Testing Times: China's Civil Service

① Nearly 1.6m people are registered to sit the national entrance exam, which will take place in cities across the country this weekend.

② Candidates who score well in the five-hour test will be invited to interview early next year for one of the roughly 28,500 positions on offer.

③ Job-seekers have long coveted the security and benefits that come with government posts; the number of test-sitters has multiplied many times since the contest's introduction in 1994.

④ Lately, though, interest has softened, in large part because a crackdown on corruption and extravagance has made the work look less enjoyable and the salaries somewhat scant.

⑤ Firmer rule enforcement may also be denting the appeal of joining the Communist Party—another rite of passage for many youngsters who aspire to public service.

⑥ In 2016 requests to join the club fell by about 10%, the first big drop in years.

⑦ For those undeterred: pencils at the ready.

▍生詞好句

civil service: 公務(wù)員

covet /?k?v?t/: vt. 渴望

extravagance /?k?strav?ɡ(?)ns/ /?k?strav?ɡ(?)ns/: n. 奢侈；奢華

scant /skant/: adj. 一丁點的

enforcement /?n?f??sm(?)nt/: n. 加強

dent /d?nt/: vt. 使……削弱 / n. 凹坑

appeal /??pi?l/: n. 吸引力 / vi. 上訴

passage /?pas?d?/ /pa?sɑ??/: n. 過渡

aspire /??sp???/: vi. 渴望

undeterred /?nd??t??d/: adj. 頑強的；不屈不撓的