BALANCING “CHINESE NARRATIVES” AND “INTERNATIONAL ISSUES” IN THE NATIONAL COLLEGE ENGLISH ENTRANCE EXAMINATION: AN ANALYSIS OF TENSION AND INTEGRATION

Abstract

As a vital selection tool for higher-education admission, the college-entrance English exam (Gaokao English) also serves as an important carrier to deliver value-oriented guidance for basic education. It is expected to tell authentic China’s stories and foster students’ awareness of a community with a shared future for mankind simultaneously, and such dual requirements bring about inherent tensions within test design. This study selects 2024-2026 national-version Gaokao English papers as research materials, with official exam reviews as supplementary references. It adopts qualitative content analysis and discourse analysis to construct a tension-integration analytical framework for examining Chinese narratives and international issues. Within this framework, Chinese narratives fall into three dimensions: traditional cultural heritage, modern-day Chinese wisdom and national identity, whereas international issues cover global environmental challenges, sustainable development and cross-cultural communication. Findings reveal that reading passages and grammar-fill exercises employ celebratory and problem-solution discourses to construct Chinese narratives, while international issues are interpreted in an objective, analytical tone. Hybrid texts combine both thematic dimensions, reflecting the underlying educational philosophy of “patriotic globalism”. The established tension-integration model provides insights for studies concerning value orientations in language assessment. This paper also acknowledges its research limitations and puts forward future research directions, including quantitative content measurement and cross-paper comparative analysis.