Volume 1: Student Life Chapter 181: The IATT oral exam is over and the Qiu finals are about to begin
Chen Zhou returned to his seat and instantly felt that his fighting ability had increased.
He picked up a pen and started writing quickly.
No matter it is a short essay of 150 words or a long essay of 250 words.
Chen Zhou kept writing until he was satisfied.
After finishing writing, slowly put down the pen.
Chen Zhou looked at the two essays he had written in one go and smiled slightly: "You are still as elegant as ever!"
After 60 minutes, the writing test was over and Chen Zhou handed in the answer book and answer sheet.
The entire IELTS written test is over.
In addition to the written test at a fixed time every week, the IELTS test also has a final item, which is the oral test.
There is no fixed time for the oral test. You can take the test at any time as long as it is within one week of the written test.
Chen Zhou and Yang Yiyi naturally took the written test and oral test on the same day.
It also saves the two of them from having to make an extra trip .
The oral test starts at 1pm, so time is a bit tight.
So, Chen Zhou and Yang Yiyi had a simple lunch near the examination room, and then went to the examination room, waiting for the oral test to begin.
Because the information has been recorded during the written test.
During the oral interview, Chen Zhou and his colleague saved the trouble of logging in their ID information.
Following the examination instructor, Chen Zhou arrived at the examination room for the IELTS oral test.
Chen Zhou found that the examiner was waiting for him at the door.
After some simple inquiries and greetings, Chen Zhou followed the examiner into the examination room.
After you sit down in your seat, the examiner turns on the recorder and starts recording.
Then he looked at Chen Zhou with a smile and asked in a friendly manner: "Are you ready?"
Chen Zhou smiled and nodded.
The oral test officially begins.
The oral examination consists of three parts.
The first part is a question and answer session.
The examiner asked and Chen Zhou answered.
A very ordinary conversation.
Naturally, Chen Zhou did not expand on the topic and answered the question honestly.
The second part is about the introduction of the topic.
The examiner handed Chen Zhou a question board, a piece of paper and a pen.
Chen Zhou needs to give a topic introduction of no more than 2 minutes.
Of course, there will be 1 minute of preparation time before the introduction.
During this one minute of preparation time, the examiner will not interfere at all.
The examiner will not remind you until the 1 minute is over.
Chen Zhou looked at the topic on the question board with great interest. Was this considered giving away points on purpose?
The examiner asked him to introduce a math game!
Chen Zhou spent about 30 seconds organizing his words. Without waiting for the examiner's reminder, he proactively and politely told the examiner that he was ready.
This examiner was probably seeing a candidate who spoke so fast for the first time and was a little surprised, but then he signaled Chen Zhou to start speaking freely.
Chen Zhou immediately said, "Among math games, the most interesting one I can think of is probably the hailstone conjecture. If a positive integer is odd, multiply it by 3 and add 1. If it is even, extract the even factor 2 to the Nth power. After a certain number of times, it will eventually return to 1..."
Chen Zhou introduced the relevant content of the hail conjecture at a very fast speed. He listed the history of the hail conjecture, the powerful number 27, and some subsequent research.
The examiner was so stunned that he even ignored the test time.
Finally, Chen Zhou felt that he couldn't say too much. It would be so embarrassing if the examiner didn't understand.
So, in order to consider the examiner, Chen Zhou took the initiative to wrap up and gradually ended the topic.
Chen Zhou waited for a while before the examiner asked, "Are you a mathematics student?"
As he said this, he took back the question board, paper and pen.
This actually enters the third part of the oral interview.
This part is generally a comprehensive discussion.
The main format is also question and answer.
However, due to Chen Zhou's amazing performance in the second part, the examiner was unable to figure out how to communicate with Chen Zhou about this math game, or the hailstone conjecture.
Although he had heard of the hailstone conjecture and had played this mathematical game before.
But Chen Zhou’s explanation just now was too professional. He is not a mathematics major, so it is really difficult to communicate with him.
It would be even more embarrassing if some common sense problems were exposed.
Therefore, the examiner chose to chat about family matters first and then ask random questions.
If you can communicate, then communicate.
If they can’t communicate, Chen Zhou will just skip it.
