Reborn in 2010, the AI ​​in my mind is too powerful.

The alarm clock rang at seven o'clock in the morning.

Chen Yiran turned over and lay there for another 5 minutes before getting up.

The TOEFL exam is in the morning.

While I was washing up, I received a message from Xu Li: Are you up yet? Hurry up, go have some breakfast first.

Chen Yiran spat out a mouthful of foam and replied, "On my way."

Xu Li was already waiting in the car when I left.

Xu Li came in August and is currently in his third ELI term. However, I heard that he was only placed in L2 for reading and writing, while he was placed in L3 for writing.

Given his current skill level, taking the TOEFL would basically be a waste of his registration fee.

However, Xu Li couldn't resist his strong sense of wishful thinking. What if he just happened to know all the answers?

So after learning that Chen Yiran had registered for the TOEFL, Xu Li decisively registered as well, wanting to take a gamble, and even shifted the blame onto Chen Yiran. He said things like, "I'm taking you there anyway, so you can take the test while you're at it. If you get a low score and it's embarrassing, it's not my fault, it's yours."

Chen Yiran opened the car door and asked directly, "Where to eat? iHot?"

"Okay, let's go with ihop then."

IHOP, short for International House of Pancakes, is an American chain restaurant specializing in breakfast.

These are all basic American breakfasts, but to be honest, they taste really good. American breakfasts are quite rare among traditional American meals, as they are somewhat suited to Chinese tastes.

Pancakes drizzled with maple syrup, basic fried egg, bacon, ham, and potato pancakes—the ingredients are simple and delicious, making it difficult to make them taste bad.

The two first went to ihop for a hearty meal. Usually, everyone is too lazy to get up too early for class, and breakfast is usually perfunctory. This time, they really enjoyed a good meal.

Then we started heading towards New Castle, taking I-95 north and then turning onto DE-1. It took less than half an hour to get there.

The test center was located in One Corporate Commons, a relatively low-rise commercial office building. Several cars were already parked in front. Xu Li found an empty spot, parked, and followed Chen Yiran inside with a serious expression.

The sign indicated 100 West Commons Blvd, Suite 430.

Take the elevator to the fourth floor. There's a Prometric sign hanging at the door, and next to it is a piece of paper that says: TOEFL iBT Test Takers.

Pushing open the door, there was a small reception desk, behind which sat a middle-aged woman with blonde hair.

The two of them lined up to sign in. Most of the people taking the TOEFL were international students, and only passports were accepted as proof of identity for registration. There were only a few people ahead of them, and it was Chen Yiran's turn in no time.

The staff verified his name and photo, had him sign a confidentiality agreement, and then took a picture of him with their phone.

"Please put all personal belongings in the lockers. Cell phones, watches, food, water, notes—nothing is allowed in the examination room. You may only bring your identification."

Chen Yiran found a compartment, put her wallet, phone, and keys inside, and locked it.

After Xu Li finished his business, the two of them followed the people into a large room.

The examination room was small, with only twenty seats. Each seat was separated by a partition, and each seat had a computer, a headset, and a pair of noise-canceling headphones.

Several people were already sitting inside. Most of them were of Asian appearance, probably international students from nearby universities.

Chen Yiran was assigned a seat by the window.

After I sat down, the proctor immediately came over to check my passport, and then asked me to roll up my sleeves and turn my pockets inside out for another check.

After a while, when it was almost time, the teacher in front announced, "Look at the screen and the exam is about to begin."

A login screen popped up. I entered my registration number and password to access the exam system.

Chen Yiran silently told himself: "Jasmine, watch me while I do my homework, and tell me if you have any questions."

【OK. 】

First, there was reading: three academic articles, each followed by a dozen or so questions.

The first article was about the impact of glacial retreat in North America on vegetation distribution, explaining how different plant communities occupied newly exposed land in sequence after the Last Glacial Period. Chen Yiran glanced at it; there were basically no unfamiliar words.

The question types are all standard: main idea, details, inference, vocabulary, sentence insertion, and finally a paragraph summary.

The second article discusses aqueduct engineering during the Roman Empire. Aqueducts were one of Rome's most important infrastructure projects, and some still exist today. The article is a bit long, but not difficult.

The third article was on animal behavior. It discussed how a certain type of bird produces different courtship calls in different habitats, which researchers believe are not innate but learned. Chen Yiran read the last paragraph, which described an experiment where chicks were taken from their eggs and raised artificially. The results showed that the calls they made as adults were different from those of the native population.

Overall, it was alright. There were no major obstacles in terms of vocabulary, and I didn't even need to use Jasmine. Three articles, sixty minutes in total, was plenty of time.

Then comes the listening test.

The listening section is divided into three groups, each consisting of a campus dialogue and two academic lectures. Listen to the dialogues first, then answer the questions.

The first group's dialogue was between students and a librarian about how to research and write papers. The first lecture was by a biology professor about the difference between C3 and C4 plants in photosynthesis, and the second lecture was by a history professor about French aid during the American Revolutionary War.

