WACE Chinese: Second Language ATAR cheat sheet

Listening texts in the WACE second-language context typically run 2–4 minutes and are played twice; first pass targets gist (topic, speaker relationship, purpose), second pass targets detail (numbers, times, reasons, opinions).

Question stems signal the answer type: 为什么/为什么…呢 asks for a reason (因为/由于), 什么时候/几点 asks for time, 在哪儿 asks for place, 怎么样 asks for evaluation or state.

Hedged opinions (我觉得…吧, 可能…, 说不定…) mark the speaker's stance; strong markers (一定, 肯定, 绝对) signal certainty-do not treat them as equal.

Numbers in Chinese listening: 两 replaces 二 before measure words (两个人, 两点), 半 = half, 多 = more than (三十多岁 = in his thirties), 左右 = approximately.

Speaking assessment criteria typically weight pronunciation and intonation, vocabulary range and accuracy, grammatical accuracy, fluency/coherence, and content/task fulfilment-each must be evidenced separately.

Conversational repair phrases: 对不起，我没听清楚，请再说一遍 (repeat), 您的意思是…吗？(check meaning), 我换个说法 (rephrase)-these sustain interaction and count as communicative strategies.

Tone pairs to drill for intelligibility: 4th+4th (再见, 现在), 3rd+3rd with sandhi (你好 → ní hǎo), 不 and 一 tone changes before 4th tone (不是 bú shì, 一个 yí ge).

Register in speech: 您/请问/麻烦你 for formal or service contexts; 你/喂/哎 for peers. Mixing them in one exchange signals a register error.

Skimming first: read title, first sentence of each paragraph, and the final sentence to identify topic and writer's purpose before answering detail items.

Signal words for logical relations: 因为…所以 (cause–effect), 虽然…但是 (concession), 不但…而且 (addition), 如果…就 (condition), 只有…才 (exclusive condition).

Pronoun and zero-anaphora tracking: 他/她/它/他们 and omitted subjects refer to the most recently salient noun phrase; misassigning reference is the commonest comprehension error.

Text types and their cues: 通知 (date, time, place, who, action required), 广告 (persuasive adjectives, price, contact), 日记 (first person, past events, feelings), 说明文 (definition, sequence, cause).

Numbers, dates and quantities in reading: 从…到… (from–to), 以前/以后, 左右, 以上/以下, 第…次-locate the exact phrase rather than inferring.

Inference items ask what is implied, not stated: correct answers are supported by textual evidence; answers requiring outside knowledge are distractors.

Vocabulary from context: a character's radical narrows meaning (氵 water, 讠 speech, 忄 emotion, 扌 hand action); the other component often hints at pronunciation.

Unknown-word strategy: check whether the word is defined in apposition (…，也就是…), exemplified (比如/例如), or negated (不…)-these give meaning without a dictionary.

Text-type structures: 日记 (date, weather, events in time order, reflection); 书信 (称呼, body, 祝语, 署名, 日期); 通知 (标题, 时间, 地点, 内容, 发出者, 日期); 记叙文 (setting, complication, resolution, reflection).

Cohesive devices to deploy: 首先/然后/接着/最后 for sequence, 因此/所以 for result, 然而/可是 for contrast, 总之/总的来说 for conclusion.

Sentence expansion rule: Chinese clauses often need a time or place phrase before the verb (我昨天在学校看见他), not after it.

Aspect markers: 了 = completed action or changed state, 过 = past experience, 着 = continuing state; omitting them makes narrative tense ambiguous.

Punctuation: full-width ，。？！：； and Chinese quotation marks “ ”; do not use English commas or periods inside Chinese text.

Length management: plan 5–8 minutes for outline, allocate one paragraph per prompt point, and reserve 3–5 minutes for checking characters, measure words and particles.

Measure words must match nouns: 个 (general), 位 (people, polite), 本 (books), 张 (flat objects), 件 (matters/clothing), 条 (long objects), 次 (occurrences).

Formal writing avoids 口语 fillers (那个, 然后呢, 就是说) and uses 书面 connectives (此外, 因此, 综上所述) instead.

Measure word 个 is a default but is wrong with 位 (people, respectful), 本 (bound volumes), 辆 (vehicles), 只 (animals), 双 (paired items).

Aspect and particle system: 了 (completion/change), 过 (experience), 着 (state), 的/地/得 (attributive / adverbial / complement: 慢慢地走, 跑得快, 我的书).

Comparison structures: 比 (A 比 B + adjective), 没有 (A 没有 B 那么 + adjective), 跟…一样, 越来越 + adjective.

Cultural norms: address by surname + title (王老师, 李经理); 请 and 谢谢 used more broadly than English please/thank you; refusing directly is avoided-softeners include 可能不太方便, 我再想想.

Festivals and their vocabulary: 春节 (拜年, 红包, 饺子), 中秋节 (月饼, 团圆), 端午节 (粽子, 龙舟), 清明节 (扫墓)-each pairs a custom with a lexical set.

Chinese-speaking communities span mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and diaspora communities; simplified vs traditional characters (国/國, 学/學) reflect regional writing conventions.

Register pairs: 您/你, 请/让, 拜访/看看, 用餐/吃饭-formal vs informal equivalents tested in transformation items.

Common error traps: 的/得/地 confusion, 是…的 emphasis (我是昨天来的), 把 construction (把书放在桌子上), and 被 passive (他被老师批评了).