Is this really how reading Dickens works though? You don't translate passages, you just let them wash over you, and after you've read enough, it becomes natural. Like…I wonder if I myself could pass this kind of test.

The methodology is that an interviewer sits with each student one on one and listens to them read the passages from the book aloud. As the students read, they must translate what they read into modern English, explaining what each passage means. They have a dictionary, reference material, and their phones on hand to assist in looking up any unfamiliar terms, such as “Lord Chancellor”.