I don't know if the story of Dalton is true or not. I don't think it matters for this test.

I think both Questions 1 and 2 are meant to respond to cultural value systems outside of China. I'm not sure about now, however, I can easily see a "Dalton" in China before 1990s accepting that the color of the socks are red, even though he sees it as grey and drop the matter.

Likewise, the story of the instant ramen noodles points out the persistence required for entreprenurialship, something that we take for granted reading Hacker News. On top of that, there is the political issue being that this is a story about Japan, something that is still emotionally charged (at least with my parent's generation). The story also presents the instant ramen inventor as being motivated by patriotism (or at least, humanitarian) rather than the profit motive. Finally, China has also seen several severe famines post WWII as a direct result of government policies (the government and the military has traditionally been responsible for making no one region becomes devestated by famine). The story presented an individual rather than a state organization taking it upon himself to help solve the food problem. How does that square with the current policies of the Chinese government? Should non-University-elites be encouraged with this kind of initiative?

The story about the kerosene is weird to me. My first reaction is that it appears to be grafting the old Confucian values onto an American setting. We'd have to substitute "peasant" for something else -- "menial", "indentured servent", "slave", each carrying a very different baggage. (I doubt Chinese unversity candidates would be aware of the emotional charges these words bring). Going by my gut, I'm not sure any modern American would try to correct their mistakes by demonstrating diligence (putting the wash out and carefully watching it). That kind of value system is more old-school Chinese, I think, that by demonstrating the proper diligence due to one's social superiors, Good Things Happen (the stain gets removed ... whether or not it is scientifically valided is not relavent in this story).

As for Question 1, I remember reading that story in an American self-help book. I have forgotten where it came from. It was a fable obviously demonstrated to encourage the development of strengths. It also fits in with the shift in American education towards building up self esteem (for example, see the work of Carol Dewek related to this topic). This is quite different from a cultural system where fathers would throw sons into a harsh environment just to the overcome weaknesses. The phrase, "eating bitter" (吃苦) is still in use today. I am sure many of the candidates writing this essay have memories of their parents pushing them academically, sending them through cram schools and hiring tutors if they could afford it. I'd say a good number of them would remember being the "rabbit" in one or more of the subject matters. The justification the parents (at least, my parents) tells the kid is, "you'll thank me later". So here is an essay question that gives you a chance to say, "yeah, the rabbit should be forced to swim for his own good; even I learned how to swim" or "no, I think this system is broken despite the fact that I am a product of this system".