2016-04-06

【Aiden in English】

        The 2015-2016 school year is winding down. That really sucks because the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment or PSSA is also coming to town. Reaching the final stretch of school has taken a lot of energy, but not as much as the PSSA will.

        The end of the third marking period for the seventh-grade signals a ton of tests, including PSSA, Keystone Exam, End of Year Tests, and Finals. It sounds funny because it is! For those days, there are rarely any classes after the tests. For example, after most PSSA, the afternoon is basically spent on a movie or an activity, like a 3K. I understand this action taken by the teachers, as with previous experiences, PSSA kind of marathon kills the brain for 12 hours. The Keystones are the other extremely stressful test. They follow up the PSSA, throwing a one-two punch at us. Even though they aren’t talked about as much since only kids above Algebra I are eligible to take it, the impact of the grade is potentially more important than the PSSA. It seems a whole lot more intimidating as well. Luckily for me, I’ve already taken it from the last year, so I have a sense of the test. Although it isn’t a PSSA style, there still is a bad vibe every time the test comes around.

        Nevertheless, the third marking period was my worst marking period with grades. I mean, 94% in Science isn’t all that bad, but come on, and you know, Mom is an immunologist and it’s terribly hard after all. When I’m writing this, the third marking period hasn’t really ended yet; it ends tomorrow. The one thing I truly feel proud of this marking period was the fact that I aced English. Even if there is a large assessment coming through, I highly doubt I’ve got anything wrong. It was a writing piece, and well, I guess many of you can see why. Not to brag, but I can literally wing an essay in two hours in the evening and expect a full score. English isn’t that hard if all we did was to write. Obviously, it would require another side to balance it out, and the leverage was the speech. In the first two marking periods, I had an American child’s average or a mid- B range grade for speech. After receiving much help from the Debate class at Guanghua Chinese School, I flawlessly executed a debate in English, reaching a perfect score in speaking skills. The solid satisfaction of that accomplishment was one to be proud of, and it was even sweeter since my side won the debate.

        This marking period was Family & Consumer Science or FCS in our specials class, which was food cooking and sowing. I loved it simply because it made my grade look really good. Not only that, but also the fact that I’m usually still hungry after the gym, and I love a good batch of cookies or a spice of French toast. It’s the best class of the year, I think, and one I actually enjoy without any stress. Hey, maybe I’ll be a cook when I grow up?

        So, if anyone sees me walking around like a zombie next month, just blame the PSSA. The third marking period has felt like the first real challenge in school for a long time, and it isn’t because school isn’t hard. I feel the pressure of the future and what is upcoming, challenging me to strive with the flow of time.

【红霞译文】

        2015-2016学年已接近尾声，其实真正滋扰情绪的是宾州学校评估考试在即，最后冲刺需要耗费大量精力，但无论什么都没法与宾州学校评估考试所占的比重相比拟。

        初中二年级第三学制结束意味着诸多测验，其中包括宾州学校评估考试、宾州公立中学标准考试、年终考试以及期末考试，听起来犹如其名天花乱坠，考试期间难得进行各种课业教学，譬如：宾州学校评估各门考试之余，当天下午大家一般都在班上看电影或搞类似三千米跑步的活动，凭借以往经验，我理解老师的用心，连续十二小时马拉松式密集应战，脑袋瓜早已麻木得不听使唤。宾州公立中学标准考试叫人透不过气来，其形式与宾州学校评估考试差不多，里面夹杂一两道难题，尽管大家对这种考试谈论不多，因为只有学过中级代数的学生才有资格参加考试，但它比评估老师教学水平的宾州学校评估考试更能影响学生个人总分，因此看上去非常恐怖。幸运的是，去年我曾经历过一遭，所以对此心中有数。宾州公立中学标准考试与宾州学校评估考试风格迥异，不过考试压力却有过之而无不及。

        不知怎么搞的，第三学制是我成绩最差的一个学制，本来科学课94分算不了啥，可如你所知，妈妈是位免疫学家，古曰：“近水楼台先得月”，我反倒没沾上什么光。截止至此，第三学制实际上还没有完全结束，明天才是最后一天。英语得了满分令我极其得意，即使考试分量很重成绩尚未公布，我仍有把握自己的答卷准确无误。这回考写作，我想不少了解我的人都持有同样观点，用不着吹牛，咱晚间花上两个钟头随便整出一篇文章准保拿个满分。如果单凭写作，英语说来一点不难；明显地，这门课一定要有别的东西全面加以衡量，而综合评定的杠杆非演讲莫属。在前两个学制期间，我跟其他美国同学一样表现平平，充其量算得上中不溜水平，好在经过光华中文学校“辩论”课锤炼，终以出色的对话技能为英语辩论赛划上圆满句号，卓有成效的进步固然值得骄傲，但没有比赢得团队辩论胜利而更令我开心。

        第三学制增设了家政学，我之所以喜欢烹饪裁缝手工专业课，无非因为好混日子，不仅如此，体育课后我饿得饥肠辘辘，吃些新鲜饼干或者法式面包片定叫我心满意足，我认为这是今年以来最受欢迎的课程，惟有这门课我从无压力可言。嘿，没准长大后我会选厨师为生？

        这么说吧，下个月假如有人见我像一具行尸走肉，那只能怪罪宾州学校评估考试。初中二年级第三学制似乎第一次提醒大家要做好长期迎接真正挑战的准备，这么说并非暗指学校日子有多难熬。我意识到未来重任，随着时间迁移，它正朝我走来并要我接受考验。