Study Buddy (Explorer): PhD student inspires many as first blind person to pass China’s university entrance exam

[2] Huang Ying, 29, from the Ningxia Hui autonomous region in northwestern China, has been blind since the age of 2 due to a fever, as reported by the China Youth Daily. In 2015, she successfully passed the country’s challenging university entrance examination, known as the gaokao, and subsequently enrolled at Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) in central Hubei province.

[3] Huang is the first visually impaired person in China to gain admission to a top institution by taking the gaokao. Many disabled students typically pursue their education at high schools or vocational schools. With outstanding scores during her undergraduate studies, she was recommended for graduate school at WUT without needing to sit for an entrance test. Huang is now a PhD candidate at the university’s management school.

[4] For the past few years, she has shared a dormitory with another student, Che Meng, who expressed her amazement at Huang’s “almightiness in everyday life”. “At first, I thought I would need to help her a lot. But after observing her for some time, I realised that aside from seeing, she can do almost everything,” Che said. Huang said she enjoys spending time with her roommate. “Most people are cautious when interacting with the blind, but Meng Meng (Che’s nickname) isn’t. She does everything with me and goes out with me,” Huang said.

[5] On Douyin, where Huang has 430,000 followers, she shares videos of her engaging in various activities independently, such as going out, crossing the road, shopping, applying cosmetics, and even visiting the hospital for treatment. Some videos highlight the friendship between the two roommates, featuring them running on the playground and playing the piano together.

[6] One clip of the duo riding a tandem bicycle received about 150,000 likes. “Today, Meng Meng said she wanted to take me out for a bicycle ride so that I could feel as free as the wind. I was very touched,” Huang said in the video. She said that Meng Meng, sitting in the front, was so playful that she hardly pedalled for much of the ride. “She doesn’t see me as a blind person; she simply regards me as a friend,” Huang said.

[7] Huang expressed her hope that her videos could help dispel public misconceptions about the lives of blind individuals. Her story has received a positive response from mainland Chinese social media users.

Source: South China Morning Post, December 12

1. Decide whether the following statements about Huang in paragraphs 1 and 2 are True, False or the information is Not Given. Fill in ONE circle only for each statement. (4 marks)

(i) She recently passed the gaokao.
(ii) She became blind because of a fever.
(iii) She achieved the highest score on the gaokao in 2015.
(iv) Her videos show how she studied for the gaokao.

2. Find a phrase in paragraph 1 that refers to “tasks that people do regularly”.

3. According to paragraph 3, what sort of schools do most disabled students in China attend?

4. What does the phrase “almightiness in everyday life” refer to?

5. In paragraph 4, Huang … Che.
A. likes spending time with
B. does her best to avoid
C. feels uncomfortable
D. spends a lot of time helping

6. Based on paragraph 4, how do most people behave around blind people?

7. The videos mentioned in paragraph 5 show Huang …
A. going to different places.
B. buying things.
C. putting on make-up.
D. all of the above

8. Who rode on the back seat of the tandem bicycle, according to paragraph 6?

9. What is Huang Ying’s goal for her videos?

1. (i) F; (ii) T; (iii) NG; (iv) F
2. daily chores
3. high schools or vocational schools
4. Huang’s ability to do things without anyone’s help (accept all similar answers)
5. A
6. They are cautious around them.
7. D
8. Huang / Huang Ying
9. that her videos could help dispel public misconceptions about the lives of blind individuals