Two days later, I had the preliminary round of this memory contest. The preliminary round of the pen "fun" pavilion www.biquge.info is set up in the banquet hall of the hotel, which can accommodate 500 people, and is neatly arranged with 100 tables.

I sat at my desk with two pens and a piece of paper in front of me. The host on stage motioned for us to put on the headphones that we had prepared. I put on my headphones, and after a while, the host on the stage seemed to be talking, and a female voice sounded in the headphones: "Welcome to Singapore to participate in the 8th International Memory Competition, and today is the preliminary round." I couldn't help but be a little surprised, it was actually simultaneous interpretation.

After a while, a male voice sounded: "This preliminary round takes dictation numbers, and it is divided into three rounds." The last 10 contestants in each round will be eliminated. Participants, please use the pen provided by the competition to use the number you heard in Arabic numerals on the white paper in front of you within the designated time. When you're done, press the red button on the table. Grades are determined by a combination of accuracy and time spent. With the same accuracy, the shorter the time, the higher the score. ”

I took a deep breath and settled. It's a bit difficult to memorize numbers, but luckily I did it during the training. After a while, a voice came to mind in the earphones: "The first round, memorize one hundred numbers within one hundred seconds, and after the number is recited, you can recall and fill in when you hear the prompt, and the time limit is five minutes, and the overtime will be disqualified." ”

I closed my eyes and listened attentively, and a female voice came from inside the earphones, reading in standard Mandarin: "Please listen to the question: 67423198756873264783..." ”

I picked up the pen, remembered it earnestly, and began to write the numbers on the paper. During the training, there are prompts, when writing answers, the font does not have to be good-looking, but it should be clear, on the premise of ensuring that it can be clearly recognized, try to improve your writing speed. After about two minutes, I finished writing the answer, probably glanced at it, and pressed the red button in front of me. After a few more minutes, a voice came from inside the headphones: "Please stop answering." ”

After a few moments, another person came to my desk and began to check my answers. Obviously, these staff members are professional, and after only a few glances, they said to me, "The answer is correct, the plan is valid." ”

After another five minutes, a male voice in the headset sounded: "Please leave your seat if you are reciting the road number." Thank you for participating. "In a moment, I saw several people getting up and leaving. It wasn't until I finished reading it and confirmed that I didn't have my own number that I breathed a sigh of relief.

The male voice in the headset continued: "In the second round, memorize 300 numbers within 300 seconds, and after the number is recited, you can only recall and fill in when you hear the prompt, and the time limit is ten minutes, and the overtime will be disqualified." ”

With the experience of the first round, I was less nervous in the second round. However, after reciting the numbers, a foreign friend next door to me got up and left, which surprised me a little. It turns out that the situation that the training teacher said will really happen, and some participants from European and American countries will directly abstain if they find that they have not memorized everything. Despite this episode, the rest of the people were not affected too much. It was still the staff member who checked the answers for me in our row. After making sure I had cleared the level, I heard the words inside the headphones, "Take a 10-minute break and please don't leave the table." ”

I took off my headphones and looked back behind me. This time, Zhang Zheng didn't come, but two people came from the northern division. Since we're really in the capital, we don't have much communication with each other. At this time, I saw that the place of one of the girls was empty, and only one man remained. He also looked in my direction and nodded at me. This time, there were forty people who participated in the preliminary round, and twenty people were eliminated in the first two rounds. The contestants sat sparsely in the venue.

I took a few sips of water and suddenly felt like smoking again. I couldn't help but feel helpless. If you don't leave the table, you can't smoke. Only a few more sips of water were possible.

Ten minutes later, the host on stage motioned for us to put on our headphones.

I put on my headphones, and after a while, I remembered the familiar male voice again: "In the third round, I will dictate five hundred numbers in five hundred seconds." After the number is recited, you can recall and fill in only after hearing the prompt, and the time limit is 15 minutes, and the overtime will be disqualified. ”

Five hundred is the most difficult number I've ever trained. I shook my head, focused my spirits, and listened carefully: "Please listen to the question, 64871678496187647861798..."

Since it was the last round, when the prompt sounded again, I took off the headphones, picked up the pen and started filling in. As the trainer said, a formal competition is different from training. When the official competition is held, the most important thing is the psychological quality, and if the psychological quality is good, there will be extraordinary performance during the competition. I think I probably belong to the part that has good mental quality. Five hundred numbers, I took less than seven minutes. It's something I don't usually get in training.

This time I didn't check it, and after filling it out, I pressed the button directly. Then he began to watch the rest of the people answer. There was a Chinese teenager not far in front of me, and I noticed him during the break. Since I was sitting in the middle, I could only see the front. The only thing I know for sure is that only he is faster than me. At this time, he also finished answering the question and was turning his pen boringly.

Unlike the first two rounds, we retired from the third round. Because the competition will be arranged for the senior group. Outside the arena, Mr. Wen, who was in charge of guiding the youth group, looked at us with a smile on his face and said, "How is it, how do you feel?" ”

Another boy from the Northern Division, Niu Fu, asked, "Teacher Wen, where is Chen Ning?" ”

Teacher Wen said: "Oh, she is back in the room to rest, and in the second round, he ranked twenty-one, only five seconds slower than the twenty-best place. ”

Niu Fu frowned and said, "Teacher, I didn't do well in the third round, and I may not be able to enter the finals." ”

Teacher Wen smiled and said, "It's okay, just do your best." After that, he looked at me.

Teacher Wen comforted Niu Fu a few words, and then asked me, "Zhang Shiyi, what about you?" I look at you, it seems to be very relaxed? I heard from your trainer that your strength is good. ”

I laughed and said, "I'm playing okay, I just don't know the exact time." But there's no problem getting to the finals. ”

After a few more minutes, a staff member walked up to the crowd with a report card, on the iron-clapped bulletin board. The transcript was printed in English, and the people around me gathered around to watch it. Although I was a little confident, I still followed Mr. Wen to the bulletin board to check.

After a while, Niu Fu sighed, "Thirteenth." ”

Teacher Wen nodded and said to me, "Eleven, your grades are good, you are actually second, only ten seconds slower than the first." Let's go, let's go back. ”

I humbly said, "I'm lucky." ”