fail the exam
In the Song Dynasty (宋朝) there was a joker called Sun Shan (孙山).
One year he went to take the imperial examination, and came bottom of the list ofsuccessful candidates.
Back in his hometown, one of his neighbor asked him whether the neighbor's son had also passed.
Sun Shan said, with a smile:"Sun Shan was the last on the list. Your son came after Sun Shan."
The people used this idiom to indicate failing in an examination or competition.
名落孙山
宋朝有一个很幽默的人，他叫孙山。
有一年他去参加考试，公布名单时他是最后一名。
回到家，他的邻居向他打听自己的儿子考得怎么样。
孙山笑着对邻居说：“孙山考了最后一名，你儿子的名字还在孙山的后面呢。”
人们用“名落孙山”来比喻考试没有考上或者选拔没有被录取。