As it struggled to work out the second derivative, the New HSK test felt a welling sense of shame and inadequacy. Intellectually, the mandarin proficiency exam knew that its frustration came from overly-ambitious parental expectations, but that didn't make the emotions involved any easier to handle. And what perverse logic insisted that all Asian tests had to be good at math anyway? Why couldn't a standardized test simply focus on reading and writing for a change?

Please note: when you take the real HSK test you have an average of 45 seconds to answer each question. This time includes the time needed to read the passages on advanced reading exercises like these. So read quickly, and good luck!