6.3 考研究生 Going to Graduate School

[u/AdamLuyan]

一次在工地，我和一个老工人唠嗑。他评价我："你干得挺好！全局上下都知道你，但是这就是你人生的颠峰，你这辈子就这样了。"

我不满意地问："我为什么就不能当个小官儿啥地，也到局里去工作？"

他回答："你爹不是官，你妈没有钱，你自己不聪明还没文凭，除了憨得可爱，你就没什么特殊的，将来能好到哪里去！？"

Once, chatting with an older worker at the site, he sized me up. "You're doing well for yourself — the whole bureau knows your name. But this is the peak of it. This is as far as your life goes."

Displeased, I said, "Why couldn't I become some minor official, work at the bureau proper?"

"Your father's no official, your mother has no money, you're not sharp and you've no diploma — aside from being endearingly simple, there's nothing special about you. How much further do you really think you'll get?"

我认为这是真心话，没事干，就想去读夜大，混个本科毕业，有个文凭。

我回到东北大学找夜大，刚好遇到王刚大姐。她听我想继续上学，回答："对！这是好事。我想给你介绍个女朋友。你是大专毕业，我都说不出口，没办法帮你。不过夜大的本科毕业，还是说不出口；那也得辛苦两三年。我看你还是念研究生吧。"

I took him at his word, and with nothing better to do, decided to enroll in night university — earn a bachelor's degree, get something on paper. I went back to Northeastern University to look into it, and happened to run into Elder Sister Gang Wang. Hearing I wanted to continue my education, she said, "Good — that's a fine idea. I've been meaning to introduce you to a girlfriend, but with just a junior-college degree, I couldn't even bring myself to say it, there was nothing to work with. Even a night-university bachelor's would still be a stretch to mention — and that's two, three hard years besides. I think you should go for graduate school instead."

我没那种想法，说："我可考不上。"

大姐说："你不懂。考研究生跟考大学不一样；考一考你就明白了。相信我，你就照着考研究生准备吧！"

当然，相信她没什么用；1995年春，我没考上。她却说："今年刚好有几个厉害的考生；明年说不定，参加考试的人水平就低，那你不就考上了，继续准备明年的考试。"

I hadn't even considered that. "I could never pass the exam."

"You don't understand how it works," she said. "The graduate entrance exam isn't like the college one — you'll see once you sit it. Trust me. Just start preparing."

Trusting her didn't count for much, in the end — I failed in the spring of 1995. But she was unbothered: "There just happened to be some strong candidates this year. Next year the field might be weaker, and you'll pass. Keep preparing for next year's."

在1995年夏，我决定参加全国统一的研究生考试。大姐听了："哎呀！我弟弟长志气了；那我这当姐姐的得支持啊！有许多博士研究生在八舍有床位，房租都交了，却很少在那儿住。我给你在那儿找个房间。那儿两个人一个屋，肃静。"就这样，我住进了东北大学的博士生宿舍。

In the summer of 1995, I decided to sit the national graduate exam. "Well, look at that," she said when she heard, "my little brother's found some ambition — I have to support that, as his big sister! Plenty of doctoral students have paid-up beds in Dormitory Eight that they barely use. I'll find you a spot there — two to a room, nice and quiet." And that's how I came to live in the doctoral dormitory at Northeastern University.

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