|
I was waiting outside the examination hall. My heart was pounding fiercely. My hands were sweating. I would be the next one when I
saw the candidate coming out from the hall. It was an oral examination. I was too nervous and I really hoped that I could pass this
examination. It was because this was my second attempt. Five years ago, I failed in the examination. I could not find a good job
because I could not show my boss that I could speak English fluently. Moreover, my brothers and sisters scoffed at my stupidity.
My parents neglected me. They thought that I had no future. I was in a deep depression for a long time. I despised myself and could
not face reality. I had no friends to express my unhappiness. Actually, it was hard to tell my friends that I was distressed because I
could not get the support from my family. The only thing that I could do was to keep this in the depth of my heart. Later, I met my
boyfriend. He encouraged me to take the examination again. He taught me English grammar and conversation. I was happy again. It
seemed that I could see the dawn. We planned to get married and I would stay in the house to take care of my husband and my
children. I would start my new life. But having a certificate of completion of English was still my wish to achieve because it had
disturbed me for five years.
"Next one." This was the voice coming from the examination hall. I stood up and dried my hands with my skirt. I knocked the door and got in. The hall was empty and stuffy. The windows were open. Everything seemed to be at a standstill. The ceiling fan was whirling noisily. In the middle of the hall, three examiners were sitting in the armchairs. On top of the long bench, there were stacks of documents. In front of the bench, there was an empty chair. I understood that I would face three examiners to have my oral examination. I got inside and closed the door behind me. I said, "Good afternoon, sir." "Good afternoon, miss." I hoped that I could make a good impression on the examiners. The examiner said, "Come over here." I was still shaking and walked towards them. The examiner said, "Sit down, read this passage." I sat down and started reading the paragraph. I found that my voice was trembling and I was not sure whether my pronunciation was correct or not. When I was reading, I found that the examiners kept on marking on the papers. I was very excited. I tried to concentrate on my reading and kept myself calm. After reading, I passed the paper back to them. The second part of the examination was answering some questions. There would be a conversation with the examiners and this was the most difficult part. I did not know what they would ask about. I could not do any preparation work before I came. I looked at them with my eyes wide open and listened carefully to the questions. I tried to comprehend what they said before I answered. I understood that I could not spend much time to organize my answer because they would deduct my marks. When the examiner asked me why I sat for the English examination, I nearly burst out in tears. I told them that one of my reasons was I could not find a good job and the other reason was I would get married a few months later. I was eager to pass the examination and send my husband a gift of the completion certificate of English. Actually, my boyfriend had taught me English. This was my wish to pass the examination. I wish I could do that. At that moment, I found that I choked up and could not speak anymore. I felt that my eyes were red and filled with tears. I did not know why I was emotional. This was my feeling and I could not stop it. |