was emotional intelligence to him? One point of IQ required 10 Study Coins. So 100 Study Coins would buy him 10 points of IQ. Once the conversion was complete, the IQ value in Qin Yuanqing’s stats panel rose from 115 to 125. According to international standards, an IQ of 120 is considered excellent. His original IQ of 115 had been in the upper-middle range. The higher the IQ, the stronger the learning ability and the greater the comprehension. Among those academic stars who score 700 or higher on the college entrance exam, isn’t every single one of them over 140 in IQ? In comparison, he still had a long way to go! “Qin Yuanqing, do you know how to solve this problem?” Just as Qin Yuanqing was feeling quite satisfied with having raised his IQ from 115 to 125, a soft, gentle voice reached his ears. Qin Yuanqing looked up and saw that it was Lin Yuling, a classmate of his. Lin Yuling had always been the top student in the class, especially in English and Chinese—she consistently scored over 140 on those subjects, and her essays always earned perfect scores; her name was a constant fixture in the “Perfect Scores” column. The only reason she hadn’t been placed in the experimental class was that, during the first semester of her sophomore year, she was reportedly ranked 51st in the grade—just one spot short of qualifying. She excelled in Chinese and English, but her performance in math and physics was only average. Qin Yuanqing recalled that after the college entrance exam, Lin Yuling had been admitted to Lutiao University and eventually took the civil service exam after graduation. “Oh, it’s Lin Yuling,” Qin Yuanqing said without giving her a second glance. Lin Yuling was about 156 cm tall, with short hair, and wasn’t particularly pretty. Having been exposed to all kinds of internet celebrities, Qin Yuanqing’s sense of aesthetics had long since skyrocketed, so he certainly wouldn’t have any romantic feelings for her. Qin Yuanqing glanced at the problem—it was a physics question involving mass and velocity, specifically the decomposition of force and velocity. That’s how mechanics works—the most important part is the decomposition of forces. If you don’t understand the decomposition clearly, it’s very difficult to get the answer right. As an engineering major, force decomposition was naturally Qin Yuanqing’s strong suit. He clearly labeled each force acting on the ball, applied the formula to calculate the force, then used the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration to derive the formula for velocity and calculate it. Finally, he applied the law of conservation of momentum to determine the mass of the other ball. “Lin Yuling, did you follow that?” Qin Yuanqing looked at Lin Yuling. “I understand now. Thank you, Qin Yuanqing,” Lin Yuling said gratefully. Qin Yuanqing hadn’t said much, but his steps were very clear. Watching his problem-solving process allowed her to understand his logic and thought process—and that was more useful than anything else. “You’re welcome—we’re classmates,” Qin Yuanqing said with a smile. Classmates—seemingly ordinary, yet actually quite extraordinary. Qin Yuanqing used to think classmates were just that—familiar strangers, or unfamiliar friends. But after working for a few years, he realized that because he had studied in Zhejiang Province, all his classmates were there, and he had almost no college classmates in Fujian Province. When his colleagues needed information, a simple phone call would easily take care of it, but he had to put on a cheerful face, rely on his thick skin, and run around diligently to get what he needed. Later, when his high school classmates began working in township governments and county bureaus, Qin Yuanqing’s job became much easier. This made him realize the importance of classmates—they help you without expecting anything in return, simply because you’re their classmate. Many people looked at Qin Yuanqing with some surprise, especially the girls, who couldn’t figure out when he had become so easygoing. If Qin Yuanqing knew what they were thinking, he would surely cry foul—he really hadn’t meant to act that way before; he was just a shy, reserved person deep down. In English class, Qin Yuanqing listened intently. After all, self-study didn’t always yield good results in English. Looking at his past college entrance exam papers, his English scores had never broken 120 points, clearly dragging down his overall performance. The science comprehensive exam was his strong suit; he’d scored 256 on it during his original college entrance exam. Now, after continuous intensive training, his score had stabilized between 280 and 290, and with further practice, Qin Yuanqing was confident he could achieve a perfect score of 300. But English was a real headache—his scores were improving very slowly, and memorizing the material wasn’t easy either. Grammar made things even more complicated; the same words had different forms depending on whether they were in the past, present, or future tense, which sometimes gave Qin Yuanqing a real headache. Then there’s the English listening section—he often only scores 18 to 20 out of 30, making it a major source of lost points. Sometimes Qin Yuanqing just couldn’t understand it: since the vast majority of Huaxia people would never go abroad in their entire lives, why learn English at all? If you want to go abroad, just learn English on your own—why on earth should English be included in the college entrance exam? Even over the past decade or so, calls to abolish English have never ceased. Countless people loathe the subject, and because of it alone, countless students have failed the college entrance exam and been forced to attend mediocre universities. Now, while his math and Chinese scores have improved significantly, it’s English that’s seriously holding him back—and the main problem is that Qin Yuanqing still lacks confidence. Sometimes life just throws you curveballs—since English isn’t his native language, it’s really hard to master. Back in middle school, he often scored 140 on his English exams, but once he reached high school, as the volume of English material increased, achieving a high score on the college entrance exam became much harder. It’s not just about memorizing vocabulary—you also have to master phrases and grammar. This year’s class at Jinpu No. 1 High School has a real standout—a petite young woman majoring in science who memorized the entire Oxford Dictionary. Since her freshman year, she’s consistently ranked first or second on every exam; she’s undoubtedly a top student. As far as I recall, this girl was admitted to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) the following semester. Her acceptance letter was displayed in the most prominent spot on the school’s bulletin board, making history at Jinpu No. 1 High School, and was eventually added to the school’s museum collection. Qin Yuanqing knew that to become a top student, she had to be flawless—she absolutely had to address her weakness in English. Her goal wasn’t merely to rank in the top 10 in her grade; even if she became first in her grade, it wouldn’t be enough to secure the top spot in Shuixian City on the college entrance exam. Moreover, Shuixian City was not one of the educational powerhouses in Fujian Province; the city’s top student typically ranked only around 10th in the province. To become the top science student in Fujian Province, he still had an incredibly long road ahead of him. The revolution is not yet complete; comrades must continue to strive! Qin Yuanqing took this as his personal motto, using it to motivate himself every day. As someone determined to become an academic star, Qin Yuanqing’s sights were set not just on Jinpu No. 1 High School, nor merely on Shuixian City, but on the entire Fujian Province—and even the whole country!