Chen Zhou naturally didn't know what the examiner was thinking. He nodded gently: "Yes, I am a student of the Department of Mathematics."
After hearing what Chen Zhou said, the examiner thought to himself that it was no wonder and he only regretted that he had picked up the wrong question board.
After thinking for a while, he asked again: "Are you taking the IELTS because you want to study abroad?"
Chen Zhou shook his head and said, "No, I'm still a freshman."
The examiner asked in disbelief, "You're only a freshman, and you're already researching the hail conjecture?"
"Yes, we are currently researching it." After saying this, Chen Zhou expressed with a hint of regret, "It's just a pity that the research progress is very slow."
Hearing this, the examiner breathed a sigh of relief, and then he comforted him: "Mathematical problems are inherently difficult. Moreover, even Professor Tao said that this is a difficult problem. It is normal to make slow progress."
Chen Zhou looked at the examiner with some surprise. This guy actually knew Terence Tao?
So Chen Zhou brought the topic to Terence Tao and talked to the examiner about some of Tao's research results that he knew.
However, most of the time it was Chen Zhou who was talking and the examiner was listening.
Occasionally, the examiner would respond with something like "Tao is a genius, he is a Fields Medal winner."
Often at this time, Chen Zhou would smile at the examiner in front of him, as this person knew Tao Terence's life well.
What Chen Zhou did not expect in particular was that he actually knew that Terence Tao won the Fields Medal for his contributions to partial differential equations, combinatorial mathematics, harmonic analysis and heap number theory.
But if you think about it carefully, Chen Zhou doesn’t think it’s strange that a genius and all-rounder like Terence Tao is known to the world.
The two continued chatting like this until the staff knocked on the door to remind the examiner, and then he noticed the time issue.
He actually chatted with the young man in front of him for nearly half an hour.
Normally, the entire oral test will last 10-15 minutes, and no more than 20 minutes at most.
Chen Zhou and the examiner smiled at each other.
The examiner looked at the young man in front of him and gave him a thumbs up: "You are the student with the most solid math skills among all the college students I have ever seen!"
"Thank you." Chen Zhou replied politely.
Afterwards, the examiner said the oral interview was over and Chen Zhou could leave.
Chen Zhou greeted politely again and walked out of the room.
Watching Chen Zhou walk out of the room, the examiner turned off the recorder and said silently: "Good luck to you. The world of mathematics also needs good luck!"
With the end of the oral test, Chen Zhou’s IELTS test was complete.
Chen Zhou found Yang Yiyi waiting outside the examination room and apologized, "Sorry, I talked to the examiner for a while longer."
Yang Yiyi glanced at Chen Zhou and asked curiously, "What did you talk about?"
Chen Zhou said: "Hail hypothesis and Terence Tao."
Yang Yiyi chuckled: "No way? This can make you get the math topic board?"
Chen Zhou also smiled and said, "I didn't expect that there would be a topic about math games. When I saw the question board, I immediately thought of the hail conjecture. I thought the examiner would interrupt me at any time because I used so many professional mathematical terms. But I didn't expect that the examiner was also a math enthusiast. Later he talked to me about Terence Tao. You didn't know..."
Chen Zhou recounted the oral interview process to Yang Yiyi.
After listening to this, Yang Yiyi looked at Chen Zhou strangely again: "Why do I feel that the examiner must have been confused?"
Hearing this, Chen Zhou was slightly stunned, and then said: "It shouldn't be, I said one thing, he can still pick it up occasionally."
Yang Yiyi looked at Chen Zhou and stopped talking. She just felt that this was probably the first person who could confuse the examiner...
It takes 10 working days, or two weeks, to get the results of the IELTS test.
But this is naturally not a problem for Chen Zhou.
He and Yang Yiyi returned to school and went straight to the study room.
There is definitely no space left in the library right now, so I can only stay in the study room.
After finding a seat and sitting down, Chen Zhou took out the collection of wrong questions and flipped through it.
The total score of YATO is 9 points.
The listening, reading, writing and speaking sections are scored independently, and the final score is the average of the four scores.
The collection of wrong questions is clean and tidy.
