I just want to be a quiet scholar

Chapter 44 The Eve of the International Mathematical Olympiad
Because of the difference of 5.68 pounds, Shen Qi, Zhou Yuan and the cashier British girl stalemate.

This sparked a lot of discussion among the British people lining up behind them.

"They are Orientals."

"Chinese?"

"Chinese math is the best."

"The Chinese multiplication table is amazing."

The British people onlookers were not disgusted by Shen Qi and Zhou Yuan for occupying the pit without paying, but they were very interested in watching the excitement. In their minds, people who were good at mathematics were very good.

"Shen Qi, what should we do, will something happen to us? Forget it, let's give her £33.50 and leave, so that we can save money and avoid disaster." Zhou Yuan was timid and retreated.

"Don't be in a hurry, don't panic, didn't you see these British people complimenting us?" Shen Qi wanted to calm down. He held the dual currency credit card in his hand. Sterling was beaten.

"She is not malicious, please don't misunderstand the two young gentlemen." Suddenly, an authentic South London accent sounded behind Shen Qi and Zhou Yuan.

The two looked back, and a white old man with glasses looked at them with a smile.

The external features of this old Englishman are rather peculiar. His face is thin and long and his cheeks are sunken, as if it had been machined by a knife. On his cheeks, if it weren't for the pair of gold-rimmed glasses, he would be a little scary.

"No, no." Shen Qi waved his hand, indicating that we are all good people, not here to do things in the British Empire.

"Tesco is a world-renowned supermarket chain. They don't deliberately deceive consumers. It is true that some discount prices are calculated incorrectly. I think this is an oversight by their financial manager, and has nothing to do with this beautiful lady."

"The British are obviously not as good at mathematics as the Chinese. Most of us cannot calculate addition, subtraction, multiplication and division within 20 without relying on calculators. For this reason, we will lose about 8 million pounds a year. Our Prime Minister has decided to introduce it from China. Mathematics textbooks to improve the overall mathematics level of the British people." The old British man looked at the cashier girl, and then looked at Shen Qi and Zhou Yu'an, and explained.With a shopping basket in his hand, he is also a guest.

Shen Qi, who has a level 1 English proficiency, half understood it. The old man probably meant that the British were poor in mathematics and often made mistakes in calculations. Please forgive my Chinese friends.

If you explain it like this, then I will not be angry. Shen Qi no longer struggles with the loss of 5.68 pounds. He swiped the card and paid 33.50 pounds.

The cashier girl in the fog put the goods purchased by Shen Qi into a shopping bag, and Shen Qi took the shopping bag and prepared to evacuate.

"Maybe I can compensate you for the loss of 5 pounds 68 pence in other ways." The British old man said again.

"Fuck!" Shen Qi was shocked.

"What the hell?" Zhou Yuan didn't know what to do.

"This weird old man can mentally calculate addition, subtraction, multiplication and division within 40. He is a local folk expert! Qianglong doesn't overwhelm the local snake, Zhou Yuan, hurry up, hurry up!" Shen Qi took the shopping bag and ran.

Zhou Yuan followed Shen Qiji to the door of the supermarket, and the two of them gasped for breath, then walked slowly along Waterloo Avenue, enjoying the scenery of England.

During the move, Shen Qi, who couldn't bear the loneliness, stopped in front of the stall along the way. He was attracted by the traditional British snack, fish and chips.

"Hey, Zhou Yu'an, let's buy some local London snacks to try." Shen Qi took out a 10-pound note and was greedy.

"Shen Qi, you are a foodie, right? You bought a bunch of food in the supermarket, and then went out to buy food again! The fish and chips are unpalatable, and you don't want to eat them, so let's go." Zhou Yuan dragged Shen Qi, wanting to take Shen Qi pull away.

"It was your first time in the UK, how did you know that fish and chips tasted bad?"

"New Oriental teacher said."

"Knowing and doing are combined, whether you understand or not, practice is the only criterion for testing all theories, Zhou Yuan, you stingy, can't bear to spend money, I will treat you to eat. Boss... oh no, hey-man, fish-and-chips, two." Shen Qi handed the £10 note to the little brother at the roadside stall.

The British guy who sold fish and chips quickly wrapped two fish and chips, handed them to Shen Qi and Zhou Yu'an, and then found a five-pound note and a pile of coins.

Shen Qi glanced at the change that the British brother was looking for. One fish and chips was £2.3, two were £4.6, and he asked me for £8.6. What kind of trick is this?

Is the math of the British really that bad?
How much is 10 minus 4.6? Chinese elementary school students can immediately give the correct answer.

Shen Qi refunded 3.2 pounds to the British brother. The stubborn British man was not happy anymore. He insisted that he did not make a mistake.

"Zhou Yu'an, you testify to me that I am an honest person and did not deliberately defraud the British public."

"Let's go. If you spend more time with this Englishman, he may hit you."

With 8.6 pounds in change, Shen Qi and Zhou Yuan left the fish and chips roadside stall, and the two walked to the Thames to find a bench to sit down and eat fish and chips.

"Newton is British, he invented points." Shen Qi said.

Zhou Yuan said: "Green and Taylor are amazing British mathematicians. They invented Green's function and Taylor's formula, which almost drove me crazy."

"And McLaughlin and Clem, McLaughlin's series and Clem's Law have been bothering me for a long time."

