Reading (阅读)
Reading (阅读) is the second HSK 4 domain. It mixes three task types: 选词填空 (banked cloze), 排列顺序 (sentence ordering) and 阅读理解 (short passages with questions). The section tests grammar, cohesion and reading speed rather than literary interpretation, so every answer must be supported by the text itself.
Core rules
- In 选词填空, classify each option by part of speech first. The blank's grammar decides whether you need a verb, adverb, conjunction or measure word; meaning alone is not enough.
- Check collocations: 提高水平, 养成习惯, 解决问题, 产生影响. These pairs are fixed and often decide the item.
- In 排列顺序, follow pronouns (这, 那, 他, 它), paired connectives (虽然...但是, 因为...所以), time words and the topic chain. The first sentence usually introduces the topic; the last often gives a result or comment.
- In 阅读理解, the questions normally follow passage order. Distinguish detail questions from inference questions and reject options that are true in general but absent from the passage.
Worked example
这次考试他没考好，____他平时不努力。 A 因为 B 所以 C 但是 D 而且 The first clause is a result; the second gives the reason. 因为 introduces a reason and can follow the result, so A fits. 所以 would put the result after the reason, which reverses the logic. 但是 marks contrast, which is absent. 而且 adds compatible information, but lack of effort is not an additional result. Answer: A.
Traps
The common error is translating the sentence into English and choosing the connective that sounds natural there. Chinese clause order and paired connectives do not always match English. In ordering tasks, do not start from the sentence that merely looks interesting; start from the one with no pronoun or backward reference. In passage questions, an option containing 都, 一定, 所有 or 从不 is usually too absolute unless the text says so.