Sometimes, Chinese people struggle with the test as well. When authorities added new questions early last year, failure rates initially soared. In the southern coastal city of Zhuhai, only 7 percent passed the new test, according to the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper. In nearby Shenzhen, less than 4 percent passed.
有時(shí)候,中國(guó)人自己也考不好。去年相關(guān)部門增加了新的試題后,不及格率立馬上去了。據(jù)《南方都市報(bào)》統(tǒng)計(jì),在南部沿海城市珠海,只有7%的人通過(guò)新考試。而附近的深圳,只有4%通過(guò)。

Once they study, though, many Chinese find the written test as straightforward as foreigners find it difficult.
當(dāng)然,學(xué)習(xí)了以后,很多中國(guó)人仍會(huì)覺(jué)得考試很簡(jiǎn)單,正如老外覺(jué)得考試很難一樣。

"For Chinese people, it's just another exam," says Wei Qi, a Chinese TV producer in Beijing, who aced the test on her first try. Wei says the format is easier for Chinese people, because they were raised in an education system that emphasizes memorization. That said, Wei doubts the written test produces better drivers.
“對(duì)中國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō),這不過(guò)是一個(gè)考試罷了?!蔽虹鳎ㄒ簦┱f(shuō)道。她是北京的一位電視制片人,第一次考試就直接通過(guò)了。她認(rèn)為考試形式對(duì)中國(guó)人而言比較簡(jiǎn)單,因?yàn)橹袊?guó)人就是在強(qiáng)調(diào)死記硬背的教育體系下成長(zhǎng)起來(lái)的;不過(guò),她也懷疑這種筆試能否培養(yǎng)出素質(zhì)良好的駕駛員。

"Because the test is so complicated, it kind of undermines the purpose," she says. "I kind of forgot everything. If you asked a question now about a traffic rule, I still couldn't quite answer you."
“因?yàn)樵囶}很復(fù)雜,反倒有點(diǎn)適得其反,”她說(shuō),“我都快全忘了。如果你現(xiàn)在問(wèn)我某條交通規(guī)則,我還是答不上來(lái)。”

Wei thinks the behind-the-wheel driving test, which all Chinese must take and involves parking while avoiding laser motion detectors, is much harder.
魏琪覺(jué)得隨后的路考更難,因?yàn)樗腥硕嫉脜⒓?,不僅要停好車,還得避開(kāi)激光探測(cè)器。

Where There's Pay, There's A Way
道高一尺魔高一丈

While most foreigners dread taking the written exam, Virgil Adams, a financial manager in coastal Jiangsu province, knew he would pass the first time.
當(dāng)大部分老外還在懼怕參加筆試的時(shí)候,江蘇省的一位財(cái)務(wù)經(jīng)理維吉爾-亞當(dāng)斯卻胸有成竹,確信自己一次就能通過(guò)。

"I didn't study," he says. "I didn't do anything." He didn't have to, because he had hired a Chinese agent to fix the results.
“我沒(méi)去學(xué)習(xí),啥都沒(méi)準(zhǔn)備。”他說(shuō)。之所以沒(méi)必要,是因?yàn)樗?qǐng)了一個(gè)中國(guó)代理幫忙。

A man maneuvers a car during an electronic driving test at a driving school in Beijing in 2011. The road test for a Chinese driver's license requires the applicant to park while avoiding laser motion detectors.
2011年,他在北京一所駕校參加了電子駕駛測(cè)試。要想考取中國(guó)駕照,申請(qǐng)人在路考時(shí)得成功避開(kāi)激光探測(cè)器并停好車。

At the testing center, Adams sat down at the computer and went through the questions. After he finished, per his agent's instructions, he got up and walked out without submitting his answers.
在考試中心,亞當(dāng)斯坐在電腦面前瀏覽試題,答完題后,通過(guò)代理的說(shuō)明,他沒(méi)有提交答案就徑直站起來(lái)走了出去。

"My best guess is that probably my agent walked in, sat down at my seat, reviewed my answers and corrected any wrong ones," he says. Adams says the whole thing cost about $150.
“我猜當(dāng)時(shí)我的代理進(jìn)來(lái)后坐在了我的位置,瀏覽并糾正了我做錯(cuò)的題目。”他說(shuō)。亞當(dāng)斯透露,這事兒總共花了150美元。

Paying people to take your driver's test is common in smaller cities here. Authorities in Shanghai try to prevent it by putting cameras next to every computer. One of my Chinese friends got around that in western China, though, by aiming the camera at his face while a paid test-taker typed the correct answers on the computer just out of view.
花錢請(qǐng)人代考在小城市很常見(jiàn)。上海相關(guān)部門試圖杜絕這種現(xiàn)象,在每臺(tái)電腦旁邊安裝了攝像頭。但是,我的一個(gè)中國(guó)西部朋友想到了一個(gè)辦法:考生本人的臉對(duì)準(zhǔn)攝像頭,然后代考人在攝像頭范圍之外輸入答案即可。

All that fraud may help explain why — as recently as 2011 — China had a nearly comparable number of drivers as the U.S., but almost twice as many traffic deaths.
這種舞弊現(xiàn)象恰好解釋了為什么在2011年,中國(guó)的開(kāi)車族數(shù)量和美國(guó)相當(dāng),但交通死亡人數(shù)卻是美國(guó)的兩倍。

As for me, I continued to take the test — and fail. After I flunked the third time, without improving my score, I banged my head on the desk in the exam room and couldn't stop laughing.
至于我本人嘛——繼續(xù)屢考屢敗唄。當(dāng)?shù)谌斡譀](méi)通過(guò)、分?jǐn)?shù)絲毫沒(méi)能提高時(shí),我直接把頭磕在了考場(chǎng)桌上,忍不住大笑起來(lái)。

The police officer proctoring the exam shook his head and scowled, suggesting I should take my serial failure more seriously.
監(jiān)考人員繃著臉搖了搖頭,提醒我應(yīng)該更加認(rèn)真地對(duì)待這次不及格。

On my fourth try after hours of study, I finally passed with a score of 93. Afterward, that same cop, with whom I'd become quite familiar, gave me a big grin and shook my hand.
學(xué)了幾個(gè)小時(shí)后,我又考了第四次,終于以93分通過(guò)了。然后,還是那個(gè)監(jiān)考人員(現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)跟我很熟了),給了我一個(gè)大大的微笑,還握了握我的手。