The Administrative Aptitude Test, abbreviated as the AAT.
It was a standardized examination specifically designed to assess a series of psychological aptitudes related to success in administrative careers. It differed from ordinary intelligence tests, as well as tests of general knowledge or specific professional skills. By testing a range of psychological aptitudes, it predicted a candidate's likelihood of succeeding in various positions within the administrative field. What it tested was the ability a person had developed through years of accumulated life, study, and practical experience; essentially, it was an examination of fundamental latent abilities.
It was closed-book, with roughly 135 multiple-choice questions.
The exam ran from 9:00 to 11:00 in the morning, for two hours.
In Examination Room 026, after the proctor finished reading out the rules and precautions, the exam began. In the nearly frozen air, papers, answer sheets, and scratch paper were handed out to every candidate with a rustle. Dong Xuebin touched the stark white test paper, his heart rising into his throat. Keep it simple. It has to be simple.
Lowering his head and picking up his pen, he began answering.
The first question—huh, there had been a similar one in a Civil Servants exam prep book he had bought at Xidan Book Building. Easy.
The second question—uh, there seemed to have been something similar on Jiangnan Province's second Civil Servants exam three years ago. Also easy.
For the third question, he pondered for ten seconds before decisively choosing C. It was no different—easy.
For the fourth question, he tapped his pen tip against the scratch paper and eventually chose B. Though he wasn't entirely certain, he was probably close enough.
Getting through four questions in a row so smoothly put Dong Xuebin in an excellent mood. He thought this exam really wasn't all that difficult.