A record 10.78 million students around China are expected to take the all-important national college entrance exam this year, or gaokao, from Monday to Tuesday, Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

据新华社周三报道，从下周一到周二，今年全国将有创纪录的1078万考生参加高考。

The number marks a slight increase from 10.71 million last year,the number of test centers and monitors has also increased, Xinhua said.

这一数字比去年的1071万略有增长。新华社说，考场和监控设备的数量也有所增加。

The gruelling annual college entrance exam known as the "gaokao" is not an ordinary test, but is notorious for being one of the toughest exams in the world.

“高考”是中国一年一度的大学入学考试，并不是一个普通的考试。众所周知，它是世界上最难的考试之一。

It is China's version of the American SAT, and in mandarin, "gaokao" translates into "high exam" - it is a title the annual test certainly lives up to!

这是中国版的美国SAT。在普通话中，“高考”的意思是“高等级考试”——这无疑是一年一度的考试所应得的称号!

For the students, their performance in the tests will impact their lives for years to come, as Chinese universities' enrollment decisions are based almost entirely on applicants' gaokao scores.

对于这些学生来说，他们的考试成绩将影响他们未来几年的生活，因为中国大学的招生决定几乎完全基于考生的高考分数。

The excessive focus on cramming for the gaokao is also leaving many students, especially those from rural areas, unprepared for the reality of college life.

对于高考的过度关注也使得许多学生，尤其是那些来自农村地区的学生，对大学生活的现实毫无准备。

Nearly after its introduction in 1970 years, the gaokao still gets high marks as a social equalizer.

中国在上个世纪70年代恢复高考之后，高考作为一种社会均衡手段仍然获得了很高的成就。