So Tell Me...

The main point of every type of class we have throughout the day is to practice the grammar and vocabulary of the day. To that effect, the teachers prepare a long list of questions to ask us that allow us to practice. However, sometimes the grammar and vocab of the day limit them to asking some pretty strange questions for the sake of practice. In class, it always seems like we're laughing over the implication of one weird sentence or another.

I think, I just think, the teachers might have heard about the Yale-Harvard rivalry, because the first month or so, every day had a few questions about Yale and Harvard sprinkled in.


There's another trend in their questions that I shouldn't be surprised at, and that's the teachers' tendency to compare China and America, especially our governments, economies, and lifestyles. I think it's interesting that the questions reveal more about the people crafting them than the people answering them. Sino-American relations (and comparisons) are certainly on the minds of our teachers, and they've been particularly eager in seeking out our opinions on all kinds of issues related to the great China-America comparison.

Here, in no particular order, are some of the questions I've found the funniest, strangest, or most discomfiting:

1. If someone wants to commit suicide, what do you say to comfort them?
2. If your friend doesn't greet you on purpose, what do you do?
3. At your university, what's the ratio of beautiful girls to ugly girls?
4. How can you tell if someone's stupid?
5. Did your parents hit you when you were a child?
6. What is the difference between Harvard and Yale students?
7. Which campus is more beautiful? Give reasons why.
8. Whose economy is better, China or the USA?
9. What kind of changes do you think the Chinese government should make?
10. What has the American government done wrong? (to be fair, they ask the same of China)
11. Which student at HBA likes to use swear words?
12. Would you submit to an arranged marriage?
13. What animal would you like to transform into?
14. What will you do if your parents don't approve of your marriage?
15. What are the costs and benefits of computers replacing human brain power?
16. What are the benefits of Facebook?
17. What kind of actors play bad guys in movies, ugly people or attractive people?
18. How will you try to satisfy your significant other?

And, in real life:

Why does everyone keep referring to each other's moms?