www.bookofjoe.com/2006/11/driving_in_chin.html
story in the Washington Post, noted that getting a driver's license in China is no easy task. Driving Them Crazy You are motoring down a stretch of Chinese highway outside Chengdu, when, glancing at the side-view mirror of your Xiali 2000, you notice flames shooting from your gas tank. Quick -- do you: a Strip off your cotton clothing and use it to smother the flames. Only a handful of the hundreds of US diplomats posted in China, we're told, (and none in the Chengdu consulate) have passed the Chinese driving exam, from which the slightly-modified question above is drawn. Passing the multiple-choice, 100-question test of mechanical minutiae, oxcart etiquette and, oh yes, the rules of the road, is a must for anyone eager to see the world's third-largest country from behind the wheel. But get more than 10 questions on the computerized test wrong, and the screen lights up with a weepy yellow emoticon and the woeful message: "It is sorry that you do not pass." China does not recognize international driver's licenses, even for diplomats. And State Department ethics preclude passing the test by slipping a few hundred yuan into the palm of a proctor. That has left our nation's diplomatic corps in an awkward position: on foot. "The silver lining is, our diplomats get to practice their Chinese with the local taxi drivers," said the State Department employee who alerted The Washington Post to this situation -- and who doesn't have a Chinese driver's license, either. Jian Huali, first secretary at the Chinese Embassy, had no pity for our sweat-hog foreign service officers. We need people to be more aware of what they are doing on the street. It seemed only fair to test Jian Huali with three sample questions. "If you asked me in Chinese, I could do better," he said. Then he asked: "Are you going to put my name in the paper and say I have gotten three questions wrong?" Up top are unedited questions and answers from China's "Road Traffic Safety Rules and Regulations, Exam Reference Manual (2004 edition)," English-language version.
Jeffrey M Foster | Nov 5, 2006 1:05:30 PM Here are two from Malaysia (no joke, I actually got these questions): (on a motor vehicle, ie car test): When riding on a motorcycle, the correct placement of knees is : a) Pointing Straight in front b) 5 inches under the handlebar c) at right angles - they forgot of course d) Why the hell do I need to know this to drive a car More incredibly: If your car starts sinking in water, you should : a) Roll up all the windows b) Form a daisy chain with the other passengers c) Kick out the window and swim to safety Of course, the funniest thing is most of the 'correct answers' were the opposite of what is considered correct in every other country's road rules...
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