The second group of students went to the professor to ask why their midterm exam scores were low. The professor said their answers were off-topic and didn't address the key points. Lecture one was about plate tectonics and volcanic formation, using the Hawaiian Islands as an example. Lecture two was about psychology, specifically the short-term and long-term storage mechanisms of memory.

The third group consisted of students swapping dorm rooms with the dormitory supervisor. The first lecture was by a literature professor discussing Hemingway's writing style, and the second lecture was by an economics professor discussing the differences between monopolies and perfectly competitive markets.

Listening comprehension was Chen Yiran's strongest area; having lived in the US for so many years, she was comfortable with everyday conversations and academic lectures. The only problem was that some questions tested details, such as what the professor's tone implied, which was easy to forget without taking notes.

Chen Yiran scribbled a few keywords on the scratch paper, and the exam went quite smoothly. As a result, she sat in her seat, bored for a while. The TOEFL exam does not allow you to hand in your paper early, and you can only wait in your seat after the exam is over.

The break has finally arrived, and we have ten minutes to leave the computer room.

Chen Yiran stood up, stretched his neck, and walked out of the examination room. Xu Li was already in the rest area, drinking water with a frustrated look on his face. Seeing Chen Yiran come out, he quickly came over and complained, "It was so hard! Especially the listening comprehension! I feel like my reading is okay. I didn't slack off on the notes the teacher made us take in class, so I feel pretty good about it now. But I just can't keep up with the listening comprehension."

"That's normal. When you're in ELI, the lower-level teachers will slow down their speech. This is a normal speaking speed. If you're not used to it, you definitely won't be able to keep up."

Xu Li sighed: "As expected, there are no loopholes. I was thinking, what if I pass the TOEFL? That would be awesome. I could just rest for half a year and go straight to university when the semester starts in the second half of the year."

"You wish! Nothing's that easy."

Ten minutes passed quickly, and everyone went back to start the exam.

Spoken language.

Chen Yiran felt that talking to himself in front of the computer was a bit strange, especially since everyone in the room was doing the same thing.

The first question: Describe a place you like to go to most and why you like it.

There are only 15 seconds to prepare.

Chen Yiran almost laughed out loud when she saw this question. She decided to say Acme, the store next to Studio Green. Reasons: close, cheap, and has a wide selection. She finished in 45 seconds, which felt pretty good.

The second question is about travel planning preferences. Some people like to plan ahead, while others prefer to be spontaneous. Which do you prefer? This one is simpler. In my past life, I was in business for so many years, and every business trip was always planned in advance.

The last four integrated speaking questions were a bit tough. First, you read a short passage, then listen to an audio clip, and summarize it orally within 60 seconds. For questions 5 and 6, you listen to a dialogue or lecture and then answer.

The content itself isn't difficult, but you still need to rush to explain the key points in 60 seconds. If you don't plan well, you might miss the main points and not finish explaining your ideas within 60 seconds.

But Chen Yiran is different after all. Jasmine, start!

Okay, I'll take care of it.

I had already tested this at home, so I simply gave up on thinking about it and just read the answer Jasmine gave me.

Simple and effective.

After speaking, we finally arrived at the last part: writing.

Let's start with the integrated writing exercise.

A short academic article appeared on the screen, discussing the reasons for the decline in bee populations. Pesticide use, parasite infections, and habitat loss were listed neatly as the three main causes.

After reading the article, the program disappeared, and then a lecture began playing.

The professor refuted each point: the pesticide problem has improved considerably since the new regulations were introduced; parasites are indeed a problem, but not the main cause; there is no data to support the claim of habitat loss, and bee populations in many areas have actually rebounded.

Write a summary in twenty minutes, clearly stating the three points of rebuttal.

With Jasmine's help, Chen Yiran typed about 230 words at a rapid pace.

Then there's independent writing: should college students live on or off campus? Which do you agree with?

Thirty minutes. In her previous life, the University of Delaware required freshmen to live in dormitories, so Chen Yiran had lived in both dormitories and off-campus. To be honest, off-campus was much more convenient.

He chose to live off-campus, and the reasons were easy to come up with: more freedom, saving money by cooking for himself, and closer to real society. He provided an example for each reason, wrote about 350 words, had Jasmine check the grammar and spelling, and then submitted it.

Then came another long wait. To avoid trouble, Chen Yiran didn't even take off her headphones and just waited for the exam to end.

The exam was finally over. As I walked out of the exam room, Xu Li was already waiting for me in the corridor.

"So, what's your guess?" Xu Li asked.

"My English is already quite good. I studied it before coming to the United States, so I should be able to pass."

"Of course! You've already booked L6, you're so lucky! With your TOEFL score out, you can just relax and wait for school to start."

"It will take two weeks to get the results."

"You're so ungrateful! You're treating us to lunch!"

Chen Yiran also felt somewhat like he was in Versailles, and waved his hand, saying, "Let's go to the bamboo grove?"

"Alright, Bamboo Garden, Bamboo Garden!"