I have taken the HSK exam twice in the past year. The first test was at Xinjiang Agriculture University in November 2006. I was one of only a handful of foreigners in a group of over a thousand minority students. I took the exam again this November at Rutgers University in New Jersey USA. There were only 18 students and once again mine was the only white face.

在一年之内，我参加过两场汉语水平考试。第一场是２００６年１１月在新疆农业大学，当时我是一千多名少数民族考生中仅有的几个外国人之一。今年１１月份我又在美国新泽西州的Ｒｕｔｇｅｒｓ大学报名参加汉语水平考试，参加考试的只有１８个考生，我的脸孔是其中唯一白色的。

16 of the test takers were Chinese-American youth. The other test taker besides me was an African American college student. Each of the Chinese-American youths was a child of immigrants from mainland China. Their parents hovered over them as their kids pulled out their navy blue American passports to check in and spoke English to each other. The par ents only spoke to them in Mandarin reminding them to listen to the instructor carefully do each question one by one check their pencils and try to relax. Just watching them made me tense never mind the kids.

１６个考生是华侨青少年，除我之外，另外的考生是一名黑人大学生。每个华侨青少年都是来自大陆移民的孩子。登记时，家长一律陪孩子去，每个孩子都拿着深蓝色的美国护照并互相说流畅的英语。家长只是用汉语提醒他们要注意听监考者的话、按顺序做题、检查铅笔和尽量放松等。不用说他们的孩子了，就看这样的家长也使我紧张。

From the way they were dressed it was clear that these immigrants had done well for themselves. They probably had the money to pay for an Ivy League education for their kids. And like all people who emigrate as adults their values have not changed. They push their kids to excel in school like their parents did to them. Unlike immigrants of the twentieth century though?熏 they speak Chinese in their homes and push their kids to learn it.

从穿着上可以看出来，这些移民比较富裕，他们大概都能够支付给孩子在常春藤联盟的教育。而且，跟所有成年移民者一样，他们的性格没有变化，不过跟２０世纪初的移民不同， 在家里面他们说汉语并要求孩子也学会汉语。

Before the exam started I stepped outside the testing room and asked them why they make their children take the Beginning/Intermediate HSK as teenagers. They said their children will need Chinese certification after they graduate from college. By earning it at 14 or 15 years of age they will be able to focus more on special college preparation courses.

考试前，我出门趁机询问这些家长让十几岁的孩子参加初级和中级汉语水平考试的目的。这些家长说，孩子大学毕业以后需要汉语资格证。如果十四五岁的时候能拿上资格证的话，他们就能够让孩子更加专注于特殊的准备考大学的课程。

One said that their motivation was the same as mine. I said that was impossible because I hope to use this certification to help me find a job. What I did not say is that I will only have two years to do it because the beginning/intermediate HSK will expire. I suppose if I had mentioned that the parents would make their kids prepare for the much more difficult high level exam which has no expiration.

一位父亲说，他让孩子参加考试的目的跟我一样。我回答说，我不可能靠这个资格证来找工作。我没有说出的是，我只有两年的时间，因为我初中级汉语水平考试资格证到期了。我猜想，如果我说出来的话，这些家长很可能让孩子准备更难的高级考试，因为那种考试所取得的资格证是没有期限的。

The HSK does not change from country to country which is also true of Chinese and their expectations of their children. It is only the test takers who are different. These kids are worlds apart from the minorities of Xinjiang. I suspect these American kids are just as different from their parents.

无论在哪个国家，汉语水平考试都没有什么不同，这跟中国人对孩子的要求一样。唯一有区别的是考生。这些孩子与新疆的少数民族考生非常不一样，我也认为这些美国孩子与他们的父母有着同样的差异。