Reading the Scholarship Notice
A notice on the school's Chinese-language bulletin board reads: '奖学金申请截止日期为下周五，逾期不予受理。申请人须提交一份五百字的中文自我介绍及两封推荐信。面试将于截止后一周内进行，具体时间另行通知。' You are a non-background learner in Year 11. You have one teacher willing to write a recommendation, but the second referee, your former coach, is away for three weeks. You also have a 480-character self-introduction drafted, but it is in English. Today is Monday.
1. List the hard requirements in the notice and identify which one is the immediate problem.
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The notice sets four requirements: (1) the deadline is next Friday, (2) late applications will not be accepted ('逾期不予受理'), (3) a 500-character Chinese self-introduction plus two recommendation letters, and (4) interviews happen within one week after the deadline, with the time announced later. The immediate problem is the second referee, because the coach is away for three weeks, which runs past the deadline. The self-introduction is also a problem but a solvable one: 480 characters in English must be rewritten in Chinese and expanded to 500 characters. A good answer distinguishes a hard deadline ('不予受理' means no exceptions) from a soft one (interview time '另行通知'), and notices that the 500-character requirement is about the Chinese text, not an English draft.
2. Explain what '另行通知' implies for your planning and why it matters.
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'另行通知' means 'to be notified separately' - the interview time is not fixed yet. For planning, it means you cannot schedule other commitments in the week after the deadline, because the interview could fall on any day. It also signals that the school controls the timing, so you should keep your phone and email checked. A weaker answer would treat it as 'no interview date yet, so no rush'. The stronger reading is that the deadline is fixed but the interview window is open, so preparation must be finished before the deadline, not before the interview. This question tests inference: the phrase looks like a small detail but changes how you allocate the next two weeks.
3. Draft a short Chinese message to the scholarship coordinator asking about a replacement referee, keeping a formal register.
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A suitable message: '老师您好，我是十一年级的[姓名]。我想申请中文奖学金，但我的第二位推荐人目前外出三周，无法在截止日期前提交推荐信。请问是否可以由另一位老师代替？如果需要，我可以提供他的联系方式。谢谢您。' This keeps formal register with '您', a clear self-introduction, a specific request ('是否可以由另一位老师代替'), and an offer of help. It avoids casual phrasing like '老师，我推荐人不在，怎么办？' which is too blunt for a formal request. The model answer should show awareness of register: formal Chinese uses complete sentences, '请问', and '谢谢您', and states the problem before the request rather than after.