How to use this set. Each recording already plays the text twice, as in the exam, with a pause between the readings. Answer the question first, and only then open the transcript to check what you missed. These 8 items are drawn from the bank for this topic — they are practice, not a whole paper, but each one matches the marks and text type of its kind of HSC question.
Reason: why did it happen?2 marks · dialogue
Why was Xiao Yin not frightened about flying on her own?2
How to answer. Two marks means two reasons. The first is something that happened before she left; the second is what she found once she got to the airport. Keep listening after her first answer.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the text
Her mother had written down every step for her, from going in to getting on the plane, and once she was at the airport she found that everyone was doing the same thing, so she could simply follow the person in front of her.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE小音，你第一次一个人坐飞机，不怕吗？
FEMALE走以前有点怕。可是我妈妈把每一步都写下来了，从进去到上飞机，一步一步。
MALE那到了机场以后呢？
FEMALE到了以后我发现，大家都在做一样的事。跟着前面的人走就行了。
Words from this text一个人坐飞机yí gè rén zuò fēi jīfly on your own写下来xiě xià láiwrite it down一步一步yí bù yí bùstep by step跟着前面的人走gēn zhe qián mian de rén zǒufollow the person in front
Note and table completion2 marks · phone message
Complete the table below in ENGLISH.2
How to answer. One mark per row. He gives you the train first and then the station, and each one comes with a detail that proves it — put the detail in too. Answer in English.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the text
On the train — not what he expected: very quiet, nobody talks loudly, and it runs so smoothly that the water in a cup on the table does not move at all. At the station — it is very big, so arrive early: it took him more than ten minutes from going in to sitting down.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE小果，我刚下高铁，跟你说说，你下个月就知道了。车上跟我想的不一样，很安静，没有人大声说话，杯子放在桌子上，里面的水一点都不动。可是车站很大，你一定要早一点到，从进去到坐下我走了十几分钟。
Words from this text刚下高铁gāng xià gāo tiějust got off the high-speed train大声说话dà shēng shuō huàtalk loudly一点都不动yì diǎn dōu bú dòngdoes not move at all早一点到zǎo yì diǎn dàoget there early
Multiple choice1 mark · dialogue
Why is Xiao Qiang waking up at four every morning?1
- ☐ A. He is going to bed too early.
- ☐ B. His body is still on the time of the country he came back from.
- ☐ C. He has to get up early for work.
- ☐ D. It is too noisy outside in the morning.
How to answer. Tick one box. The girl offers him an explanation and he rejects it before giving his own — the answer is the one he gives, not the one she offers.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE小强，你怎么天天四点就起来？
MALE我也不想。
FEMALE是不是晚上睡得太早了？
MALE不是，是时差。那边现在是中午，我的身体还在那边。过几天就好了。
Words from this text天天tiān tiānevery day时差shí chàtime difference / jet lag身体还在那边shēn tǐ hái zài nà biānhis body is still over there过几天就好了guò jǐ tiān jiù hǎo leit will pass in a few days
Summarise the main points3 marks · announcement
Summarise what passengers are told to do.3
• …………………………………………………………………………………………
• …………………………………………………………………………………………
How to answer. One of the three marks is for the summarising itself — putting it in your own words rather than writing down every word. Two bullets, two points. This one does not count the instructions off with 第一 … 第二 … 第三, so you have to hear where one instruction ends and the next begins.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the text
Before getting off, check above your seat so you do not leave anything behind, and move to the door early rather than waiting until the train has stopped, because a lot of people are getting off at this station; once outside, buses are to the left and taxis to the right.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE各位旅客，还有二十分钟到站。下车以前请看一看座位上面，自己的东西别忘了。这一站下车的人比较多，请早一点走到门口，不要等车停了才起来。出站以后，往左边是坐公共汽车的地方，往右边是出租车。
Words from this text各位旅客gè wèi lǚ kèpassengers (in an announcement)座位上面zuò wèi shàng mianabove your seat别忘了bié wàng ledon't forget出站以后chū zhàn yǐ hòuafter you come out of the station
Opinion and feelings3 marks · dialogue
How does Xiao Wan feel about how fast the journey was?3
How to answer. Three marks. She agrees with him first, then says what was missing, and only at the end says what she now thinks. The last line is where the marks are — do not stop at the first two.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textwhy it mattersties it together