"Turing was also British, he was a mathematical genius."

"There have been so many outstanding mathematicians in British history, why is the mathematics of contemporary British so bad?"

"Junior high school students from our country who come to the UK should be able to dominate, only in the field of mathematics."

"Britain is a really good place, so to speak."

"But seriously, Shen Qi, your English needs to be strengthened."

"That's true. Fortunately, the IMO exam questions are translated into various languages, otherwise I might not be able to understand the questions."

Shen Qi and Zhou Yuan walked around the streets of London and returned to the hotel to prepare for the upcoming IMO race.

China is the most powerful king in the International Mathematical Olympiad in the past 30 years.

Since its first participation in the IMO in 1985, the Chinese Olympic Math Team has won 18 team championships, and the other countries they have played are called Dad.

Shen Qi and the others, the Chinese Olympic math team, came to the UK with only one purpose - to be champions.

"Shen Qi, the overall level of our Chinese mathematics is so good. Primary school students can do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division within 100, while most adults in the UK cannot complete simple calculations within 20. It can be said that we have laid a very solid mathematical foundation since childhood. , but why has never a Chinese won the Fields Medal, and the Englishman, whose mathematics is such a bird, has won the Fields Medal six times."

Zhou Yuan was lying on the single bed in the hotel room and added: "I mean Chinese nationals whose nationality is China. Well, even with Qiu Chengtong and Tao Zhexuan, so far only two Chinese have won the Fields Medal. "

"I feel that mathematics in our country is similar to that of bicycles. It is a country with a large population in this project, and the mass base is extremely deep. However, there are only a handful of top world-class players. On the other hand, although most of them are weak chickens, once they emerge Those few strong chickens are world-class super strong chickens. I can't tell the real reason, maybe the national conditions are different." After Shen Qi finished speaking, he went to the shower to take a shower. Of course, he knew that the Fields Medal is awarded every four years. It is the highest achievement in mathematics, yes, why has never a Chinese won the Fields Medal? This is unscientific.

On July 7, UK local time, the Chinese Olympic math team gathered at the hotel for a meeting.

The leader of the Chinese Olympic math team is controlled by the British organizer, and the team is currently under the control of the deputy leader.

In fact, the Olympic team leaders of all countries are controlled by the organizers. They are arranged in a secret location and cannot communicate with the outside world.

In the interest of fair play, this rule has been implemented since the first IMO was held in 1959 and has continued to this day.

Team leaders from various countries gathered together, and each person asked one to three questions, forming a question bank of nearly 300 questions.After several rounds of screening, the team leaders voted for the six questions with the highest number of votes as the six official competition questions of this IMO.And each translated into their own language and reported to the organizer for the record.The competition exam papers that the contestants from all over the world will get will be in their native language, so there is no language barrier in doing the questions.

The team leaders were not released until the game was over.This mechanism guarantees fairness.

The team leader was locked up, and the deputy leader of the Chinese Olympic Mathematical Team was mobilizing before the game: "In the past 30 International Mathematical Olympiads, we China have won 18 team championships, and we are the worthy overlord in this event."

"However, fellow players and coaches, you must be clear that although our Chinese Olympic math team is strong as a whole, it is not invincible."

"We also lose, we miss, we lose to the United States, Russia and even South Korea, these are hard lessons."

"In this IMO, the above three teams are still the toughest rivals on the road to the championship, especially some developed countries led by the United States, they respect the doctrine of borrowing, they do not cultivate talents, they are talents Harvester."

"All in all, we must go all out, boys, do you have the courage!" The deputy leader said, suddenly impassioned.

"Have!"

"Are you determined!"

"Have!"

"our target is?"

"Champion! Champion! Champion!"

"Okay, I'm very satisfied with everyone's firm belief in going forward without fear and danger. Victory will definitely belong to us! The three players, Shen Qi, Zhou Yuan, and Yu Lei, followed me to the pre-match announcement, and the rest of the players and coaches stayed at the hotel to prepare for tomorrow's IMO. Main game." The deputy team leader left the hotel with the three players and walked to London South Bank University.

The auditorium of London South Bank University was full, and representatives of the Olympic math teams from 102 countries around the world gathered together.

On the rostrum sits a group of bigwigs of all skin colors, who are well-known experts in the international mathematics community.

"The following is the leader of the jury group, Sir Andrew Wiles, a Fields Medal winner, a member of the Royal Society of London and a professor at Oxford University, to announce the rules of the competition." The host asked the leader of the jury group to read out the rules of the competition. Teams must be represented on site.

The leader of the jury panel was an old white man. He stood up to greet him, and the audience burst into thunderous applause.

A Fields Medal winner, a member of the Royal Society of London, a professor at Oxford University, and a knighted by the Queen of England, these titles are too scary to be in one person.

Professor Wiles began to read out the rules of the competition. He once had a well-known identity in the industry - the head of the Princeton Department of Mathematics.He shocked the world and is most famous for his masterpiece that successfully proved "Fermat's Last Theorem" in 1995.

After his tenure at Princeton ended, Wiles returned to his native England as a professor at his alma mater, Merton College, Oxford.

"Lying in a big trough..." Shen Qi and Zhou Yu'an in the audience were dumbfounded. The leader of the jury panel, Sir Wiles, who was famously scary, they had met before, the one they met in the supermarket two days ago. An old British man.

(End of this chapter)