Translation (HSK 7-9)
Translation in HSK 7-9 is paragraph-level, both Chinese–English and English–Chinese. It tests meaning transfer under register and cohesion constraints, not word substitution. Raters notice mistranslated logic, term drift and ungrammatical target language.
Core rules
- Segment by meaning unit, then rebuild in target-language order. Chinese topic–comment often becomes English subject–predicate.
- Render 把/被 and 是……的 according to function, not mechanically: “正是……的” may need an English cleft.
- Keep terminology consistent across the passage; decide once whether 试点 is pilot, pilot program or pilot scheme.
- In English–Chinese, restore omitted subjects and use 四字格 only when it does not add meaning.
- Check articles, tense, number and connectives after drafting.
Worked example
Source: “正是这项被反复质疑的政策，在关键时刻稳住了市场预期。” Reasoning: 正是…的 is focus/cleft; 被反复质疑 is a passive modifier; 稳住 is resultative, best as stabilize or anchor; 关键时刻 is a time adverbial. A literal 'This was repeatedly questioned policy stabilized…' fails. Sample: “It was this policy-repeatedly questioned-that stabilized market expectations at a critical moment.” The dash preserves the modifier without making it the main clause.
Traps
- Translating 四字格 literally and losing the argument.
- Dropping negation or condition.
- Shifting terms mid-passage.
- Producing English fragments from long Chinese modifiers.