I Confess... by Wei Wenjuan

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Reynold Hicks
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1 o Not Reproduce NPI When the narrator returns to his old high school as a teacher he experiences a surprising reminder of his life there as a student. Read the selection and answer the questions that follow. I onfess... by Wei Wenjuan May I come in? rang out a clear voice. ome in. I knew it was the boy who monitored discipline in my class. What is it? Mr. Wei, Wang Wei has carved characters in his desk top. What? Send him to me at once! What nonsense is this? I quickly stood up, paced up and down and considered how I should handle this. It was a case of severe damage to public property. 6 I had only recently graduated from teacher training college and had been assigned to work at the same high school that I myself had attended Linhu Junior High. The school had shown great faith in me and had put me in charge of the eighth graders. I had drawn on all my reserves of strength and had vowed to myself not to let my superiors down. I had set myself strict standards and, as I had hoped, my hard work had begun to pay off. fter only half a term, the school s splendid red flag of citation had been brought in to decorate the wall of my classroom. I had felt the same sense of happy satisfaction that I got when eating an ice cream on a hot summer s day. ontent, I nevertheless worked even harder. The last thing I expected was an incident like this. May I come in? Wang Wei asked shyly, standing awkwardly in the doorway. Yes. ome in! I roared fiercely. In all the time I had been there I had never used such a harsh voice to chastise a student. Wang Wei... stand up straight! 9 Other more experienced teachers had told me that it was important to exert one s authority at first in order to let the naughtier children know who was in charge; if you gave them an inch, they would take a yard. Wang Wei was obviously terrified. He was trembling from head to foot, while awkwardly standing at attention. combination of terror and guilt flashed in his eyes. I want an explanation! Why did you feel it necessary to carve characters in the desk top? I was too angry to employ the investigative method I had originally intended to use. Instead I came straight to the point. I... I didn t do it. He raised his head. If you don t believe me, sir, you can go and... Go and what? I interrupted abruptly. More than two months of teaching experience had taught me that I should not let him argue. If the atmosphere relaxed, it would be even harder to sort him out. Why would anyone accuse you for no reason? Out of a class of more than fifty, why would they pick on you out of the blue? Wang Wei s lips trembled and he clearly was unable to articulate what he wanted to say. Instead, he dropped his eyes, and with great effort stammered, I... I... ut before he could finish his sentence tears were rolling down his cheeks. dmitting one s mistakes and changing one s ways is the sign of a good student. Then I said, in a slightly softened tone, I want you to consider for yourself how this matter should be resolved. The school rules state that you must confess to all the teachers and students, and reimburse the cost of the damage done. Prepare yourself for this. Page 1

2 o Not Reproduce NPI Sir, I... I really did not do it. Since he was still trying to deny it, I tried another angle. In an attempt to trap him, I suddenly asked, What is carved into the desk? I don t know. The characters are all twisted. I can t read them. What do you mean twisted? o you mean the sort of characters you find on a seal? I wanted to laugh; at the same time I thought it rather odd. Normally, eighth graders don t know how to write seal characters. more thorough investigation into the matter seemed necessary. etween classes, I took Wang Wei, puffy-faced, back to his own classroom. Tension immediately settled over the whole class. The pupils looked at me steadily and the air in the classroom was still. I went directly to Wang Wei s desk and looked at it carefully. Indistinct carvings were just visible in the left-hand corner. They had obviously been inscribed there a long time ago. These are ancient characters, aren t they, sir? one pupil asked curiously. I bent over and tried to identify them. I read them aloud, without registering their meaning: Wei... Suddenly, I felt the blood rush to my head! Wasn t that my own name carved in those elongated seal characters? The style was so familiar; the characters had to have been carved by my own hand. eneath them was another line of characters written in the Song-dynasty style: In memory of my graduation. The date followed. Oh no, how dreadful! Now I remembered. The same last name as you, sir? What are the last two characters? I felt quite dizzy, and at a loss for words. I was ashamed to show my face. Eh... um... They re... What s the matter, sir? Mr. Wei is ill. Mr. Wei, let me take you to rest. No, no! I m not ill. hildren, I... I could not go on. I turned and went up to the blackboard. I picked up a piece of chalk and copied the characters from the desk onto the blackboard, then turned and looked anxiously at the pupils. lass, I want to confess. onfess? Our teacher is going to make a confession? Yes, I confess... "I onfess..." by Wei Wenjuan from One-Minute Stories. opyright 1992, published by the hinese Literature Press. Page 2

3 o Not Reproduce NPI 1. t the beginning of the selection, what is the narrator s solution to the problem of disciplining students? 3. The narrator states that he had never used such a harsh voice to chastise a student. What does chastise mean? lways keep control. to scold Keep calm in difficult situations. to penalize Listen to what the student has to say. Try to understand why the student misbehaved. to get a confession from to be cruel and unfair to 2. In paragraph 6, the narrator describes conflicting emotions about returning to his former school to be a teacher. What were those emotions? nostalgia at returning to the school and anticipation of the future responsibility at being a teacher and the desire to be friends with students happiness at the school s confidence in him and fear that he will let the school down pride in his class s accomplishments and disappointment at Wang Wei s actions 4. In paragraph 9, the narrator says of Wang Wei, combination of terror and guilt flashed in his eyes. What does this statement indicate about the narrator s beliefs? He was angry and felt satisfaction that Wang Wei felt terrified of him. He was a sympathetic person and felt guilty at having to punish Wang Wei. He knew that Wang Wei was honest and was confused by Wang Wei s guilty reaction. He assumed that Wang Wei was guilty and interpreted Wang Wei s actions to support his belief. Page 3

4 o Not Reproduce NPI 5. How do the narrator s feelings change from the beginning of the selection to the end? from compassionate to unsympathetic from encouraged to confused from angry to ashamed 6. What would be different about this selection if the narrator had been assigned to teach somewhere other than Linhu Junior High? The narrator would not have had so many problem students. The narrator would feel as if he had more authority. from sad to happy The narrator would not have worked so hard at his job. The narrator would not have had to confess to his students. End of Set In compliance with federal law, including the provisions of Title IX of the Education mendments of 1972, the epartment of Public Instruction does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or military service in its policies, programs, activities, admissions or employment. Page 4

5 nswers to Grade 8 Reading omprehension Sample Items Question orrect Objective Passage Title Number nswer ategory Thinking Skill Number I onfess 1 Interpretation nalyzing 5.01 I onfess 2 Interpretation nalyzing 5.01 I onfess 3 ognition nalyzing 6.01 I onfess 4 Interpretation nalyzing 5.01 I onfess 5 ritical Stance nalyzing 5.01 I onfess 6 ritical Stance nalyzing 5.01 Thursday, June 10, 2004 Page 1 of 1

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