1: Do students learn maths in secondary schools in China?

Useful expressions:

compulsory subject 必修科目

Have a significant role to play in 在……扮演重要角色

educational system 教育系统

The National College Entrance Examination 高考

Sample:

Yes, math is always one of the most important compulsory subjects that students need to learn ever since grade 1 in primary school. It has a significant role to play in Chinese educational system since it’s an essential section of The National College Entrance Examination.

2: Do you learn maths now?

Useful expressions:

have little connection to 与……基本没有什么关系

live in a digital world 生活在数字世界

digitalize 数字化

promising careers 有前途的职业

Sample:

Actually no. I haven’t learned it as a subject ever since I graduated from high school Because I major in art which has little connection to math. But I have to say mathematics will be increasingly important as we are now living in a digital world. Everything is gonna be digitalized, people with a talent in this area will be more likely to have promising careers.

3: What can people do with maths in their daily life?

Useful expressions:

manage money 理财

calculate your daily budget 计算日常开支

calculate calories of food 细算食物的卡路里

make better decisions 做出更好的决定

analyze data logically 有逻辑地分析数据

see things below the surface 看到事物的本质

seek a better solution 找到更好的解决方案

Sample:

I think we can do a lot of things with the help of math like managing money, calculating calories of food and making better decisions. I mean, with the ability developed by math to analyze data logically, we can get our work done more efficiently and seek a better solution. So I think math influences us more than we think.

4: Do you think maths is difficult?

Useful expressions:

vary from person to person 因人而异

apply math in my daily life 在日常生活中应用数学

abstract and irrelevant figures are difficult to understand

抽象的和无关的数据是难以理解的

Sample:

Well, it could vary from person to person. For me, I think it is not as hard as most people think it is. I quite enjoying learning and applying math in my daily life. But maybe for people with no talent in it, studying math could be the most frustrating thing that has ever happened to them as they find abstract and irrelevant figures are difficult to understand.