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 did Xiao Ping choose the garden?2
How to answer. Two marks means two reasons — one is about what she would NOT be doing at the other place, the other is about what she would be doing at this one. Keep listening after her first line.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the text
At the company she would spend the whole week sitting and watching other people work, whereas at the garden they let her plant things herself from the first day — mistakes are fine, and she would actually be doing the work.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE小平，大家都去公司，你为什么选那个花园？
FEMALE公司那边一个星期都坐着看别人做事。
MALE花园那边呢？
FEMALE他们说第一天就让我自己种。做错了也没关系，可是我真的做了。
Words from this text大家都dà jiā dōueveryone else看别人做事kàn bié rén zuò shìwatch other people work让我自己种ràng wǒ zì jǐ zhǒnglet me plant it myself做错了也没关系zuò cuò le yě méi guān xiit's fine to get it wrong
Note and table completion2 marks · phone message
Complete the table below in ENGLISH.2
How to answer. One mark per row. Both details are given as a correction — the old version first, then the new one. Write the new one, and for the second row include the extra condition. Answer in English.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itself
Start time on the first day — 9:30, not 8:00, because they have a meeting that morning. What to wear — not school uniform but her own clothes, and they should be old ones.
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FEMALE小新你好，我是学校的王老师。下个星期上班的事有两个改变。第一天不是八点，是九点半，因为他们早上开会。还有，那边不用穿校服，穿自己的衣服，可是要穿旧的。
Words from this text上班shàng bānstart work / go to work开会kāi huìhave a meeting校服xiào fúschool uniform旧的jiù deold ones
Multiple choice1 mark · dialogue
What does the father actually do?1
- ☐ A. He is a doctor at the hospital.
- ☐ B. He looks after the hospital's computers.
- ☐ C. He works night shifts as a nurse.
- ☐ D. He repairs equipment in the wards.
How to answer. Tick one box. The first thing said about him is wrong — he corrects it himself. Listen to the end before choosing.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE小风，你爸爸在医院工作，他是大夫吗？
MALE不是。我以前也这么以为。
FEMALE那他做什么？
MALE他管电脑。医院的电脑坏了，大夫就不能看病人，所以他半夜也要去。
Words from this text以为yǐ wéito assume (wrongly)管guǎnto be in charge of坏了huài lebroken半夜bàn yèin the middle of the night
Summarise the main points3 marks · announcement
Summarise what the students 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. The bullets tell you how many points to make: two bullets, two points. He marks them with 第一 … 第二 … 第三.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfwhy it matters
If they cannot go in, they must phone the school first, not only the workplace; they should write a few lines before finishing each day about what they did and learnt; and they will have to speak to the class for three minutes when they get back, which is why the notes matter.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE下个星期就要去上班了，有三件事请记住。第一，去不了的时候先给学校打电话，别只跟那边说。第二，每天下班以前写几句，写你做了什么、学到了什么。第三，回来以后要在班上说三分钟，所以别忘了写。
Words from this text去不了qù bù liǎocan't go in下班以前xià bān yǐ qiánbefore you finish for the day学到了什么xué dào le shén mewhat you learnt别忘了bié wàng ledon't forget
Opinion and feelings3 marks · dialogue
How does Xiao Yu feel about the volunteering? Support your answer with reference to the text.3
How to answer. Three marks and 'support your answer', so give her feelings AND the detail that shows them. Her feelings change during the conversation, and the last line shows how far — an answer with only the difficult first day cannot reach full marks.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textties it together
The first day was hard: she often could not understand what they said and did not know what to say herself. It changed when she stopped talking and simply sat and listened — one elderly woman talked to her for two hours about her younger days and asked whether she would come again. She had only signed up for one week and she is still going, which shows how much her feelings changed.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE小语，你在那个老人住的地方帮忙，怎么样？
FEMALE第一天很难。他们说话我常常听不懂，我也不知道说什么。
MALE那后来呢？
FEMALE后来我不说话了，就坐着听。有一位奶奶跟我说了两个小时她年轻的事。
MALE两个小时？
FEMALE对。走的时候她问我下个星期还来不来。我本来只去一个星期，现在还在去。
Words from this text帮忙bāng mángto help out听不懂tīng bù dǒngcan't understand坐着听zuò zhe tīngsit and listen本来běn láioriginally
Compare two speakers4 marks · dialogue
Compare and contrast the two speakers' views on where to do work experience.4
