（接上文）
In terms of the awe it inspires, the keju has a modern rival: the gaokao, a punishingly hard university-entrance exam which is taken by over 10m students every year. For those from poor families, a good score is often their only chance to escape a life toiling on farms or in factories. As a result, Chinese education has long involved little more than rote learning, aimed purely at the gaokao. Pupils attend late-night cram sessions and shoulder twice as much homework as the global average.
in terms of 意思是「就……而言；在……方面」awe 意思是「敬畏」rival 意思是「能夠與之相比的人或物；對手」，這句話是說，就人們的敬畏程度而言，科舉考試有一個對手——高考。punishingly 其形容詞punishing意思是「艱難的，令人筋疲力盡的」；punishingly 作為副詞，在這裡表示程度，punishingly hard 意思是「非常難的，極其難的」。take 在這裡的用法是，take an exam 表示參加考試，和上一篇推送中的 sit 用法類似。toil 意思是「長時間苦幹，辛勤勞作」on farms 固定搭配，表示在農場。little more than 是個固定搭配，意思是「只不過，僅僅是」rote 意思是名詞「死記硬背」，rote learning 就是指「死記硬背的學習」purely 意思是「僅僅，完全；純粹」，其形容詞是pure意思是「純的；純粹的；純潔的」，名詞形式是purity。attend 意思是「參加」late-night 字面意思是「很晚的晚上」，也就是「深夜的，午夜的」cram 意思是「為應考而臨時死記硬背」；session 意思是「一段時間」；a cram session 就是指應付考試的複習期；這裡的 attend late-night cram sessions 有很多種理解，可以理解為參加晚自習學習到深夜，也可以理解為，為準備考試學到深夜等等。shoulder 名詞是「肩，肩膀」，在這裡用作動詞，意思是「承擔，肩負」。這段介紹了高考，揭示了高考的殘酷性；需要特別注意劃線部分，學習一下用英語應該如何表述高考。
But the deep reverence for tests expressed by the museum and its visitors is not shared by reformist educators and some head teachers, who want to downplay them. They have a radical vision—of reducing study loads, expanding the curriculum and encouraging students to take up hobbies. Nanjing, a former imperial capital, is the centre of their experiments.
reverence 意思是「尊敬，崇敬」，與前文的awe是近義詞。reformist 意思是「主張改革的」downplay 意思是「輕視」，與詞組 play down 同義。radical 意思是「全新的，不同凡響的」，當然它還有「激進的；徹底的」之意。vision 意思是「想法」，相當於idea。curriculum 意思是「全部課程」take up 意思是「開始做，開始從事」imperial capital 指中國古代的「帝都，國都」
In 2016 Nanjing Number One Secondary School, the city’s oldest and among its most competitive, began to let students borrow points from a 「marks bank」 to boost a low grade. These are repaid by deducting points scored in a later test, or earned from good classwork. The aim is to take a bit of pressure off exams. At the school, teachers and students are encouraged to be 「on an equal footing」, an appreciative former pupil wrote in an online forum. Nanjing Number One has a vibrant student union, a literary society and other clubs. Its university-acceptance rate this year was 95%, a record for the school.
secondary 意思是「中等教育的，中學的」，secondary school 就是指中學。類似的詞還有，primary 指初等教育的，小學教育的；tertiary 指高等教育的。boost 意思是「使增長」repaid 意思是「償還」deduct 意思是「扣除，減去」，這句話是說，學校允許學生從「分數銀行」中借分，而這些向「銀行」借的分數則需要用下次考試的分數償還或者通過優秀的課堂作業掙得。footing 意思是「地位」，on an equal footing 意思是「平等的地位」。forum 意思是「論壇，討論會」vibrant 意思是「充滿生機的，生機勃勃的」university-acceptance rate 直譯是大學接受率，也就是指大學錄取率。
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