She agrees it was fast — three hours — but she cannot say what places she went through: things were gone before she could see them properly, so she gave up looking after ten minutes. She is not unhappy about it: it is that she had always taken it for granted that fast was simply good, and that day she thought for the first time that being fast also cost her a great deal of what she would have seen.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE小万，坐高铁怎么样？三个小时就到了。
FEMALE是快。可是我说不出中间经过了什么地方。
MALE你没看外面吗？
FEMALE看了。外面的东西还没看清就过去了，看了十分钟我就不看了。
MALE那你不高兴吗？
FEMALE也不是。我以前一直觉得快是好事。那天我第一次想，快也让我少看见了很多。
Words from this text说不出shuō bù chūcan't say还没看清就过去了hái méi kàn qīng jiù guò qù legone before you can see it properly快是好事kuài shì hǎo shìbeing fast is a good thing少看见了很多shǎo kàn jiàn le hěn duōsaw a great deal less
Compare two speakers4 marks · dialogue
Compare what the two friends think about the hours spent travelling.4
How to answer. Four marks: two points from each speaker, set against each other. Use whereas or on the other hand. Writing his view and then hers with nothing joining them is not a comparison.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textwhy it mattersties it together
He treats the hours on the road as wasted: if you can fly you should, and the time saved buys another day of the holiday, which he can start the moment he lands. She sees those hours as part of the trip rather than a cost of it — leaving home takes a while, and if you fly you arrive before your mind does. Where he asks what there is to do sitting on a train, she says she does nothing at all except look out of the window, and that what she remembers most clearly afterwards is often the journey itself.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE我觉得路上那几个小时是白花的。能坐飞机为什么坐车？省下来的时间可以多玩一天。
FEMALE我不这么想。人从家里出来，要慢慢才走得出来。你飞过去，人到了，心还没到。
MALE可是我到了就能开始玩。你在车上坐着能做什么？
FEMALE我什么都不做，就看外面。回来以后我记得最清楚的，常常是路上。
Words from this text白花的bái huā dewasted省下来shěng xià láisave (time)心还没到xīn hái méi dàoyour mind hasn't arrived yet记得最清楚jì de zuì qīng churemember most clearly
Predict and justify5 marks · dialogue
What is Xiao Qiang likely to do, and why?5
How to answer. Five marks: give the decision, the reasons on each side, and say what makes one side heavier. He never says what he decides, so the marks are for weighing up what he does say — not for guessing right.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textwhy it mattersties it together
He will most likely stay inside the station. What pulls him out is real and he says it himself — he may pass through that city only once in his life — and an hour does sound like enough. But he raises the cost twice, and the second time is much heavier: going out means queuing again to get back in, and if he is late the train will not wait and every ticket after it would have to be bought again. One sight against a rebuilt journey is not an even trade, so he stays.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE小强，你中间换车有一个小时，可以出去走走啊。
MALE我在想。可是出去了，回来还要再排一次队。
FEMALE一个小时够了吧？
MALE够是够。那个城市我这辈子可能就路过这一次。
FEMALE那就出去看看。
MALE可是要是回来晚了，车不等人，后面的票都要重新买。
Words from this text换车huàn chēchange trains再排一次队zài pái yí cì duìqueue again这辈子zhè bèi ziin my whole life车不等人chē bù děng rénthe train doesn't wait for anyone
Language and persuasion5 marks · speech
How does the speaker try to persuade her classmates?5
How to answer. Five marks for how she persuades, not for what she wants. Name the things she does — telling it as her own story, repeating eleven hours, the one sentence the old man said, what she found out too late, and how small her request is — and say what each one does to the listener.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textwhy it mattersties it together
She persuades by putting herself in the wrong rather than her audience: the story is hers, and she is the one who said nothing. The number does the work of an argument — eleven hours, repeated three times, set against one sentence — so the listener feels the size of what was wasted without being told it was wasted. The old man's line is left exactly as he said it, and it is a thank-you, which makes her silence worse than rudeness would have been. She saves what she learned for last — he was going to see his sick daughter — so the listener finds out too late, just as she did. Then she narrows the request until refusing looks absurd — not talking the whole way, just 你好 before you sit down — and leaves the cost in the listener's hands.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE同学们，我想说一件我下了飞机才想明白的事。那次我坐了十一个小时，旁边坐着一位老人。十一个小时，我们一句话都没说。我一直在看电影，他一直看着前面。下飞机的时候，他帮我把行李从上面拿下来，说了一句：谢谢你刚才让我出去。就这一句。后来在外面等行李，他才跟我说，他是去看他生病的女儿的。十一个小时，一句话。我不是说你们要一路上跟人说话。我是说，坐下以前，跟旁边的人说一句你好。就一句。你不说，那十一个小时就只是十一个小时。
Words from this text一句话都没说yí jù huà dōu méi shuōdidn't say a single word从上面拿下来cóng shàng mian ná xià láiget it down from above就这一句jiù zhè yí jùjust that one sentence只是zhǐ shìnothing more than