[Serial] The growth story of a chemical engineering designer - 44

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This post was last edited by colinzh on 2015-6-12 23:51. (44) On Wednesday, September 1, 2010, the traditional calendar stated: \"Suitable for: demolishing houses and destroying structures; other activities are not advisable. Unsuitable for: all other tasks.\" ”It is particularly suitable for tearing down houses and walls, starting construction work; yet Ye Wenhui still has to sit quietly in the office doing design work. That day, he arrived at the office early; since it was not yet time to start working, he sat at his desk and went through the review materials for registered chemical engineers. While reading, he kept an eye on the entrance to the office; people kept coming in from time to time, but he never saw the person he was waiting for. “Hi, reading? ”Just as Ye Wenhui was reading while distracted, a loud voice suddenly came from behind him. Ye Wenhui wasn’t quick to react, so he turned around to look. From the sound, he could tell that it was Tian Jing, who was sitting next to him, who had spoken. “What’s the matter? Did reading books give you a headache? ”Seeing Ye Wenhui’s indifferent expression, Tian Jing couldn’t help but start teasing him. Ye Wenhui was worried about how to recover*, and upon seeing Tian Jing, he couldn’t help saying, “Classmate Tian, I have an ominous premonition.” ” “Ah! You still have that ability. Come on, tell me, what’s your intuition? ” “No joke, I feel like I have little to no chance of survival this time. ” Seeing Ye Wenhui’s serious expression, Tian Jing also put away her playful demeanor and asked seriously, \"What’s wrong?\" Did you break up with your girlfriend? ” Ye Wenhui waved his hand and said, “How is this related to that?” We’re not talking about the same thing; I’m referring to the exam, and I think there’s a high chance I’ll fail it. ” “I wonder… is it worth it? It scared me a bit just now; if it failed, then it failed. There are still several chances left, and besides, there’s still plenty of time before the exam. How do you know you’re going to fail? ” Ye Wenhui said with a worried expression, “Ah!” This book is way too thick. I’ve only gotten through half of the General Foundation section so far; I haven’t even seen the textbooks for the Specialized Foundation section yet. How do you expect me to pass? By the way, haven’t you already passed it? Share some experience, please. ” “I don’t have much experience myself. Back then, I had plenty of time, so I read the books several times and worked through quite a few practice problems. Rest assured, it’s not as difficult as you might think. ” “I go... it’s better when you’re still a student. Think about it – if you’ve read the books several times, how can they still seem difficult? ” “I read more, but I have a few classmates who didn’t study properly and still passed the exam. It was all multiple-choice questions; if you don’t know the answer, at least you should be able to guess, right? Haha…” Ye Wenhui asked, “Were there any of your classmates who failed the exam? ” “Yes, about half of them failed the exam. ” While the two of them were talking, Ye Wenhui saw a familiar figure coming down the corridor – it was Zhang Qiyun, the person he was looking for. Ye Wenhui greeted Zhang Qiyun, then casually said to Tian Jing, \"Stop it – half of the students in your so competitive school don’t even pass, so my chances are even slimmer. I’ll stop asking you and go consult someone more experienced.\" ” “Who is the master? ”Hearing that there was an expert, Tian Jing also became a bit interested, but before she could finish speaking, Ye Wenhui had already left his workstation and got up to leave. Before leaving, Ye Wenhui dropped a remark: “I’ll tell you when I have time.” ” As soon as Zhang Qiyun pressed the power button on his computer, he saw Ye Wenhui standing next to his work desk. Ye Wenhui was holding a notebook and a pen, saying he had something to ask for advice on. With one hand propping up his cheek, he asked Ye Wenhui, “Little Ye, what seems to be the matter?” ” “Director Zhang, I’m currently preparing for the Chemical Engineering Engineer registration exam. So far, I’ve only covered a small portion of the textbooks. I’d like to ask you if there are any good study methods you can recommend ” “Well, let me think… Are you taking the exam this year too? ”When it came to exams, Zhang Qiyun wasn’t immediately aware of what was being discussed, as if it were something that had happened a long time ago. “Yes, this year I’m taking the foundation exam for a registered chemical engineer. ” “By the way, you can take the exam after graduating from graduate school; it will be three years before you can take the exam for a specialized field. ”At that moment, Zhang Qiyun’s computer had just shown the desktop; saying those words, he picked up his cup in order to get some water. Seeing this, Ye Wenhui wanted to take Zhang Qiyun’s cup in order to get water for him, but Zhang Qiyun said, “No need, no need… Sit here for a while; I’ll go pour out the tea leaves.” ” Ye Wenhui stopped being polite, pulled a chair from an empty workstation nearby, and sat down next to Zhang Qiyun’s workstation. After about two or three minutes, Zhang Qiyun came over with a cup of tea. The strong aroma of the tea was very pleasant to smell, but it was unclear what taste it would have when drunk. After putting down his cup, Zhang Qiyun said, “It’s been a long time since I took an exam; I had almost forgotten how to do it. I actually don’t have any special methods either – I just study slowly. Since the exam is approaching, I’ll give you some advice.” ” Hearing Zhang Qiyun say there was no good solution, Ye Wenhui felt a chill in his heart, thinking he had come for nothing; but when he heard Zhang Qiyun say he would give him some advice, hope arose in his heart once again. He said, “Thank you, Director Zhang. Please don’t be modest; I’m counting on getting some advice from you right now.” ” Zhang Qiyun chuckled and said, \"Exams like the ZHUHUA exam shouldn’t actually rely on review materials. The purpose of such exams is to assess the comprehensive abilities of designers. But since there are policies in place, people find ways around them; where there are exams, there are also review materials. It’s the way things are now, and there’s nothing we can do about it. At least with review materials, it’s easier to pass the exam.