| World of Uncle Sam, Good Old USA: 004: Special Events: 003 Benjamin Jeng, Son of Flora & Mark Jeng: Woodbridge man competes on 'Are you Smarter than a Fifth-grader?' |
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By CAMERON BIRD
STAFF WRITER
IRVINE - Benjamin Jeng didn't follow a simple direction.
When the 32-year-old financial analyst from Woodbridge was selected last year to
square off on the primetime TV show, "Are You Smarter than A 5th Grader?"
producers advised him not to study.
The alumnus of Alderwood Basics Plus Elementary School then combed through
primers at local libraries, asked neighborhood kids to quiz him and played Trivial
Pursuit with his coworkers. None of that, he said, prepared him for the limelight.
Those who tune into Fox on Thursday night will learn whether Jeng's last-minute
cramming was time well spent. For now, he's back to abiding by the rules and
keeping the results close to the vest.
Q: How did you earn a spot on the show?
A:A bunch of the IT guys at work were gonna try out. So I went there the day after
they did, sat down and filled out paperwork. A producer called me up, led me to a
room, put me in front of a video camera, asked me really easy questions, like
"what's the tallest mountain in the world?" It wasn't really a test or anything.
A couple days later, the IT guys were looking on the Web for their names. I got a call
from producer saying they'd love for me to be a contestant. I didn't want to question
why they picked me. To me, looking back, it seems like it must be the easiest thing
to get on.
Q: How did you mentally prepare yourself?
A:Well, they told me I shouldn't study because the questions would be random. But –
I hope this doesn't get me in trouble – I went to a bunch of public libraries and
borrowed those "Everything a First …" and "Second …" and "Third …" and "Fourth
…" and "Fifth-Grader Needs to Know" types of books. There wasn't a single question
from those books on the show. Some friends' and neighborhood kids also gave me
challenges. Boy, they asked really tough questions. It's amazing what kids learn
nowadays.
Q: Describe the sights and sounds you encountered on stage.
A:It was so surreal when the studio audience came in. I paid no attention to how
bright or dim it was or how quiet or loud it was. I was just mesmerized and
constantly praying, "please don't do badly, please don't do badly."
Q: Based on your experience, do you think kids are smarter today?
A:I think so. It's the learning curve. I look at what I read in those books at the library
and think, "I didn't study this," or "wow, this book is for fourth graders, but I didn't
study it till junior high." Kids nowadays are a lot of brighter.
Q: You should pitch a show to Fox called "Are You as Good at Crunching Numbers as
a Financial Analyst?"
A:You know, they need to make that kind of show. In that case, I would do extremely
well.
STAFF WRITER
IRVINE - Benjamin Jeng didn't follow a simple direction.
When the 32-year-old financial analyst from Woodbridge was selected last year to
square off on the primetime TV show, "Are You Smarter than A 5th Grader?"
producers advised him not to study.
The alumnus of Alderwood Basics Plus Elementary School then combed through
primers at local libraries, asked neighborhood kids to quiz him and played Trivial
Pursuit with his coworkers. None of that, he said, prepared him for the limelight.
Those who tune into Fox on Thursday night will learn whether Jeng's last-minute
cramming was time well spent. For now, he's back to abiding by the rules and
keeping the results close to the vest.
Q: How did you earn a spot on the show?
A:A bunch of the IT guys at work were gonna try out. So I went there the day after
they did, sat down and filled out paperwork. A producer called me up, led me to a
room, put me in front of a video camera, asked me really easy questions, like
"what's the tallest mountain in the world?" It wasn't really a test or anything.
A couple days later, the IT guys were looking on the Web for their names. I got a call
from producer saying they'd love for me to be a contestant. I didn't want to question
why they picked me. To me, looking back, it seems like it must be the easiest thing
to get on.
Q: How did you mentally prepare yourself?
A:Well, they told me I shouldn't study because the questions would be random. But –
I hope this doesn't get me in trouble – I went to a bunch of public libraries and
borrowed those "Everything a First …" and "Second …" and "Third …" and "Fourth
…" and "Fifth-Grader Needs to Know" types of books. There wasn't a single question
from those books on the show. Some friends' and neighborhood kids also gave me
challenges. Boy, they asked really tough questions. It's amazing what kids learn
nowadays.
Q: Describe the sights and sounds you encountered on stage.
A:It was so surreal when the studio audience came in. I paid no attention to how
bright or dim it was or how quiet or loud it was. I was just mesmerized and
constantly praying, "please don't do badly, please don't do badly."
Q: Based on your experience, do you think kids are smarter today?
A:I think so. It's the learning curve. I look at what I read in those books at the library
and think, "I didn't study this," or "wow, this book is for fourth graders, but I didn't
study it till junior high." Kids nowadays are a lot of brighter.
Q: You should pitch a show to Fox called "Are You as Good at Crunching Numbers as
a Financial Analyst?"
A:You know, they need to make that kind of show. In that case, I would do extremely
well.
| Benjamin Jeng, contestant on "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" hangs out backstage. |
Benjamin Jeng
Age: 32
Irvine resident: 5-6 years
Job: Financial analyst
Hobbies: Playing
volleyball and basketball,
traveling and taking
practice tests on the "Are
You Smarter than a Fifth
Grader?" Web site
Age: 32
Irvine resident: 5-6 years
Job: Financial analyst
Hobbies: Playing
volleyball and basketball,
traveling and taking
practice tests on the "Are
You Smarter than a Fifth
Grader?" Web site
| Click below to view 2008-05-15 Benjamin at Fox Game Show videos at AAAPOE website |
| Part 3 |
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