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Little Li is a grade three high school student who is going to attend the National College Entrance Exam next June. In China, this test is the main thing children study in school all that time for. Preparation for the test is grueling, and fear of failure and a less than ideal future motivates most grade three students to study incredibly hard.
高三学生的一天李琳是天津一所重点中学的高三学生。她明年6月就要参加高考了。在中国，高考被视为人生重要的转折点。为了能够拥有美好的将来，高三的学生们全力以赴，备战高考。
6：30 Get up and have breakfast.起床，洗漱吃早点。
7：30 Arrive at school and begin classes. There are four different classes in the morning, with 10-minute breaks between each one. Each class is 45 minutes.到学校上课。每天上午四节课。每节课45分钟，课间休息10分钟。
12：05 Morning classes finish and the lunch break begins. I have lunch with classmates at the cafeteria and chat with my classmates for a while after lunch. I can relax a bit while chatting.上午课结束，午休时间开始。和同学去食堂吃饭。饭后大家聊聊天，让我感觉轻松了不少。
12: 30There are many classes to come in the afternoon, so I decide to take a nap and do some homework..下午还有课要上，所以要稍微休息一下，再写写作业。
13：40 Afternoon classes begin.下午课开始。
15：20 The first two classes finish and the 25-minute break finally arrives. I need to go out to get some fresh air. Then, I return to the classroom and do some homework.前两节课结束。终于盼来了25分钟大课间，可以出去透透气，再抓紧时间写点作业。
15：45 Daily test hour begins. In order to mentally prepare students for the exams, teachers design various test papers that have the same structures and items as the real one and ask the students do one test paper every day for practice.开始做模拟试卷。每天一个半小时做卷子时间，每天一科，就像模拟考试一样。
17：25 After a ten-minute break, teachers begin to go over the practice tests that we just finished.休息十分钟后老师开始讲解刚才做过的卷子。
18: 30 Dinner break. I feel a little hungry and go to the nearest grocery store to buy some biscuits.课间休息。有点饿了，到学校附近的小卖部买点饼干。
19：00 I start my extra lessons to focus on my weaknesses. I am not good at physics, so I take physics lessons.一小时的补课时间，我的物理不太好，所以要补一补。
20: 00All of today’s classes finally finish. I Pack up my books and go home.补课结束，一天的课程终于结束了！可以收拾书包回家了！
20：30I arrive at my home and have my real dinner. I read the newspaper for a while.到家。吃晚饭，看看报纸。
21：00 I do my homework and review today’s lessons.写作业、复习功课。
00：00 I wash up and go to bed.夜深人静，洗漱睡觉。
Terrible, right? This day is probably more stressful than you could possibly imagine, and grade three students go through it every day for a whole semester! However, it can’t be helped. Nearly every Chinese student needs to slave through this time in his life. Try asking your Chinese friends about their grade three experience and watch them cringe.
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