\" ” Ye Wenhui said, “Yes, I feel that even if I pass the exam now, I still don’t know how to design.” ” “Design is related to exams, but they are two different things; those who pass the exams aren’t necessarily good at design, and those who fail them aren’t necessarily unfit for the job. But since this thing exists, try to pass the exam; having a certificate gives you one more option than not having one. When repeating*, if there’s plenty of time, there are longer methods; if time is limited, there are quick solutions as well. ” Ye Wenhui said, “Do I have to use a forceful approach now?” ” Zhang Qiyun said, “Let me first tell you about the long-term approach. If you don’t understand that approach, it’s not certain you’ll know how to carry out a quick attack.” ”As he spoke, Zhang Qiyun opened a folder on the computer; the folder contained numerous EXCEL files. Ye Wenhui glanced at the names of those files; most of them involved calculations related to the chemical industry, such as calculations for pipeline resistance, absorption tower performance, sedimentation rates, pipe wall properties, and the thrust exerted by supports and hangers. Zhang Qiyun said, “Do you see these EXCEL files?” I came up with them all myself. ” Hearing Zhang Qiyun say that he had made all of this up, Ye Wenhui was utterly astonished and gave Zhang Qiyun a look full of disbelief. Ye Wenhui had seen some calculation programs while browsing forums; he even downloaded some from the Haichuan Chemicals forum, which are still stored on his computer to this day. He originally thought that these programs were collected by Zhang Qiyun, but it turned out they were created by him himself. Ye Wenhui said in surprise, \"Director Zhang, you’re really amazing!\" Did you make all of this up little by little? ” Zhang Qiyun said, “Hehe... It seems like there are quite a lot, but in reality, it was fairly quick to compile. These are what I referred to as the lengthy methods for preparing for the復* exam.” ” What kind of method is this? Ye Wenhui wasn’t able to respond right away, but fortunately, Zhang Qiyun didn’t leave him in confusion for long; he explained slowly: “*It says, ‘Don’t worry about gains or losses in terms of cities or territories – just eliminate the enemy’s fighting force.’ This saying is excellent, and it’s also very suitable as a method for reviewing for exams.*” Reading books and repetition are not the goals in themselves. Our goal is to pass the exams. More importantly, the exams are not mere formalities; they serve as a means to learn what is necessary for our work through studying. Whether or not we’ve made a review plan prior to the review, we always start by looking at the textbook. Some textbooks are very thick and bulky, making it difficult to hold; others are quite thin, allowing one to hold several of them in one hand. However, thickness is just a superficial aspect – when studying, we should not focus solely on the number of pages in a book; instead, our attention should be directed toward its content. In other words, the effectiveness of learning cannot be measured by the number of pages, but rather by how many concepts from the book have been mastered. When I used to read books, I would prepare an additional notebook; I would copy down the key points from the book into that notebook and repeat them out loud several times. Only after understanding them would I stop reading. From time to time, I would go back and review my notes, and if there were still things I didn’t understand, I would refer back to the book. By the end of reading the book once, I had understood most of its content. When I read it a second time, it seemed much thinner. Why was it thinner? Knowing which parts of the book contain what information allows one to get a general idea of the book’s content as soon as one turns to a particular chapter. Once this level of understanding is achieved, it not only facilitates success in exams, but also proves extremely useful in everyday work. ” As he listened, Ye Wenhui memorized Zhang Qiyun’s words. He thought to himself that Zhang Qiyun was truly remarkable – to read books with such attention to detail is not something that most people can do. Zhang Qiyun continued, \"Here’s the question: which knowledge points should be learned?\" There are a few things to refer to. First, the exam syllabus; it explains these topics in detail. By referring to the syllabus, one can focus on the relevant areas and is less likely to miss anything ； Second, at the end of each chapter in the book, there are questions. In some books, after the chapter is finished, several questions related to its content are provided. We can take a look at these questions in advance; reading the book with these questions in mind makes it more targeted and improves efficiency ； Thirdly, there are the actual exam questions. For these exams, the scope of the questions does not change much from year to year. The exam syllabus is rather abstract, and it’s not easy to know the correct answers to the essay questions. However, the actual exam questions are different; after the exam, each set of questions comes with definite answers. The greatest advantage of using actual exam questions is that they are fully in line with the exam syllabus and are arranged in the same order as the content in the textbooks. When reviewing, one can use these actual exam questions as a guide, checking the relevant knowledge points in the book