Chen Zhou did not see a single wrong question in this IELTS test.
Although this does not necessarily mean that you will get full marks, because writing will not be recorded, and speaking should not be recorded either.
However, Chen Zhou personally feels that it is best to use writing and speaking.
There shouldn't be any problems, and there's a high probability that you'll get full marks.
Of course, Chen Zhou doesn’t care even if he doesn’t get full marks.
After all, almost is good enough.
There is no extra reward for getting full marks.
Flipping through the collection of wrong questions, Chen Zhou once again reviewed the mistakes in his research on the hail conjecture during this period.
This is the first time that Chen Zhou has added so much content to the wrong question collection after officially activating the system .
Almost every day, there is new content.
Moreover, once you add more, it will be a long list of formulas.
Closing the collection of wrong answers, Chen Zhou wondered if there would come a day when this collection of wrong answers could not bear the weight and was filled with all his mistakes?
It is not impossible. As long as he finds a few more mathematical conjectures to study, his collection of wrong questions will soon become a full collection of errors.
Shaking his head slightly and putting the random thoughts out of his mind, Chen Zhou naturally would not really take on so many difficult mathematical problems to study at once.
This hailstone conjecture has already made him feel the difficulty of mathematics.
This problem is simply a mathematical black hole.
All the attempts during this period, whether the choice of mathematical tools or the solution to the problem, were swallowed up by this black hole.
Chen Zhou thought about it and decided to recharge himself first and see if he could stand on the shoulders of giants.
Time soon arrived and the day of the Qiu Sai finals came.
The interviews for the finals will be held on May 18th and 19th, which is still a weekend.
After the interviews, there will be an awards ceremony and dinner on the evening of the 19th.
On May 18, Chen Zhou and four other people followed the leading teacher from Yenching University to the Qiu Chengtong Mathematical Sciences Center of Shuimu University with high morale.
The interview location for the finals is here.
Although Shuimu University and Yenching University are adjacent to each other, this is Chen Zhou's first visit to Shuimu University.
How to put it, Chen Zhou’s actual feeling is that these two universities are similar, both were built on the basis of royal gardens.
If we talk about the difference, Shuimu has a more modern feel than Yanda, and the architectural style is slightly different.
Another difference is that when walking on the campus of Shuimu, Chen Zhou receives much less attention.
Unlike at Yanjing University, where people were watching him wherever he went.
In the rest area outside the interview venue, there are already quite a few candidates waiting for the interview.
Some of them flew to Yanjing yesterday.
In addition to these candidates, there were also some reporters from news media.
Some are interviewing the shortlisted contestants, others are eagerly waiting.
Without asking, Chen Zhou knew that the person these people were looking forward to was Mr. Qiu.
However, Chen Zhou felt that since today was only the first day of the interview, it was unlikely that Mr. Qiu would come.
What Chen Zhou didn't expect was that in addition to looking forward to Mr. Qiu's arrival, these people were also paying special attention to one person.
When the shortlisted team from Yenching University arrived here, these people immediately surrounded them.
Searching for that person among the Yanda team.
When someone matched the photo in his memory with the real person, Chen Zhou found that there was suddenly an extra person being interviewed in front of him.
That’s right, the person these people are paying extra attention to is Chen Zhou.
After all, Chen Zhou was the first person in all the Qiu competitions to receive comments from Mr. Qiu after the written test.
Moreover, anyone can see the appreciation in this comment.
Now is a good time to interview Chen Zhou.
"Hello, classmate. Are you Chen Zhou?" The female reporter standing in front of Chen Zhou looked at Chen Zhou with curiosity, but still had a professional smile on her face.
Chen Zhou took a look at the person in front of him and the microphone facing him, and felt a little confused. Judging from the question, this was directed at him?
But why?
Although he was puzzled, Chen Zhou nodded: "I am Chen Zhou."
After hearing the conversation here, the reporters who had not yet found Chen Zhou instantly grasped the direction.
Chen Zhou suddenly felt that he was surrounded!
These reporters are so scary...
However, these people did not interrupt.
It was the female reporter who first found Chen Zhou who spoke up: "Hello, Chen Zhou. I am a reporter from the Yanjing Daily. I have a few questions. Can I interview you?"
