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Students vow to obey the exam regulations before sitting the 2014 college entrance exam of China, or the "gaokao," in Bozhou, east China's Anhui province. Nearly 10 million high school students sat for China's make-or-break college entrance exams under tight security this year.

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Two students wearing t-shirts saying "fear nothing" walk into the exam room to sit the 2014 college entrance exam in China, or the 'gaokao', in Bozhou, east China's Anhui province. The "gaokao" can make the difference between a prestigious university in Beijing or relegation to a regional college.

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Family members wait outside a school as students sit the 2014 college entrance exam of China, or the "gaokao," in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province. Parents of China's increasingly moneyed middle class are opting for private education they feel will give their children the edge in gaining places at foreign universities.

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An attempt by the government to level the playing field by reducing the English-language section of the gaokao (seen as a way of favoring students in provincial areas with fewer opportunities of gaining exposure to English) has done little to dent China's RMB30 billion ($5 billion) English language industry.