Table of Contents
Over 550,000 people in South Korea took a big national test on November 13. This test is very important for students who want to go to the best universities. Many people think the test is necessary for a successful life in their very competitive society.
This year, the number of students taking the test was the highest in seven years. Most of the people taking the exam were born in 2007. In that year, more babies were born than usual. People believed it was a very lucky time to have a baby.
The exam lasts nine hours. Because the test is so important, the country made special plans to help the students.
To make sure students could hear well during the English listening test, all flights in the country were stopped. For 35 minutes, from 1:05 p.m. to 1:40 p.m., planes could not land or take off at any airport.
About 140 flights had to wait because of this rule. It affected both domestic and international flights.
Police also helped to make sure students arrived at the test centers on time. To reduce traffic and help the students, financial markets and many offices started work one hour later than usual.
One parent, Yeseon Kim, whose daughter was taking the test, said the exam felt like the end of a long goal and also a new start.
A total of 554,174 people signed up for the exam this year. This is a 6% increase from last year. Although South Korea’s number of births has been low recently, in 2007, about 496,000 babies were born, which was a big increase.
Vocabulary
- Over – more than;
- Take a test – To answer questions to see what you know; do a test
- National – Relating to a whole country; belongs to or is about the whole country
- Test – exam; a set of questions to check your knowledge; a set of challenges to check your skills
- Successful – Achieving what you wanted; having the effect or result you intended; to do correctly or finish something you wanted to do
- Competitive – Trying hard to be better than others.
- Society – A group of people living together in a community; people considered as a group, or a group of people who live together in a particular social system
- Exam – test; a set of questions to check your knowledge; a set of challenges to check your skills
- Born – To come out of a mother’s body as a baby
- Usual – Normal or typical; what usually happens or is expected
- Believe – to think; to imagine; to have the opinion of; assume; suppose
- Lucky – Having good things happen to you by chance or no reason
- Last – to continue; to continue to exist; to continue for a period of time; to keep going
- Plan – A detailed idea or strategy to reach a goal; a method, idea or process to achieve a goal; arrangement
- Make sure – To ensure or double-check that something is done correctly or as planned
- Listening test – A part of an exam where you listen to words/stories and answer questions
- Flight – a trip on a plane; travel by airplane; a journey/trip made by an airplane
- Land – to come down from the air/sky and touch the ground;
- Take off – When a plane starts flying and goes up into the sky from the ground
- Airport – A place where airplanes land and take off; a place people go to to travel by airplane 🛬
- Rule – A guideline or regulation; sometimes a law; A guide that tells us what we should or shouldn’t do; something we have to do or can’t do
- Affect – to have an influence on; to change something;
- Domestic – inside the country; not foreign;
- International – involving two or more countries; of, relating to, or affecting two or more nations;
- Test center – The building or school where people take an exam
- On time – not late; punctual
- Reduce – to make less; make smaller; decrease; bring down; shrink
- Financial markets – Places where people buy and sell things like stocks and money; stock exchange
- Parent – A mother or a father
- Goal – aim or purpose; objective; target; something you want to achieve or complete
- A new start – Beginning something fresh or different; leave the past behind; do new things
- Total – The final number when you add everything together
- Sign up – to join; to apply for; agree to do something
- Increase – to go up; to make something larger; to make more of; expand
- Although – even though; despite the fact; however; but
- Recently – Not long ago; these days
Quiz
Discussion Questions
- Do you think a single nine-hour test is a fair way to decide a student’s future? Why or why not?
- If you were a student taking a test like this, how would you deal with the pressure and stress?
- Do you have a big exam in your own country that is important like this Korean test?
- The country made special rules, like stopping flights and starting work late, to help the students. Do you think this is a good idea?
- The parent in the story said the exam was “the end of a long goal and also a new start.” In your life, what is one big goal you have completed and what new start came after it?
- English teachers looking for teaching ideas, check out my post on using easy news articles for lessons.
- English learners looking for study ideas, check out my post on using news stories for English practice.
Original Story
Fill-in-the-Blank Listening Practice
Over _____ people in South Korea took a big national test on November 13. _____ test is very important for students who want to go to _____ best universities. Many people think the test is necessary for a _____ life in their very competitive society.
This _____ , the number of students taking the test was the highest in _____ years. Most of the people taking the exam were born in _____ . In that year, more babies were born than usual. _____ believed it was a very lucky time to have a _____ .
The exam lasts nine _____ . Because the test is so important, the country made special _____ to help the students.
To make sure _____ could hear well during the English listening test, all _____ in the country were stopped. For 35 minutes, from 1:05 p.m. to _____ p.m., planes could not land or take off at any airport.
_____ 140 flights had to wait because of this rule. It affected both _____ and international flights.
Police also helped to make sure _____ arrived at the test centers on time. To reduce traffic and help the students, _____ markets and many offices started work one hour later than _____ .
One parent, Yeseon Kim, whose _____ was taking the test, said the exam felt like the end of a long goal and also a _____ start.
A total of 554,174 people signed up for the _____ this year. This is a 6% increase from last year. Although South Korea’s _____ of births has been low recently, in 2007, about 496,000 babies were born, _____ was a big increase.
