CCTV9英语新闻：改革让中国高考更公平透明（在线收听）

For more of the story, we are joined in the studio by CCTV's Jin Yingqiao.

Q1. Yingqiao, tell us what's being happening on the first day of this "once-in-a-lifetime" test.

A1. Indeed, I've been through the test myself, and I can fully understand how nerve-racking the experience is. Some of the new aspects from this year's Gaokao. One is there's more equality: traditionally, students who had performed at a high level in certain areas were afforded a bonus in their Gaokao score, but some of these categories were scrapped this year, such as athletics; award-winners in scholarly competitions like math; and those who had done great deeds in terms of "morality".....for example showing great courage to save another's life. The reason for scrapping them is because they turned out to be a fertile breeding ground for fraud and corruption. And here's another: the new Gaokao is empowering more students from low-income families. The Ministry of Education demands that two-percent of all students that enroll at first-tier universities be from rural areas. The universities will set up a special facility for them: they still have to take the Gaokao, but their admission threshold will be lowered. This should help bridge the gap in higher-education between the rich and poor in the country. 

Q2. Gaokao is so deeply rooted in Chinese culture, but there are people who decide against taking it. Tell us more.

A2. It is indeed a cultural phenomenon. It actually started from ancient times, the exam was often the source of a rags to riches story. But things are really changing. First, in terms of its scale. Since the number of Gaokao applicants peaked at ten and a half million in 2008, there's been a downward trend. This has led to a survival crisis for universities, as they struggle to meet their enrolment quota. In central China's Henan Province for example, 11 percent of its allocation was not fulfilled. Critics believe one reason for this is a sagging standard of education after years of enrolment expansion. Another trend sees more and more students opting to study overseas. Official figures show about one-fifth of those who didn't take Gaokao in 2010 went abroad for further education. And figures from the US say, in 2013-2014, there were 110 thousand Chinese students in the US.