"Because of You, I Failed the Exam"... Why Are Hong Kong Students Angry at Michelle Obama?

Michelle Obama Autobiography Featured in College Entrance Exam
High Difficulty of English Passages Raises Concerns Over Score Drops
Hong Kong Students Say "If You Don't Get a Perfect Score, It's Your Responsibility"

Michelle Obama, wife of former U.S. President Barack Obama, is receiving a flood of negative comments from Hong Kong university entrance exam candidates. This is because a question using a part of Mrs. Obama's autobiography appeared in the English subject of the university entrance exam, and the question was considered difficult.

On the 24th, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), a passage from Mrs. Obama's Mother's Day essay and a part of her autobiography "Becoming" were used as reading materials in the English subject of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exam held on the 21st.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama's wife, Michelle Obama.
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

English is one of the compulsory subjects in the DSE. The exam consists of reading, writing, listening, and speaking sections. Among these, the reading section requires students to choose between the compulsory Part A and one of the optional Parts B1 or B2. To achieve the highest score of 5, students must select the more difficult B2 part, and Mrs. Obama's writings were used as passages in the B2 part.

Students and teachers responded that the passage was one of the most difficult reading comprehension questions in recent years. English teacher Ashley Lee explained in an interview with the media, "This year's English B2 part was the most difficult," adding, "Mrs. Obama's writings included many uncommon adjectives and slang, requiring critical thinking and the ability to read between the lines."

Another English teacher, Kenneth Lau, said, "This year's B2 part was the most difficult in recent years," and added, "There were many long questions, so it must have been hard to finish within the time limit."

[Image source=Pixabay]

In particular, some examinees who struggled with the question flocked to Mrs. Obama's Instagram account to vent their anger and post abusive comments. One student commented on her Instagram post, "You turned my 2023 DSE into a mock exam for the 2024 DSE."

This expressed frustration about failing the exam and having to retake it next year. The comment received more than 70 'likes.' Another student wrote, "If I don't get a score of 5, it will be your fault."

As these actions by students sparked controversy, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority stated, "We understand that candidates are worried about their exam results, but they should be polite and respectful when expressing their opinions." The spokesperson added, "When selecting English reading passages, we consider not only the language ability of the candidates but also the interest and educational importance of the passages."

Meanwhile, some netizens left apologetic comments regarding the negative comments from Hong Kong students. One netizen said, "On behalf of the people of Hong Kong who left comments here, I want to apologize," and praised, "Your autobiography was beautifully written and a great read." That comment received about 1,300 'likes.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.