Gentlefolk,
Greetings from Hong Kong where we are spending a few days with our son & family enroute to Australia.
This post describes the Western Culture final exam which was held a week ago.
Western Culture exam
The final exam for
my 5 Western Culture classes was held 7 – 9pm on Sunday 4 January 2015 (yes,
you read right: Sunday night). Part 1
was 20 True/False questions; Part 2 was 20 Multiple Choice questions; Part 3
was 30 fill-in-the-blank questions; and Part 4 was 3 written essays (6
questions to choose from).
To give you a feel
for the types of questions, here are the first 5 questions in Parts 1, 2 &
3. Part 4 shows the three most popular essay
questions (out of 6 options).
PART 1: State
whether the statements are True or False
1. Seven of the last 14 US Presidents have been
left-handed.
2. Agriculture represents about 1% (one per cent) of
the GDP of the USA.
3. The USA has 8 time zones.
4. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886.
5. The Mayflower arrived in America in 1740.
PART 2: Multiple
Choice. Choose the correct answer from the 4 options.
1. In which
city was the 1787 Constitutional Convention held?
A. Atlanta; B. Boston; C. New York; D. Philadelphia;
2. Which is the
smallest US state by population?
A. Alaska; B. Hawaii; C. Utah; D. Wyoming
3. Which
American President signed the law which established Yellowstone National Park?
A. Abraham Lincoln; B. George Washington; C. Ulysses S
Grant; D. Theodore Roosevelt
4. What is the
name of the system of measurement used in the USA?
A. Scottish System; B. Imperial System; C. Irish
System; D. Metric System
5. How many
patents did Thomas Edison have?
A. 284; B. 584; C. 884; D. 1084
PART 3: Fill in the blank with the correct answer.
1. The Chairman of the 1787 Constitutional Convention
was __________ (name).
2. Harvard University was established in _______
(year).
3. The largest US State by area is ___________ (name).
4. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is
___________ (name).
5. The Dow Jones Index of the New York Stock Exchange
started in ________ (year).
PART 4: Write
short essays on 3 of the 6 questions. (these were the 3 most popular choices)
A. Describe the
key features of the American political system as established by the American
constitution. Who do you think has more
power, President Xi Jin Ping or President Barack Obama? Explain your reasoning.
B. In your
opinion what were some of the most important reasons for the rapid economic
development of the USA in the period 1800 - 1899? What happened to the Chinese economy during
that century?
E. Describe the key features of
the Nobel Prize system. In your opinion,
why have only seven Chinese-born people received the Nobel Prize?
 |
| A view of the class room I supervised in the Culture exam. My fellow supervisor, Shen Dan, has her back to the camera. |
It was an “open
book” exam – students could take in any paper reference materials. Perhaps a
bit generous, but from my perspective I didn’t want the students to spend many
hours memorizing all the dates and names and facts; it was more important that
they developed a general understanding of the subject.
Although the
course is called “Western Culture” you will see from the questions that I
focused on the USA. The course was only
17 weeks and I preferred to describe American culture in detail rather than talk
superficially about several countries.
One student got
all 70 short questions right - the first time in my 4 years teaching that has
happened – a great achievement. I was so
impressed that I tracked the student down.
His name is Wang He (English name Albert); home town is Jinzhou,
Liaoning Province; in 3rd year, majoring in Mechanical Engineering;
his parents are both architects.
 |
| Wang He (Albert) who got all the 70 short questions right. |
Six other students
got two Parts completely right, but Albert was the only one to get the trifecta.
14 of the 196
students who sat the exam got less than 50% and will not pass.
How did you go with these sample questions? Did you pass?
...
Keep well, and keep smiling.
Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Tuesday, 13 January 2015.
.jpg)
