This English language edition of One Lesson One Exercise series is based on the latest Chinese edition of the Yi Ke Yi Lian series, a multiple award-winning bestseller, published by East China Normal University Press. Since it first appeared in the early 1990s, the Chinese edition of the Yi Ke Yi Lian series has been regularly revised and used by millions of students in primary and secondary schools all over Shanghai and beyond. The awards it has won include, for example, an official listing by an authoritative organization of China’s book industry in 2009 as one of the China's “300 Most Influential Books in the 30 Years since Reform and Opening Up” (1978-2008), and in 2015, the series was awarded the title of “Shanghai Famous Trademark” by Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce for the third time, the only book (series) awarded the honour by the Administration.
To keep the originality and authenticity of the Chinese edition, the English language edition is essentially a direct translation of the Chinese edition, so the loss of meaning in translation is kept to a minimum. When it is not possible to have a direct translation, necessary adjustments or changes have been made. For example, in Chinese, a Deng Shi (e.g. 2 + 3 = 5) is different from a Fang Cheng (e.g. 2x ? 3 = 7); however in English, the word “equation” can apply to both a Deng Shi and a Fang Cheng. In this case, the questions in the Chinese edition were slightly changed when possible or deleted otherwise in this English language edition. When appropriate, a footnote has been added to remind the readers of the difference from the original Chinese edition. For readers’ convenience, a Chinese-English mathematics glossary is also added at the end of each book in this English language edition.
Recognising the importance of doing adequate practice in the learning of mathematics, we have two main aims in publishing this English language edition. The first is for it to serve as a useful resource for school students, teachers and parents, not only in China but also in other countries, in their learning, teaching and tuition of mathematics using English as a medium. The second is to provide an important window for international readers, in particular mathematics teachers, mathematics education researchers and policy makers, to look through and thereby to understand better the content, pedagogy and assessment of Chinese mathematics teaching and learning in schools, as reflected in this series of learning resources.
It should be noted that the One Lesson One Exercise series was originally developed for the use of Shanghai school students to enhance their learning of mathematics, though more and more students outside Shanghai or even China have also used this series because of its reputation. Following the Shanghai school system, the series consists of 17 student practice books: one book for each semester for all the five primary grades (Grades 1 to 5) and the first three secondary grades (Grades 6 to 8), and one for the final secondary grade (Grade 9).
Many people have supported the translation and publication of this series, in various ways. I wish to record my special appreciation to Professor Tim ROWLAND and Mrs Judy ROWLAND of the United Kingdom, Dr Lionel PEREIRA-MENDOZA of Canada, and Professor Zalman USISKIN of the United States for the consultation work they generously offered for the series at different grade levels. My sincere gratitude also goes to Ms Ellen CHEN, Dr JIN Haiyue, Dr Jane LI, Dr LU Rugang, Mr NI Ming, Ms XU Huiping, Mr XU Jing and Dr ZHU Yan for their assistance at different stages.
Professor FAN Lianghuo
Series Editor