热锅上的<烤>生

[novemberfog]

Tonight I was reading a lesson from my textbook. The reading selection is about entrance examinations in Taiwanese high schools and universities. While I understood the meaning, there were some sentences that I really had a hard time accurately translating to English. Perhaps you can help? I wrote the sentences, followed by my best guess at an adequate translation.

1。 可是对每年得在这个时间参加高中，大学入学考生的几十万学生来说，七月是可怕，紧张又重要的日子。

But to the some hundred thousand students every year that must participate in high school and university entrance exams during this time, it has come to be said July is a dreadful, tense, and important time.

(I don't really understand 来说)

2。 <联考>一词可能就要成为一个历史名词了。

"Standard school-placement exams" can just become one thing in history.

(I don't understand this sentence actually, what is the meaning of 一词 and 要 in this sentence)

3。尤其是大学考试，只绿取不到一半的考生。

Espeically the university entrance exams, only grant admission ??? half of the students.

(I don't understand 不到, and I am assuming that the school/university system only grants admission to half of the students?)

4。许多考生因为没考上或是学校科系不理想而重考很多年。

Because many examinees did not pass the exam or (?? their scores for entering ??) school departments not satisfactory (?? scores ??) they repeat the (?? exam ??) again many years.

(I am having trouble understanding the use and meaing of 上 in the sentence. Also, I do not really grasp the meaning of 而 in this context. Also I feel like there is a lot missing, but perhaps because I am really not understand the sentence well in the first place.)

5。有人开玩笑地把这些考生叫做<烤>生，把他们比做热锅上的蚂蚁。

Some people make a joke that the students should be called "roast" students, because they are compared to an ant over a hot pot.

(The last part makes no sense to me. I thought 比 was for comparisons, but I don't see what the purpose of using 做 is.)

6。联考虽然是公平的竞争，可是社会上过分重视一次考试的结果，带来不少问题。

Although the entrance exams are a competitive fair, but society pays too much attention to the exam, bringing about not just a few problems.

(I don't understand the usage and meaning of 一次, as well as the usage of 可是)

[roddy]

1) I think you've got it. The part causing you problems is the 对。。。来说 construction, as the two parts are quite far apart. If you aren't familiar with it, it just means 'as far as X is concerned', or 'if you ask X' - 对我来说 = if you ask me, for me . . .

2) 一词 = the word '联考' . . . .要 just shows the future - it will become. 历史名词 - a historical noun - ie, it will pass into history.

3) 不到一半 = less than half.

4) 考上 means to pass an entrance exam - 考上大学, for example.

5) 比做 - use as a comparison for.

6) 次 here is the measure work - society places too much importance on one exam. 可是 is a simple but - The exams are a fair competition, but . . .

Roddy

[HashiriKata]

I think Roddy has basically covered what is necessary, I've here translated some of the longer sentences just to reinforce it:

1. 可是对每年得在这个时间参加高中，大学入学考生的几十万学生来说，七月是可怕，紧张又重要的日子。

But for the hundred thousands of candidates who take University or High School entrance exams at this time of the year, July is the most dreaded, tensed but important time of the year.

4. 许多考生因为没考上或是学校科系不理想而重考很多年。

Many candidates, either because they didn't pass the exams or because they didn't find suitable departments for studying, repeat the entrance exams many times.

(About the 而 as used in this sentence: it is often accompanied by 2 clauses on either side, the clause that precedes it tells you the cause or the reason; and the one that follows it tells you the action or the result: 因病而辞职 =resigning because of illness.)

5. 有人开玩笑地把这些考生叫做<烤>生，把他们比做热锅上的蚂蚁。

Some people jokingly call these candidates "wandering samurai", comparing them to those samurai of the old, who were yet to find a master to serve under.

(As I can't find a suitable metaphor in English, I adopted a Japanese one )

6. 联考虽然是公平的竞争，可是社会上过分重视一次考试的结果，带来不少问题。

Although entrance exams are fair competitions, they also create many problems because the society has placed too much emphasis on their one-time results.

[randall_flagg]

Don't have anything valuable to add, except for that I like the title of your post, novemberfog. I think I get the pun!

[novemberfog]

Thanks for the help, Roddy & Hashirikata. Much appreciated!

randall_flagg - I can't take credit for the title as it is the title of the actual selection. See Ch. 7 of "Taiwan Today" (Intermediate-level textbook) ;-)

[semantic nuance]

5。有人开玩笑地把这些考生叫做<烤>生，把他们比做热锅上的蚂蚁。

In the past, the entrance exam was always held in July, which is the hottest month of the year. The analogy here is to use the homophonic phrase 烤生 (考生) to mean those examinees who are like 'roasted students' in the hottest season of the year (' ants in the hot pot'). Imagine the ants in the hot pot! The analogy is used because "July is the most dreaded, tensed but important time of the year. (quoted from HashiriKata)

Just a 2 penny thought