The School of Mathematics had scheduled its examinations to start on the 22nd of this month (Thursday) and would continue until the 29th of June, when the last course exam would conclude.
Including elective courses, it was necessary to take nine exams over eight days. The schedule wasn't particularly tight.
But earning a diploma from Huaxia's top-tier university was definitely not an easy feat.
Failing too many courses could indeed lead to an academic warning from the School, and receiving warnings for two consecutive sesters could result in being asked to leave the university.
This was especially true in the School of Mathematics, where almost every academic year, so students would be advised to withdraw.
Thus, the atmosphere in the school imdiately beca tense.
The tangible manifestations were a quicker pace in class, fewer gossips, and more discussions about study.
Even the cheerful laughter and chatter on campus had diminished considerably.
This could probably serve as a side proof that studying is a very serious matter, not suitable for codic relief.
Especially for the students in the basic classes of the School of Mathematics of this year, it was even more so.
There are no walls without chinks in the world, and the school campus was no different.
The news that this year's end-of-year exam difficulty for the basic math classes would be significantly increased compared to previous years had already spread within the inner circles of the class.
Just over the last weekend, if you did not look at your phone for a mont, you could find your class group chat, exclusive of teachers, breaking the 99 ssage mark.
The final exam questions from the previous sester had already made many students feel challenged, and this sester they were to be significantly harder? Was this not making it impossible to survive?!
Were these poor kids who chose the basic math classes really so deserving of death?
Thus, filled with righteous indignation and a strong spirit of rebellion, the students brought this solemn atmosphere directly to Monday's Advanced Algebra lecture hall.
Truly, as soon as ng Zequan entered the classroom as usual, he imdiately sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off today.
There was not the slightest noise; while the silence was bearable, what was up with those students all sitting so upright?
And those stern faces along with sharp gazes made ng Zequan feel like he had seen a ghost.
"Ahem, I have never before, hehe, seen such discipline in the classroom before class, I hope everyone can continue to maintain this, now let's start class. Turn your textbooks to... hmm?"
ng Zequan had not yet finished speaking when he saw a group of students simultaneously raising their hands.
During his classroom questioning, he had never seen such enthusiasm from these students.
So ng Zequan simply put down the textbook and casually pointed to Zhang Zhou, who was seated in the front row and had raised his hand most standardly, and said, "Zhang Zhou, you stand up and speak, what's the issue?"
"Professor, I just want to ask on behalf of the classmates, is it true that the difficulty of this year's end-of-sester exam for the basic classes will increase significantly compared to previous years?"
ng Zequan blinked his eyes...
That matter?
Hadn't Xu ntioned before that students shouldn't be allowed to know about it in advance?
Indeed, there's always soone who can't keep a secret.
"What have I always told you? In learning mathematics, slow is fast! No matter how difficult the exam is, it won't go beyond what you've studied in class. What are you afraid of? As long as you've accumulated enough knowledge over ti, I can't guarantee everyone will score high marks, but passing should never be a problem," ng Zequan replied vaguely.
The finals paper had actually already been prepared.
Of course, ng Zequan knew how difficult it was.
But it wasn't a good ti to dampen the spirits of these kids.
If they lose their confidence now and beco stressed during the exam, performing poorly as a collective, even the easier questions that shouldn't be missed would beco troubleso.
He would have to take a stack of papers and painstakingly go through each question to find a few extra points for each of these kids, but with more than eighty papers to look over, when would he find the ti?
After all, professors and lecturers aren't entirely on the opposite side from the students; the end-of-term assessnt does include various trics such as pass rates and rates of excellence.
The examination papers also have to be kept for three years. Although they are generally not reviewed, what if they are?
If a large number of students fail after one exam, wouldn't it seem like the professors and lecturers responsible for the course were incompetent?
"No, Professor ng, just tell us straight up, has the continuous assessnt portion for advanced math also been raised to 40 percent? Then we'd have a clear picture," Zhang Zhou didn't sit down but continued to ask.
Wow...
Students these days are really sothing else!
They know everything!
ng Zequan scratched his head, too lazy to talk to this guy anymore.