How to answer. 'Compare and contrast' asks for both what they share and where they differ — an answer with only the difference cannot reach full marks. Note each speaker in a separate column; each supports their view with an example, and those examples are your evidence.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textwhy it matters
Both treat the week as a test worth taking seriously, and both argue from someone's real experience. They differ on what it should test. She would go where she already wants to work: the week is short, it lets you meet people, and when she did it she came back wanting it more. He went somewhere unlike his plan, because he knows what he wants to do but not what he does not want, and he is afraid of studying three years before finding out. His evidence is his cousin, who went to the place he most wanted, came back no longer wanting it, and said it was lucky it had only been a week.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE小中，你为什么去跟你想做的完全不一样的地方？
MALE就是因为不一样。我想做什么，我自己知道;我不想做什么，我还不知道。
FEMALE可是一个星期很短，去自己想做的地方，还可以认识人。
MALE认识人以后再说也行。我怕的是学了三年才发现自己不喜欢。
FEMALE我上次去了我想去的公司，回来更想去了，这个星期一点都没浪费。
MALE你运气好。我表哥去了他最想去的地方，回来就不想去了 ： 他说还好是一个星期，不是三年。
Words from this text完全不一样wán quán bù yí yàngcompletely different再说也行zài shuō yě xíngthat can wait我怕的是…wǒ pà de shì…what I'm afraid of is …运气好yùn qi hǎolucky
Predict and justify5 marks · dialogue
Is the male speaker likely to take the job? Support your answer with reference to the text.5
How to answer. You must decide yes or no — listing what each speaker said is not an answer to 'is he likely to'. Five marks, so justify it: notice that the obstacle is a real clash, but also what he says about his uncle, and what his last line shows about which side he is trying to protect.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textwhy it mattersties it together
Yes, most likely. There is a genuine clash — the shop needs Saturday mornings and that is when his Chinese class is — and his friend twice offers him a way out. He rejects both. His reason is not the pay, although his uncle offers more than outside work; it is the obligation he names himself: when his mother was in hospital last year his uncle ran the shop alone. His last line settles it, because he does not look for a way to decline but for a way to keep the job — asking whether his Chinese class could move. He is trying to remove the obstacle, not the offer.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE小平，你叔叔说店里星期六缺人，你去吗？
MALE我还没想好。
FEMALE钱不少吧？
MALE叔叔说给的比外面高。可是我星期六上午有中文课。
FEMALE那你跟他说下午去。
MALE下午人最多，他要的就是上午。
FEMALE那就说去不了。
MALE他是我叔叔。去年我妈妈住医院，店里的事都是他一个人做的。
FEMALE……那你打算怎么办？
MALE我先问问中文老师，星期天上课行不行。
Words from this text缺人quē rénshort-staffed比外面高bǐ wài mian gāohigher than outside人最多rén zuì duōbusiest打算怎么办dǎ suan zěn me bànwhat are you going to do?
Language and persuasion5 marks · speech
What makes this speech effective? Refer to both its content and its use of language.5
How to answer. 'Both content and language' means two things are marked: what she says, and how she says it. For language, name the technique, quote the Chinese, and say what it does to the listener — naming it alone earns little. Listen for the question she quotes back at the audience, the numbers she uses, the three things listed together, and what she actually asks people to do at the end.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textwhy it mattersties it together
She does not begin with her argument but with what happened to her: she worked six weeks washing cars, and a classmate asked why someone with her marks would do that. By quoting the question rather than answering it, she puts the audience's own assumption in front of them and makes it the subject of the talk. She then shows the assumption is shared, using a survey the class did themselves: twenty-four people named eleven jobs and not one was work like hers. Her case is three things she learnt, listed together — what standing for eight hours feels like, how to speak to an angry customer, and how money comes one dollar at a time — and she caps the list by saying she could not have learnt any of them at school, which answers the question without arguing with it. She closes by asking for something small: next time someone tells you their job, ask what they learnt there before deciding whether the job is any good.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE同学们，去年放假我在一个洗车的地方做了六个星期。我跟同学说的时候，有人问我：你成绩那么好，为什么去做那个？我今天想说的就是这句话。我们班上个月做过一个小调查，问大家以后想做什么。二十四个人写了十一种工作，可是没有一个人写这样的工作。我在那儿的六个星期，学会了三件事：一天站八个小时是什么感觉、怎么跟生气的客人说话、还有钱是怎么一块一块来的。这三件事，我在学校一件也学不到。所以，下次有人告诉你他做什么工作，请你先别想这个工作好不好，先问问他在那儿学到了什么。
Words from this text成绩那么好chéng jì nà me hǎowith marks as good as yours调查diào chásurvey是什么感觉shì shén me gǎn juéwhat it feels like一件也学不到yí jiàn yě xué bú dàocouldn't learn a single one