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For decades state-funded feeder schools in poorer areas played a vital role in offering good students from the countryside a chance to get into university. But many have closed as a result of migration into cities. Meanwhile, competition has grown for places in good senior secondary schools. Ma Hang attended primary school in his home village. But the best junior high school in the county would not accept village students unless they paid extra fees or had powerful connections. His parents managed to use such a connection to get him into the school. He says that set him on a path that led him to a feeder high school and then to university.
幾十年來，政府資助的貧困地區生源學校在為農村優秀學生提供進入大學的機會中發揮了至關重要的作用。但由于許多農村學生移居城市，大量生源學校已經關閉。與此同時，優質高中的錄取競爭也日益激烈。馬航在農村老家讀了小學。但縣里最好的初中不招收村里的學生，除非他們支付額外的費用或者有強大的關系。他的父母設法托關系將他送進了學校。他說，這讓他走上了一條通往生源學校然后再考入大學的坦途。
Rural children in China face obstacles at every stage of development. Babies are more likely to be undernourished and lack parental attention. By the time they enter primary school, many have ailments such as anaemia, poor vision and worms. Around 60% of students from the poorest counties suffer from at least one of these afflictions, says Mr Rozelle.
中國農村兒童在成長過程中一步一個坎。嬰兒時期更容易營養不良，而且缺少父母的照顧。當他們進入小學時，許多孩子都患有貧血、近視和寄生蟲等疾病。羅澤爾表示，來自最貧困縣的大約60%的學生至少患有其中一種疾病。
Those who, despite the odds, make it to elite universities often feel socially isolated. In 2020 a student from the countryside took to social media to describe being “lost and confused” at university after leaving the “straightforward environment” of school, where passing tests was the focus. More than 100,000 students, many with rural backgrounds, weighed in, sharing their own experiences of feeling like misfits and lamenting their job prospects. They coined a new term in Chinese: xiao zhen zuotijia, meaning “small-town swot”.
那些排除萬難，最終考入頂級大學的寒門子弟往往會感到自己孤立無援。2020年，一名農村學生在社交媒體上分享自己在離開了學校這個成績至上的“單純環境”后感受到的“迷惘和困惑”。超過10萬名學生參與了討論，其中許多人有農村背景，他們分享了自己感到格格不入的經歷，并哀嘆自己的工作前景暗淡。他們創造了一個漢語新詞：小鎮做題家，意思是“一直埋頭苦讀的小鎮學子”。
Wang Jianyue, a country-born physics whizz, can relate to their complaints. He chose to study finance at university, thinking it would be easier to find a job with such a specialism. It was only after he saw several of his classmates get internships at big financial firms using their parents’ connections that he “truly understood the gap” between himself and them. Mr Wang changed his focus to computer science. Unlike some other small-town swots, he has, to his relief, got a job offer.
出生在農村的物理天才王建岳可以理解他們的抱怨。他選擇在大學學習金融，因為他認為這個專業會更容易找工作。直到看到幾個同學利用父母的關系在大型金融公司實習后，他才“真正理解”自己和其他同學的差距。王建岳后來便轉攻計算機科學。與其他小鎮做題家不同的是，王建岳找到了一份工作，這讓他松了一口氣。
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