Chen Zhou glanced at Yang Yiyi and the other three who had been separated, and then looked at the group of people surrounding him. It seemed that if he didn't answer, he probably wouldn't be able to leave.
Chen Zhou thought for a moment and said, "No problem, go ahead. But please keep it brief, as the interview will begin soon."
"Okay, don't worry." After the female reporter finished speaking, she asked directly, "May I ask what do you think of this Qiu Chengtong College Mathematics Competition? How do you feel about it?"
Chen Zhou glanced at the man. Do you want to tell the truth?
He felt that the questions in the previous written test, except for the one on number theory, were quite simple.
It can even be said that some questions are too simple and there is no need to ask them at all.
But this is Shuimu University's territory, and it's Qiu Chengtong Mathematical Science Center. He was afraid that if he told the truth, he would be beaten...
So Chen Zhou said vaguely: "It's OK, it feels good."
Everyone, including the female reporter, waited for a while, and then realized that Chen Zhou had finished speaking.
"Ahem..." The female reporter tried her best to maintain a professional smile and continued to ask, "You are the only one who got full marks in all subjects in this competition. Did you know that?"
Chen Zhou said succinctly: "I know."
The female reporter asked: "How do you feel about this?"
Chen Zhou still said: "It's okay, it feels good."
Female reporter: “…”
The people around were getting a little anxious and kept winking at the female reporter, asking her to ask the most important questions quickly.
The female reporter calmed down and asked again, "So what do you think of Mr. Qiu Chengtong's evaluation of you?"
Chen Zhou asked in confusion: "What's your comment?"
The female reporter said with some surprise: "Don't you pay attention to Weibo? On Weibo, after the results of this competition came out, the official Weibo account of the competition posted your written test results separately, and also included Mr. Qiu's comments."
As she spoke, the female reporter had already skillfully opened Weibo on her mobile phone and found the Weibo post posted by Qiu Sai's official Weibo account.
Chen Zhou took the phone handed to him by the female reporter and looked at it in confusion.
What is very eye-catching is that Chen Zhou scored full marks in all subjects.
But what is more eye-catching is Mr. Qiu’s comments.
[The calculations are extremely rigorous, the logic is precise and accurate, and the ideas are extremely clear. ]
After reading it, Chen Zhou handed the phone back to the female reporter, thought for a moment, and said slowly, "Because I had not paid attention to Weibo before, I didn't see Mr. Qiu's comments until today. Well, thank you very much for your attention."
The female reporter, a group of media friends, and almost everyone in the venue were paying attention to this.
As a result, after Chen Zhou finished speaking, he disappeared again.
The female reporter finally couldn't hold back her professional smile anymore and asked, "Are you done?"
Chen Zhou nodded slightly.
Just when other reporters could no longer hold back and were about to ask questions themselves, the leading teacher from Yanda and the staff from Qiu Sai came over.
We kindly ask all journalists to take a break aside, as the interview for the finals will begin soon.
The reporters were helpless, but they couldn’t delay the interviews, right?
I had no choice but to follow the staff to the lounge next door.
The female reporter whispered to Chen Zhou, "Mr. Chen Zhou, after you win the gold medal, can you please let me do an interview with you?"
This was the first time she encountered such an interview. Isn't she too frugal with words?
Although the last sentence says a little more, is it different from “It’s okay, it feels good”?
Chen Zhou thought about it and nodded.
As for the follow-up, let’s talk about it later…
Inside the venue.
Chen Zhou was the first candidate to be interviewed.
Looking at the judges sitting upright in the judges' seats, they have titles such as "Professor at Harvard University, Fellow of the U.S. Academy of Sciences", "Professor at Cambridge University, Fellow of the Royal Society of London", etc.
Chen Zhou sighed silently: "This interview seems to be like that..."
Because Chen Zhou is the only contestant who entered the finals with full marks in five subjects.
Therefore, the judges who interviewed him were specially selected by the competition organizing committee.
Moreover, what surprised Chen Zhou was that the gray-haired old man sitting in the middle of the judges' seat was none other than Mr. Qiu Chengtong.
