有梦，便不觉路远。高考加油！
Prayers before chinas gaokao exam season
Reuters
The air crackles[1] with anticipation in China's tiny eastern town of Maotanchang ahead of the "gaokao", the annual national college entrance exam more than 9 million students are taking this year.
[1]crackle: to make a lot of short, dry, sharp sounds 发出尖锐急促声；噼啪作响
The logs crackled and popped in the fireplace.
木柴在壁炉里烧得噼啪作响。
The town is famed for a middle school that puts students through rigorous 14-hour days in preparation for the exam, usually spread over two days, that begins on Wednesday.
This year about 9.4 million students will appear, the Xinhua state news agency said, roughly[2] the same number since 2014 and down from a peak of 10.5 million in 2010.
[2]经济学人常用副词来增强文章的张力，平常写作时可以模仿。
The fiercely competitive test is seen as a key to social mobility and the best chance for school leavers to land[3] a white-collar job.
[3]land: to get or achieve something good, especially in a way that seems easy or unexpected （尤指轻而易举或意外地）获得，得到，赢得
He landed a senior editorial job.
他刚刚轻而易举地得到了一份高级编辑的工作。
Just 40 percent of students are expected to enroll in undergraduate degrees subsequently, however, Xinhua said, citing the 2017 enrollment plan of the education ministry.
But the exception is Maotanchang Middle School, whose website says 80 percent to 90 percent of its students have won college acceptances[4] since 2010.
[4]此处和上一段标红部分均可理解为“考上大学”--写作中短语表达的多样性。
"My mother gave up her job and came here to keep me company," said Xiang Licheng (left), a 20-year-old who came to Maotanchang to prepare for a second attempt at the exam.
He said the school had taught him endurance, among other life skills.
"Every time I don't feel like studying, I will not relax, as I see the hardship my mother goes through in caring for me," Xiang said.
Restaurant owner Zhang Xunze said he moved to Maotanchang three years ago so his son could attend the school.
"We thought life was too boring and had nothing to do. So we gathered some money and started this restaurant," said 49-year-old Zhang, whose business is a short walk from the school gate.
In the lead-up to[5] the exams, students took part in incense-burning ceremonies to pray for good luck. They also released into the sky floating lanterns inscribed with "gaokao" messages.
[5]lead up to sth: If a period of time or series of events leads up to an event or activity, it happens until that event or activity begins. 为…作铺垫；是…的先导
The pilot had no recollection of the events leading up to the crash.
飞行员想不起飞机坠毁前发生了什么。
China's education ministry has urged exam venues to "create an optimal environment for students", and guard against "extreme weather conditions, natural disasters and disease outbreaks that could occur during the exams," Xinhua added.
The parents of Maotanchang Middle School were doing their part to help. Students cramming[6] on the weekend received tins of steaming[7] soup their parents had queued patiently to deliver.
[6]cram: to try to learn a lot very quickly before an exam （考试前）死记硬背，突击学习
She's cramming for her history exam.
为应付历史考试她拼命突击。
[7]steaming: producing steam 冒蒸汽的；冒水汽的
a steaming bowl of soup 一碗热气腾腾的汤
"What I am most worried about now is that I will not perform well in the exam," said Zhang Chenlin, who lives with his mother in a tiny room near the school as he makes his second attempt at the exam.
又是一年高考时，
那年英语听力，你是否还有印象。
高考。
祝福。