"This is a sign of your lack of confidence. Su Mucheng, co on, stand up and share with everyone your thoughts on the final exam. Hmm, Su Mucheng... Eh? She didn't co to class?"
A faint laugh spread through the classroom, thankfully stopping soon thereafter.
A girl in the middle row timidly raised her hand.
"Yes, go ahead."
"Su Mucheng, she, she said she wasn't feeling well today and asked to ask for leave on her behalf after class."
"Ah, I see... Sit down then. What about Chen Yiwen, co and talk to us... Hm? Chen Yiwen isn't here either? What?
He's not feeling well either?"
Zhang Zhou, who was still standing there, blinked, and oh no, he had just thrown Chen under the bus...
With no choice but to bite the bullet, he explained: "Reporting to Professor ng, um, Chen Yiwen got injured playing basketball yesterday, sprained his ankle pretty badly. He said he'd be self-studying and doing practice problems in the dorm this morning."
ng Zequan looked around the room with suspicion.
After a mont of silence, he said: "I guess your new classmate Qiao Ze also didn't show up today, right?"
No one responded.
Without hesitation, ng Zequan picked up the roll call book he hadn't used all sester: "Let's put aside the matter of exams for now, and do a roll call today. Stand up and respond when I call your na, and don't think about covering for others. I'm not senile yet, if I catch anyone responding for soone else, there will be plenty of spots available for rediating Advanced Mathematics."
That's not too bad, randomly picking out a few lucky kids who don't like attending class.
This way, after the final exam, when mulling over how to generously allocate points, there will be fewer papers to look at.
At this mont, the freshn in the classroom, who had just been brimming with fighting spirit, promptly beca as silent as cicadas in winter.
...
On Monday morning, the library was much quieter compared to the evening.
This was related to the generally full schedules of classes arranged by all the schools on Mondays.
After all, the vast majority of students couldn't get an excellent grade purely through self-study, and even if they scored zero during the term, they could still count on the professors to reluctantly give them high grades.
In fact, one of the most important functions of the regular term grades was to allow so students, who otherwise might not obtain enough credits, to earn enough to graduate smoothly. From this perspective, the school had really bent over backward to ensure most graduates could finish their studies.
Qiao Ze and Su Mucheng were clearly not among these students.
There was no need to ntion Qiao Ze.
As for Su Mucheng...
In any university, in any major, being able to consistently rank first in various large and small exams throughout the year and beco the undisputed number one in the eyes of classmates ant having privileges with the professors.
At the very least, they wouldn't let regular term grades drag down the final exam scores.
The professors needed such students to make themselves look good, too.
Not to ntion that such students might even surpass the professor's achievents in the relevant field in the future. Only a truly mad teacher would intentionally pick on such a top-performing student, as protecting them would be the priority.
So, when she saw the ssage from her girlfriend on WeChat about being caught skipping class, Su Mucheng didn't even frown. She just replied, "Oh, got it!" and set her phone aside.
But when she turned back, she saw Qiao Ze, who had been reading, looking up at her and she couldn't help sticking her tongue out reflexively.
"When you're self-studying, it's best not to get distracted by your phone. It affects learning efficiency," Qiao Ze reminded her.
"Oh... it's Dandan who said the professor was taking attendance... Wait, you're not focused either, otherwise how would you know that I just checked my phone?" Su Mucheng tilted her head, offering an excuse.
Qiao Ze patiently explained: "Because my connecting thinking ability and spatial thinking ability are stronger than yours. For example, when I see this three-dinsional matrix equation, I can ignore the series of figures printed in the book to help understand and directly reconstruct in my mind the structure and trajectory it represents.
That way, even if I get distracted during the study process, it won't affect my learning efficiency. But you haven't reached that stage yet; you need training for this kind of thinking ability."
"Oh!" Su Mucheng nodded pitifully, but her eyes sparkled with excitent.
For a mont, she didn't really feel like studying anymore.
"Qiao Ze, about that journal you ntioned over the phone last night, how did you handle the paper? Have you retracted it yet?"
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