韓國也瘋狂 繼中國高考熱家長燒香

Parents went to pray for their childrens' success in Buddhist temples and churches.

Military training was suspended, flights rescheduled and emergency calls reserved for latecomers as hundreds of thousands of South Korean students sat a crucial college entrance examination.

軍事訓練暫停、航班重新調(diào)整時間、緊急呼叫電話為遲到考生預(yù)留……韓國幾十萬考生近日參加了競爭激烈的高考。

As every year, the focus of the education-obsessed country narrowed for one day to ensure the smooth running of the exam, seen as a defining moment that can hold the key to everything, from future careers to marriage prospects.

韓國是一個很重視教育的國家。每年高考時，全社會都在總動員，保證高考順利舉行。在韓國，高考被認為是決定考生未來職業(yè)和婚姻前景等所有前程的關(guān)鍵時刻。

Police cars and motorbikes in cities across South Korea were put on standby, available for any students needing to make a late dash to take their seats before the exam began Thursday at 8:40 am.

高考當天，韓國各城市的警車和摩托車都嚴陣以待，做好準備將有可能遲到的考生送到考場。考試在周四上午8點40開始。

In one case, police responded to a distress call from a father whose car had blown a tyre and hit a railing as he was driving his 18-year-old daughter to the test in the southern city of Busan.

比如，警方曾接到一位父親的求救電話，說自己車胎爆胎，撞到了欄桿上。當時他正在釜山送18歲的女兒參加高考。

The police took the student to a nearby hospital for treatment before rushing her to the exam centre, Seoul's CBS radio said.

據(jù)首爾CBS電臺報道，警察把考生送往附近醫(yī)院治療，接著緊急把她送到考試中心。

More than 668,500 students took the day-long standardised College Scholastic Ability Test at 1,191 centres nationwide, the education ministry said.

韓國教育部表示，超過66.85萬考生在1191個考試中心參加了為期一天的大學學生能力標準化測驗。

Aviation authorities said 83 flights had been rescheduled to avoid noisy landings and take-offs during language listening tests in the morning and afternoon.

民航當局表示，共有83架航班調(diào)整了時間，以避免起降噪音影響上午和下午進行的語言聽力測試。

The stock market's opening and closing was delayed by an hour while many government offices and private companies opened late to ease rush-hour traffic so that students could arrive at test centres on time.

韓國股市的開盤和收盤時間延后一小時，很多政府部門和私人公司的上班時間也相應(yīng)推后，避免上下班交通擁堵，這樣考生就能準時到達考場了。

In South Korea's hyper-competitive education system, high marks in the exam are essential for entry to top universities, which is in turn crucial to securing prestigious jobs.

在韓國現(xiàn)在的教育制度下，學生們的競爭非常激烈，考試高分對進入名牌大學至關(guān)重要，也對畢業(yè)后找到好工作至關(guān)重要。

News networks offered recipes for special lunches which are easily digestible and contain ingredients supposed to boost mental concentration.

新聞上提供了特別午餐食譜，非常好消化，而且富含能讓考生集中精力的營養(yǎng)元素。

Parents gathered in anxious groups outside the test centres or went to pray for their childrens' success in Buddhist temples and churches.

家長們焦慮地等候在考場門外，或者去寺廟和教堂為孩子們祈禱。

The pressure on teenagers to perform well in exams is blamed for dozens of suicides every year that generally peak around the time of the annual entrance exam.

據(jù)稱，高考帶來的壓力導(dǎo)致韓國每年有幾十名學生自殺，每年高考時分也通常是自殺高峰。

For most of their school lives, South Korean students study late into the night -- often at costly, private cram schools -- to stay ahead in the rat race for admission to top universities.

韓國學生在校讀書時大多要在學費高昂的私人補習學校學習到深夜，以便在激烈的高考競爭中取勝，考入名牌大學。

(Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)