2007 Graduate Entrance Exam English Ten Years of Turning Stone into Gold

Author: Hu Min
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-02-01
Features: Since 1997, I have been involved in postgraduate entrance exam English tutoring, and I have been inseparably linked with this work. First, I stood on the podium for a full decade, not only teaching countless students but also making many friends. Even now, I often receive greetings and blessings from some candidates. Starting from 2000, I also began to immerse myself in writing postgraduate entrance exam teaching books. Due to my frequent contact with candidates, I found that their immediate priority was to pass the vocabulary test. Therefore, I wrote the book "Core Vocabulary Notes for Postgraduate Entrance Exam English," which has been reprinted multiple times over the years and has always been highly welcomed and recognized by candidates, consistently ranking at the top on online postgraduate entrance exam book rankings. Because I am originally a translator and have also taught translation for a long time, I combined my classroom experience and diligent research to write "Four-Step Positioning Translation Method for English-Chinese Translation in Postgraduate Entrance Exam English." This book not only filled the gap in postgraduate entrance exam English-Chinese translation teaching materials but was also recognized by many students and industry insiders as one of the few works with academic depth. After writing the two postgraduate entrance exam English teaching books, "Core Vocabulary Notes for Postgraduate Entrance Exam English" and "Four-Step Positioning Translation Method for English-Chinese Translation in Postgraduate Entrance Exam English," I originally thought that my relationship with postgraduate entrance exam English would come to an end. Unexpectedly, in 2004, I joined New Oriental, and I returned to the work of postgraduate entrance exam English tutoring, which led to my further research on cloze and ten years of past papers. This was partly due to my personality of seeing things through and not turning back once a direction is chosen, and partly because postgraduate entrance exam English tutoring indeed has its charm. This charm primarily comes from the candidates. I often hear such remarks: "I have no problems with my major, but whether I can get in depends on English." As an English teacher, I can teach and educate in a systematic way or close the door to write and create. Because being a good university teacher and doing well in research can also achieve my life's value, an unexpected experience changed my perspective on my career. That day, after finishing the last class of a tutoring session, I had to walk to wait for the bus because I didn't ride my bicycle as usual. A student pushed his bicycle and walked with me. During our conversation, we found out we were from the same hometown, and the conversation became much more relaxed. The student introduced his situation to me: He had taken the exam the previous year and, despite having a clear advantage in his major, failed the English section because he blanked out in the exam hall due to nervousness. Upon inquiry, I found that he was a very hardworking student with a solid foundation and a decent vocabulary, but he struggled with reading comprehension and lacked a sense of direction in writing. Later, I asked him to write an essay for me, and I discovered that he indeed had some misconceptions in terms of understanding and techniques. Through my patient analysis and guidance, he quickly found a breakthrough and stood out in the subsequent exam. This candidate not only successfully obtained his master's and doctoral degrees in the following years but also went to the United States for a postdoctoral position. Now, his English not only helps him excel at work but has also become a very important part of his life. I learned that his teenage daughter's best subject is English because they often have English conversations at home and share their experiences in learning English. Although he is older than me and has already achieved success, he often tells others that I am his English teacher. To see such a transformation in a candidate who was once hesitant about English, to help someone overcome a difficult time and find a brighter future in life and career, and to have a student recognize you as his teacher for a lifetime—what work could be more meaningful or worthier of doing? This charm also comes from postgraduate entrance exam English itself. As a high-level qualification selection exam, postgraduate entrance exam English is known for its high difficulty and significant challenges. Because it is not easily won, postgraduate entrance exam English tutoring places high demands on teachers. These demands are not only reflected in professional expertise but also in the study of exam questions and the mastery of techniques. Additionally, it requires full dedication, perseverance, and persistent effort, otherwise, one might end up with superficial knowledge and overconfidence. Just as finding a love you are willing to dedicate your life to is a lifelong blessing, finding a career you are passionate about is also a lasting joy. To be honest, writing these postgraduate entrance exam teaching books may have added many gray hairs, wrinkles, and sacrifices in other aspects of my life, but I deeply understand what "Gradually, my belt grew tighter, but I never regretted it, for the sake of her, I grew weary and thin."