Language Skills, Commentary Delivery and Cross-Cultural Communication (导游语言与跨文化交流)
What this domain tests
Delivery quality and audience awareness. Questions describe a group or a moment - a long coach transfer, a first meeting, a sensitive question - and ask which technique or wording is appropriate.
Commentary methods
- 陈述法 for factual narrative; 问答法 to hold attention; 类比法 to make unfamiliar structure intelligible; 虚实结合法 pairing legend with fact; 触景生情法 linking scenery to feeling; 突出重点法 for large sites; 画龙点睛法 for a closing insight; 对比法 for source-market comparisons.
Structural rules
One topic per segment, roughly three to five minutes, then a pause or a question. Use a 引入-展开-点睛 arc. On coach transfers give orientation and a story, not a lecture.
Language control
Accuracy first: dates, figures, policy wording. Then clarity, then vividness; humour must never target guests, religions or ethnic groups. Adjust volume and pace - louder and slightly slower outdoors, moderate inside coaches. Use eye contact and open gestures; cut verbal tics.
Welcome and farewell speeches
欢迎词: greeting, self-introduction, driver introduction, agency introduction, itinerary outline, practical notices, good wishes. 欢送词: recall highlights, thank the group, apologise for any shortfall, offer blessings, invite them back.
Cross-cultural points
High- and low-context styles, direct versus indirect disagreement, face-saving, monochronic versus polychronic time, personal space. Practical taboos: numbers 4 and 13, religious dietary rules (halal, vegetarian), photography restrictions, offering or receiving with the left hand in some cultures. In foreign-language commentary keep terminology consistent; render proper names as pinyin plus a short gloss, and paraphrase allusions rather than translating them literally.
Worked example
Explaining 斗拱 to a non-specialist group: use analogy - "a stack of wooden hands pushing the roof outward" - then add the structural function (load spreading, eave projection) and the rank meaning. Reasoning: analogy creates a mental image, the follow-up supplies accuracy, and the rank note connects to the next stop.
Traps that cost marks
- Overloading with dates and measures until the group stops listening.
- Using 欢送词 content at the welcome.
- Joking about religion, politics or appearance to fill a silence.
Safety, Emergency Response, First Aid and Risk Management (旅游安全与应急)
What this domain tests
Sequence and scope of action. Scenarios ask what the guide does first, what may not be done, whom to notify and what to record. The governing rules are 《旅游安全管理办法》 (effective 1 December 2016) with 《旅游法》 chapter 6.
Risk framework
Risk warnings run four levels: Level I red, Level II orange, Level III yellow, Level IV blue, with Level I the most severe. Agencies must maintain emergency plans, carry compulsory 旅行社责任保险, remind tourists to buy accident insurance, and give pre-tour safety briefings. Accidents must be reported to the local tourism authority within the prescribed short window (commonly one hour) while rescue proceeds in parallel.
Common situations
- Missing tourist: keep the group together, call the mobile, page the site's broadcast, alert staff and police, supply description and clothing details, record the timeline.
- Heat stroke: shade, loosen clothing, cool the body, give salted fluids if conscious; evacuate to hospital if confused or unconscious.
- Drowning: reach or throw, do not swim out unless trained; after rescue clear the airway and start CPR.
- Fracture: immobilise in place, do not attempt reduction.
- Snake bite: immobilise, keep the limb below heart level, no cutting or sucking, transport urgently.
- Food poisoning: stop eating, retain samples, seek medical care, report.
- Fire: stay low, wet cloth over the nose, never use the lift, know the hotel's escape route.
First aid basics
CPR: 30 compressions to 2 breaths, 100–120 per minute, depth 5–6 cm, AED as early as possible; abdominal thrusts for choking.
Worked example
A tourist collapses, unresponsive and not breathing. Sequence: call for help and dial 120, send someone for the AED, begin compressions, continue until the AED or paramedics arrive, hand over with a clear summary, then report to the agency and write a factual record with times and witnesses. Do not give water, do not move the person unless in danger, and do not claim a medical diagnosis.
Traps that cost marks
- Administering medication or diagnosing - beyond a guide's scope.
- Moving a suspected spinal injury casually.
- Failing to document, which later defeats the agency's liability defence.