The staff member’s eyes widened in shock. She had heard the titles of many works inside, but she hadn’t managed to remember the authors. She couldn’t help but laugh. "This little student is amazing. As a staff member, I have to admit my own shortcomings. I’ve read a few of those books, but I didn’t remember the authors. You, little student, remembered them all, even the full names. Impressive. I admire you." She gave a thumbs-up, genuinely impressed by Zhu Yanyi. For Chinese people, Western names were indeed tricky—too long and confusing.
Zhu Yanyi giggled. "You flatter me. Then I take the lead in this round."
The staff member raised her thumb. "Correct. The only female student here has scored. The two male students present, you need to step up." She then continued, "Now, let’s move to the second question. If Zhu Yanyi answers this correctly, there will be no need for the next two questions, as the result will be decided. If one of the two male students answers, the competition continues. Please listen to the question." The staff member looked at the paper in front of her and spoke slowly, "What is the English translation of '智者悔少'? The quiz begins."
"People with tact have less to retract," Cheng Chen blurted out in standard Oxford English, making the students sitting below, who had only just started learning the ABCs, feel inferior.
"It really is one of the two male students," the staff member laughed. "Cheng Chen, can you write this sentence?" Someone nearby brought up a small blackboard and a piece of chalk.
Cheng Chen didn’t hesitate. He walked over, picked up the chalk, and quickly wrote the sentence before returning to his seat.
"Excellent," the staff member praised. Then he added, "It seems our competition will continue. Now, I’ll ask the third question. The question is: Who invented the first telescope?"
"Galileo," Luo Fuxin answered. "Copernicus was an outstanding Polish astronomer. After 40 years of astronomical observation, he proposed the theory of 'heliocentrism.' He believed that the center of the universe was the Sun, not the Earth. The Earth is an ordinary planet, rotating on its axis while orbiting the Sun. Galileo had long believed in Copernicus’s 'heliocentrism.' On a day in June 1608, Galileo found an empty tube, embedded a convex lens at one end and a concave lens at the other, creating the world’s first small astronomical telescope. Experiments proved it could magnify objects three times. Not satisfied, Galileo further improved it and made another one. He took this telescope to the seaside. The vast sea was rolling with waves, and no ships were visible. But when he looked through the telescope into the distance, a ship was sailing toward the shore. Practice proved it could magnify eight times. Galileo kept improving and making telescopes. Finally, his telescope could magnify objects 32 times, confirming Copernicus’s 'heliocentrism.' In 1610, Galileo published the famous Sidereus Nuncius (The Starry Messenger). People admired him, saying, 'Columbus discovered the New World, Galileo discovered the New Universe.'"
"Well," the staff member said, speechless. The three were tied again. Of course, the staff member also suspected something—whether the other two had done this intentionally, aiming for the final question.