for each question. After completing one set of questions, one should master those knowledge points from the book. By following this approach, after working through two or three sets of actual exam questions, the contents of the book will have been largely reviewed. ” “Good idea! ”After hearing what Zhang Qiyun said, Ye Wenhui nodded repeatedly; those words inspired him greatly. Vaguely, it seemed to him that he had found the solution he was looking for, and gradually he regained confidence in the upcoming exam. But before Zhang Qiyun could finish speaking, he continued, “The aforementioned methods are applicable to conceptual questions and multiple-choice questions. For the basic exam, these methods should suffice. However, apart from the basic exam, one must also take the professional exam later on. The professional exam is different from the basic exam; the basic exam tests a designer’s grasp of fundamental knowledge, whereas the professional exam focuses on evaluating their practical application abilities. Therefore, in the professional exam, there are numerous case-based calculation problems.” The basic exams can be prepared by reading books, while the specialized exams require gradual accumulation of knowledge; the earlier this accumulation begins, the better the results will be. What is the most fundamental thing in chemistry? Theoretically, it is ‘three transfers and one reaction’, namely momentum transfer, heat transfer, mass transfer, and chemical reactions. In practice, these correspond to unit operations such as storage, transportation, heat exchange, mixing, distillation, drying, filtration, reaction, and so on. All chemical engineering calculations rely on these concepts. Here’s a piece of advice: from now on, for every calculation you encounter, write a small program in Excel to perform it. Don’t rely on any software, nor download any programs from the Internet. Instead, follow the textbook and work through each calculation from start to finish by yourself. If you can do this, there’ll be nothing to worry about when it comes to your professional exams. Not only for exams, but it also makes work more efficient and very convenient. ” By this time, it was almost 8:30, and the people in the office were arriving one after another. Zhang Qiyun was speaking enthusiastically when Zhu Yuewen interjected, \"Haha... I mean, Old Zhang, do you think everyone can be like you – like a fighter jet that doesn’t need to refuel?\" ” Interrupted by Zhu Yuewen, Zhang Qiyun glanced at his watch before saying, “Xiao Zhu, don’t interrupt. If you had listened to me earlier, you would have passed the exam by now.” ”Thinking of Zhu Yuewen’s “track record” in exams, Ye Wenhui beside him couldn’t help but chuckle with delight. Zhu Yuewen got nowhere with his efforts; he smiled, fell silent, and gestured for Zhang Qiyun to continue speaking. Zhang Qiyun said, “Let’s continue. Where were we? ” Ye Wenhui said, “The method of growing.” ” Zhang Qiyun said, “Oh!” I remember now; these are the main methods for growing them. What I mentioned earlier was just my personal experience, meant as a reference for you. You need to develop your own methods based on your own plans – take your time. ” Ye Wenhui said, “Director Zhang, what about the surprise tactics?” ” Zhang Qiyun said, “Yes, this can also be talked about.” You just said how much of the textbook you have read ” Ye Wenhui replied, “It’s not even half yet.” ” Zhang Qiyun smiled and said, “Hehe... Young man, the method you’re using now is the long-form repetition method. The exam is in half a month, right?” You can’t do this; there’s no time left. ” After hearing this, Ye Wenhui became increasingly nervous and anxious. He asked Zhang Qiyun, “Director Zhang, how should I make a last-minute effort?” ” Zhang Qiyun said, “Among the subjects in the basic exam, which ones do you feel most confident about?” ” Ye Wenhui thought for a while and then said, \"Advanced mathematics, physical chemistry, principles of chemical engineering, physics, chemistry, and fluid mechanics – these are okay; I’ve studied them before. The others aren’t so good.” ” Zhang Qiyun said, “Well, regarding the methods for tackling these questions, I actually already mentioned them just now. After you go back, find some past exam papers from the past five years and practice by using those as a guide. Keep the book within easy reach while doing the exercises; when you come across something unfamiliar, look it up in the book. Do this by completing three sets of past exam papers first.” Then, focus on reviewing the areas that appear frequently in past exam questions, and read carefully the sections in the book related to those areas. After finishing this section, put the book aside and work through some practice questions that you haven’t done before, following the exam time limits, to see how many points you can score. After completing the questions, refer back to the book to thoroughly understand any areas you don’t grasp. Then, using the same method, work through another set of real exam questions to identify and fill in any gaps. If everything goes well, ten days will be enough. A few days before the exam, prepare a notebook and write down all the key concepts and formulas you encountered during your review process. Then, refer to this notebook while going through the textbook, focusing on reviewing those areas that appear most frequently in the past exam questions. In this way, you will remember everything more firmly during the period leading up to the exam, and you should be fine to handle it. The downside of this method is that a large portion of what was learned is forgotten not long after the exam. ” Ye Wenhui had never heard of this method before, and it sounded quite effective. With the exam approaching, Ye Wenhui had no other choice. He thanked Zhang Qiyun, returned to his desk, and organized Zhang Qiyun’s suggestions into a plan – and thus a last-minute study plan was formed.