If you’re an English teacher in China and have heard about plans to reduce the role of English in the all-important National College Entrance Examination， or gaokao， don’t worry， be happy！ Chinese people’s 1）affinity for the language isn’t about to 2）wane， if anything it’ll become stronger.
　　As part of a nationwide drive to 3）overhaul the gaokao system， Beijing said on Monday that starting 2016， the score of English would drop from 150 to 100 on its plan， while the total marks for Chinese would be raised from 150 to 180. Currently， gaokao weighs English， Chinese and math equally. Even before the Monday announcement， Jiangsu province had caused a national 4）stir by 5）reportedly 6）mulling the idea of excluding English from the provincial-level college entrance exam.
　　I’ll not read too much into such shifts， not even as the beginning of the end to a decades-long 7）obsession with English， despite the fact that gaokao sets the direction for formal education across the country.
　　The reasons are simple. In any given year in the past few decades， hundreds of millions of Chinese students were learning English， driven by an 8）instrumental 9）motivation. Parents know English is the 10）lingua franca of international business， which would offer opportunities for upward 11）mobility and economic success if their children become fluent in it.
　　Cuts in the number of classes for English in schools may be a 12）windfall for the many language tuition centers that have been 13）thriving on parents’ eagerness to give their children an early leg up and are estimated to have a combined yearly revenue of 200 million yuan （$32.89 million）. They’ll also encourage an earlier 14）exodus of those who plan to 15）renege on gaokao to private feeder schools of foreign universities.
　　Being tested for less score doesn’t mean the subject can be taken lightly. Beijing will hold English exams twice a year and a student could take the exams more than once a year to earn the best score to seek admission to a college. Remember， gaokao is so competitive that students could spend a year or more just to raise a few points to surge ahead.
　　Some education experts suspect that a new grading system to assess students’ proficiency in English in 16）lieu of a gaokao test， as proposed by Jiangsu province， could make college admission as tough as before， because a top university might demand scores in English through a separate test regardless of a student’s total gaokao score. Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji， one of the most respected and 17）foresighted Chinese statesmen， 18）advocated English as the 19）medium of instruction in the management school of the 20）prestigious Tsinghua University， because “in a globalizing economy， if you cannot interact with foreigners， how can one be part of the world economy？”


　　Now the question is， if English is so important， why have education authorities chosen it to 21）spearhead the overhaul of an exam system that 22）incarnates both a major education 23）impasse and the 24）pinnacle of Chinese social justice？
　　While popularly seen as the fairest 25）criterion for admission to college， gaokao has also been criticized for emphasizing 26）rote memory rather than creativity of students， admissions based on a single test and a lack of recruitment 27）autonomy by colleges.
　　English has become an apparent target of reform because of a famous classroom teaching tradition that encourages memorizing textbooks rather than communication skills. However， the downgrade may also be the consequence of a growing 28）controversy over the enthusiasm for English， as critics worry about its usefulness for most college graduates as well as a potential 29）erosion of Chinese language， culture and identity.
　　But parents who want to give their children the best may have found some opponents’ 30）rhetoric 31）hollow and even 32）hypocritical. For instance， it’s increasingly difficult to find a successful Chinese figure who hasn’t given or planned to give， his/her child an all-English education.
　　It doesn’t take Zhu’s wisdom to realize why students will continue to be motivated to learn English， even for fewer points at gaokao.


　　如果你是中国的一名英语教师，在听说削弱英语在至关重要的全国高等教育入学考试，也称“高考”中的角色的改革方案后，别担心，高兴点儿！中国人和这门语言的紧密关系将不会减退，而是会越来越强。
　　作为全国性高考制度改革的一部分，北京在周一（译者注：这里指2013年10月21日）宣布改革方案，从2016年起，英语高考总分将从150分降至100分，而语文总分将从150分上升至180分。目前的情况是，高考中英语、语文和数学处于平衡的状态。甚至在周一（这一改革方案）公布之前，江苏省曾轰动全国，原因是有报道称其考虑将在省级高等教育入学考试中不包括英语成绩。
　　我将不会对这一转变作过多解读，甚至不会将此作为终结长达几十年的英语热的开始，尽管事实上高考政策为全国的正规教育设定了方向。
　　原因很简单。在过去几十年中的任何一年，出于（将英语作为）工具型动机，亿万的中国学生在学习英语。家长们清楚知道英语是国际商务通用语言，如果他们的孩子能够流利使用英语的话，会在晋升和经济上的成功得到更多的机会。
　　在校英语课时数量的减少将使很多语言培训中心愈加红火，这些培训中心因家长们希望孩子们（在英语学习上较其他孩子）有优势而兴起，年收入预计达到两亿元（3289万美元）。他们还鼓励那些不打算参加高考的学生更早地结伴到国外高校的私立直属学校就读。
　　分数的减少并不意味着可放松对待这个科目。北京将每年进行两次英语考试，考生可不止一次参加以期取得入学考试的最好成绩。记住，高考竞争如此激烈，学生们会花上一年甚至更多的时间，只为了提高几分，取得更好的成绩。
　　一些教育专家猜测，一套新的替代高考的评分制度将被用于评估学生的英语熟练程度，正如江苏省所计划的那样，这会使入学考试如以前一样严格，因为一所顶尖高校除了高考分数之外，也许会要求学生提供其他考试的英语成绩。中国前总理朱镕基是最受尊敬和前瞻性的中国政治家之一，他曾在著名的清华大学管理学院提倡用英语授课，因为“经济全球化，你不能跟外国人交流，又怎么能融入全球的经济呢？”
　　现在的问题是，如果英语那么重要，为什么教育权威选择英语作为高考制度改革的先头兵？而这一高考制度显现了主要的教育僵局和中国社会的公正。
　　尽管被普遍认为是高校录取的最公平的准则，高考也被批判着重死记硬背，而不是激发学生的创造性思维，一场考试决定录取，缺乏高校自主招生。 　　英语明显成为改革的对象，因为英语教学传承了死记硬背课本而不是交流技巧的传统课堂模式。然而，分数的降低也可能使关于英语热的争议不断，因为评论家担心多数大学毕业生用不上英语，而对中国语言、文化和认同也有潜在侵蚀。
　　但是，想要给孩子们提供最好条件的家长们可能会发现竞争对手虚夸的言辞甚至虚伪。例如，越来越难找到一个没有或者没有计划给自己的孩子提供全英语环境教育的中国成功人士。
　　无需拥有朱镕基的智慧，就能意识到为什么学生们会继续被激励学习英语，尽管高考中英语的分数变少了。


　　小链接The fate of English in China’s college entrance examination
　　BEIJING， Oct. 27 （Xinhuanet）—A report revealing the reduced role of the English test in Beijing’s college entrance examination has drawn much public attention.
　　Starting from 2016， the English test score will be reduced from 150 to 100， and the students will also be allowed to take two exams a year and pick the best result for their college admission， according to a report on the website of China’s Communist Party newspaper Guangming Daily on Oct. 21.
　　There have also been numerous reports from other provinces in China. For example， there is a rumor that the English test will be phased out of the entrance exam system in eastern China’s Jiangsu province， while other provinces or municipalities， such as Shanghai and Hubei， will not make any major changes.
　　Any possible change in the exam provokes much heed and debate. In an online survey carried out by China’s popular portal， Sina， 72.5% of people favor reducing the weighting of English in the entrance exam， 22.6% are against it， while 4.9% are undecided （as of Oct. 22）.
　　Putting divided opinions aside， the attention the news has attracted demonstrates the Chinese love-hate relationship with learning English and the Gaokao， or the National College Entrance Examination.