Written Examination: Reading and Responding
What the task demands
Reading and Responding presents written Chinese texts - articles, letters, advertisements, blogs, notices - followed by questions in Chinese or English. You must locate information, interpret attitude and purpose, and in extended responses synthesise ideas and give supported opinions. The section rewards precise comprehension and the ability to move between the text's literal meaning and its implication.
Concepts to master
- Skimming and scanning: read the title, opening and closing first to establish topic and stance; then scan for question keywords.
- Cohesion devices: 然而, 因此, 不但……而且, 既然, 即使 - these carry the argument's logic.
- Vocabulary in context: infer unfamiliar characters from radicals and surrounding words rather than panicking.
- Text purpose and audience: is it persuading, informing, warning, advertising? Who is it for?
- Extended response structure: state a position, cite textual evidence, explain, then evaluate.
Common traps
- Copying whole sentences as answers - you must select and adapt, not transcribe.
- Ignoring the question's command word - 解释 (explain) differs from 找出 (find) and 评价 (evaluate).
- Misreading negation - 不, 没, 别, 未必 reverse meaning; read twice.
- Answering in English when Chinese is required (or vice versa).
- Opinion without evidence in extended responses.
Rule of thumb
For every answer, apply "locate, interpret, express": find the relevant line, decide what it actually means in context, then write a concise answer in your own words with the required language and length.