i'll take "things that make no sense" for $1000, alex

[rone]

<todd`> A California English standardized test question....
<todd`> "Which phrase most helps to create a mood of anticipation? a) a whirlwind of activity, b) long hot afternoons, c) snarling insults back and forth, d) jammed onto racks and shelves"

[Poll #1175524]

Comments

[motis.livejournal.com]

When I first arrived in China and began teaching English, I was shocked at how openly and routinely the students cheated... then the headmaster showed me the standardized multiple-choice English test they would be required to pass at the end of the semester. A good score on this test, he told me, was terribly important in getting into a university.

The test was obviously written by non-English speakers, and at least half the questions either had no correct answer, had more than one correct answer, or made absolutely no sense at all. "What's the difference between a duck?" would not have been out of place on the damn thing.

I don't think much of academic cheating, but what other chance did my students have? I made an extra copy of the test's answers and took it to class the next day. "I was just looking at the answers to your semester final exam," I told my students as I waved the sheet in the air and placed it carelessly on the desk. "I have to go take care of something, I'll be back in ten minutes."

Naturally, the sheet was gone when I came back, and I pretended not to notice.

[paracelsvs.livejournal.com]

In one of my university classes, the teacher started out by explaining that the book we were going to use was hard to find, and when you could find it, it cost a fortune. He said he couldn't possibly encourage copyright infringement, but that he did have a copy of it, on loose sheets of paper, and that if anybody wanted, they were welcome to borrow it for short periods of time to study it.

So every few days, somebody would ask to borrow it so they could study the latest chapter.

Until one day, somebody said something along the lines of "Hey, could I borrow those papers again, we need to get copies of chapter 10". The whole close groans, and somebody shouts, "No no no! You can't say that!"

A good time was had by all.