美国的官僚体系番外篇：中美公务员考试比较

正好最近一个朋友在美国考Custom and Border Protection的岗位，所以以这个为例写一篇番外，来比较一下中美公务员考试的不同。

CBP的岗位估计类似中国海关总署下属的口岸管理，主要工作是在边境和口岸打击恐怖主义，偷渡人口，毒品走私，防疫防害，知识产权保护，以及执行美国及国际贸易规定并征收入口关税。CBP的笔试分成三部分，第一部分是考核申请人的语文逻辑推理能力，第二部分是考核申请人的数学分析能力，第三部分则是考核申请人的写作技巧。笔试完了之后，还有一个申请人评估和经验记录。就形式上来说，中美之间差异不大，下面抄自海关总署的考试大纲：

“中央机关及其直属机构2011年度考试录用公务员公共科目笔试分为行政职业能力测验和申论两科，全部采用闭卷考试的方式。

行政职业能力测验主要测查与公务员职业密切相关的、适合通过客观化纸笔测验方式进行考查的基本素质和能力要素，包括言语理解与表达、数量关系、判断推理、资料分析和常识判断等部分。

申论是测查从事机关工作应当具备的基本能力的考试科目。省级以上(含副省级)综合管理类职位申论考试主要测查报考者的阅读理解能力、综合分析能力、提出和解决问题能力、文字表达能力。”

中国的公务员考试中行政职业能力测验基本等同于美国公务员考试语文推理和数学分析考试环节，申论则比较类似美国考试中的写作部分。但具体到题目中来的话，可谓天差地别。

（1）语文逻辑推理部分：

美国例题

1. In order to make a valid arrest, a police officer must have probable cause, a “reasonable ground for belief in guilt,” as Supreme Court Justice Rutledge stated in a 1949 opinion. This is a belief based on probabilities: more than suspicion but far less than certainty. This standard of probable cause prevents a police officer from arresting someone and finding the crime later. A police officer may make an arrest if and only if he or she has formed a reasonable belief, based on the facts, that someone has committed a crime. Courts have widely held that flight from a police officer is sufficient to justify probable cause. In a recent case a subject fled from Officer D.F.

From the information given above it can be validly concluded that

A) Officer D.F. may arrest the subject who fled from him

B) Officer D.F. may not arrest the subject who fled from him

C) no valid arrests are made with probable cause

D) some valid arrests are made without probable cause

E) some arrests made with probable cause are not valid arrests

翻译就免了，答案清晰明了: A

语文推理部分基本都是纯逻辑题，更类似LSAT考试的logical reasoning部分，而且基本都是conditional reasoning，而且不超出Must be true和Cannot be true两类题型，题干和选项完全不涉及具体法律法规和工作实践，也就是说根本不需要死记硬背，也完全不需要长时间复习准备，随便买本Logical Reasoning Bible吃透里面两个章节就能应考了。

而对比之下，中国海关国考试题不仅大量似是而非的语法用词的怪题刁题，连逻辑部分也包含图形推理，定义判断，类比推理和逻辑判断能诸多方面。其中的逻辑运用不仅涉及条件关系，还有因果关系，递进关系等。题型也分为must be true，cannot be true, main point等类型。相较而言，两者难度差异不可以道里计。

（2）数量分析部分

这个部分中美的差距进一步拉大。在美国研究生考试GRE数学难度不超过初中数学所学范畴的大前提下，“人人奥数”的中国考生面临的数学题难度几乎是美国考生的无数倍。

美国考试例题：

1. Staff at a law enforcement training academy purchases badges at $32 each for all the graduates of the academy. The last training class graduated 25 new officers. What is the total amount of money the academy staff will spend for the badges for these new officers, if the badge vendor provided the Academy a 20% discount on each badge?

A) $ 800   B) $ 790   C) $ 640   D) $ 16   E) None of these

答案：$32 x 25 = $800; $800 x .20 = $160; $800 – $160 = $640. The second way to calculate the problem is, $800 x .80 = $640.

2. The gross weight of merchandise in a container examined by an officer was 108 pounds. According to policy, the officer was required to convert this weight into kilograms. If the formula for conversion is 1.8 pounds for each kilogram, what was the gross weight of the container load in kilograms (rounded to the nearest tenth)?

A) 194.0   B) 166.6   C) 60.0   D) 45.0   E) None of these

答案：108
1.8 = 60 kgs

而例题里面难度最高的

7. One day, Officer Ferong spent 4 hours processing passengers from a flight from Brazil at a rate of 16 passengers every 40 minutes. The next day, she spent 4 hours processing passengers at a rate of 18 every 40 minutes. What was the average number of passengers she processed during the 4-hour periods on day one and day two?

A) 283   B) 204   C) 141.5   D) 102   E) None of these

我是直接猜出D的。

由此观之，美国的公务员考试数学部分基本不超出加减乘除的运算，连四则运算都很少用到。相比之下，中国的公务员考试则是如下情形：

这样的题目我估计美国的考生会直接放弃，而对中国考生来说不过是入门而已，下面稍微复杂的题目如果出现在美国考试中的话，肯定是美国亚裔人口超过50%的时候：

最后到了写作部分，也就是对应的申论题。可这样的对比其实并不准确，因为虽然美国考试该部分称作“writing skills”，考核的却是基本的英语语法知识，全部都是选择题。

4. When writing a report on a drug smuggling incident, it is important to add all dates, times, names, and quotes associated from the case for future reference.

A) change incident to incedent

B) remove the comma after names

C) change from to with

D) no correction is necessary

For sample questions 5 and 6, choose the one sentence which is correct in grammar, syntax, punctuation, and spelling and which exemplifies usage suitable to a formal letter or report.

5. A) The impact of this training requirement will be measured by the number of new CBP Officers who successfully complete the probationary period.

B) The impact that this training requirement has will be measured by the number of new CBP Officers who successfully complete the probationary period.

C) The impact of this training requirement will be measured by the number of new CBP Officers which successfully complete the probationary period.

D) The impact that this training requirement has will be measured by the number of new CBP Officers which successfully complete the probationary period.

E) The impact of this training requirement will be measured by the number of new CBP Officers whom successfully complete the probationary period.

根据CBP发的考试辅导指南，writing skills考核的内容包括句子结构，各种短语，各种从句，动词时态，动词语态，动词变换，动词不定式，动名词，分词，名词，代词，形容词和副词，比较级和最高级，冠词，连词，段落结构，大小写，标点符号以及拼写。纵观该辅导指南，语法难度估计和国内英语四级相当，最多不超过六级。

而国内的申论题，那啥，我就不浪费空间贴图了。不得不同情广大中国考生，要知道美国的这份工作起始收入虽然不高，只有一年3万多，可是五年内就能逐步涨到8万多，还不算非常全面的福利和休假制度。而就这么简单的入门考试，美国居然花了半个世纪才决定采用，对比之下我们古代的科举制的发展速度可谓日新月异一日千里，而我们现在的公务员考生数量则是车载斗量千军万马。

悲乎~

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