China's civil service exam: Can you answer these questions?

Guokao, or China's national civil service exam, takes place on Sunday. It is China's national level exam to enroll government employees. It attracts a large number of candidates each year because government jobs, dubbed "iron rice bowls", mean guaranteed job security, steady income and benefits.

If you think your college exam was tough, then brace yourself for this. If you think your high school exam was nerve-wracking, then this would make you sweat from every part of your body.

It's China's national civil service exam, or guokao.

There are 135 multiple-choice questions that candidates have to answer in two hours, which means there's less than a minute to answer each question. But that's not all. The questions cover wide range of topics, including math, world affairs, language, and logic.

Now, before you start thinking that it doesn't sound that difficult, there's more. This is just one part. Apart from the multiple-choice test, there are three hours of essay writing.

All the tests are designed to comprehensively assess the candidates' abilities, including psychological potentials, ability to read, analyze and solve the problems.

So now that we have provided a taste of the test, how about dipping your toe into the actual thing? Here are some of the questions that civil servants slog through to get the coveted government job.

How about giving them a shot?

1.Observe the images below and pick out the right one that belongs to the blank or the group.

Hint: Each row has shared shapes. First row is round; second is triangle; third is quadrangle

Answer: B

2.Observe the images below and pick out the right one that belongs to the blank or the group.

Hint: From left to right, there're increasing numbers of small shapes in each image. 1. One round 2. Two quadrangles 3. Three candle-shaped images 4. Four trapezoids 5. Five triangles. The image with six small shapes will be the right answer.

Answer: A

3.Observe the images below and pick out the right one that belongs to the given group.

Hint: In the left, four images, it's the mirror image of number 1, 2, 3, 4. Hence we need to find the mirror image of 5.

Answer: C

4.Observe the images below and pick out the right one that belongs to the blank or the group.

Hint: Look at the image row by row from left to the right. The faces are turning 90 degrees one by one. Eyes are opposite from the first one to the second one on each row. The mouths are opposite from the second to the third on each row.

Answer: C