Giving everyone an equal opportunity to participate in higher education and to compete for society's resources is the foundation for the existence of the college entrance examination system. Despite the persistent imbalance between the supply of and the demand for higher education, the foundations of the entrance exam system have not been shaken; its existence rests upon a firm social base. The entrance exam plays multiple social roles and is a major influence on society. The entrance exam's implications for fairness, complicated functions, and significant influence all serve to reinforce and justify its social "underpinnings" and the rationality of its existence. What we need is not to vehemently criticize the entrance exam at every turn but rather to rationally appraise, understand, and reform it from an in-depth, calm, and objective perspective. (Contains 5 notes.)