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 has Xiao Lin changed the plan for Saturday?2
How to answer. Two marks means two reasons. One is about the weather, the other is about what the visitor likes. The second reason comes in the last line — do not stop writing after the first one.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfwhy it matters
The visitor comes from a place where it is summer now and finds Australia too cold, and he likes history, so the museum suits him better.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE小林，星期六你不是要带客人去海边吗？怎么改成去博物馆了？
MALE他昨天说，他们那里现在是夏天，来了以后觉得这里太冷。
FEMALE对，我们现在是冬天。
MALE而且他很喜欢历史，博物馆里有很多老东西可以看。
Words from this text客人kè rénguest / visitor带…去dài…qùtake someone to而且ér qiěwhat's more喜欢历史xǐ huan lì shǐlikes history
Note and table completion2 marks · phone message
Complete the table below in ENGLISH.2
How to answer. One mark per row. Two things have changed, and the message gives the old detail before the new one — write down the new one. Answer in English.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itself
Arrival time — 7:30pm on Sunday (not 2pm). Who collects them — the school's car will bring them to the house, so the family does not go to the airport.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE喂，是小北吗？我是学校的李老师。星期天的飞机改时间了，不是下午两点，是晚上七点半到。你们不用去机场，我们的车会送他们到你家。
Words from this text改时间gǎi shí jiānchange the time不是…，是…bú shì…，shì…not …, but …不用bú yòngthere's no need to送…到sòng…dàodeliver / take someone to
Multiple choice1 mark · dialogue
What surprises the male speaker?1
- ☐ A. Australians eat dinner at home.
- ☐ B. The shops close much earlier than he is used to.
- ☐ C. The streets are busy on Thursday nights.
- ☐ D. There are fewer shops than in his city.
How to answer. Tick one box. Every option repeats something you will hear, so listen for what he reacts to, not just what is mentioned. His 这么早？ tells you where the surprise is.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE小海，为什么六点以后街上没有人了？
FEMALE我们这里的商店五点半就关门了。
MALE这么早？我们那里晚上十点还很热闹。
FEMALE星期四晚上开得晚一点，别的时候大家都回家吃饭。
Words from this text关门guān ménclose (of a shop)这么早？zhè me zǎo？that early?热闹rè nàolively, busy别的时候bié de shí houat other times
Summarise the main points3 marks · announcement
Summarise what the student helpers have 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. The speaker marks them with 第一 … 第二 … 第三.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itself
Meet the twenty visitors at the gate at ten and take them to the classroom; have lunch with them and speak as much Chinese as possible; and get them back to the bus before three in the afternoon.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE帮忙的同学请注意。下个星期二有二十位客人来我们学校。第一，你们十点在门口等他们，带他们去教室。第二，中午跟他们一起吃饭，多跟他们说中文。第三，下午三点以前把他们送回车上。
Words from this text门口mén kǒuat the gate / entrance带他们去dài tā men qùtake them to多跟他们说中文duō gēn tā men shuō zhōng wénspeak more Chinese with them以前yǐ qiánbefore (a deadline)
Opinion and feelings3 marks · dialogue
How does Xiao Xing feel about the week? 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. She has more than one feeling, and they pull in different directions — an answer with only the tiring part cannot reach full marks.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textwhy it matters
She found the week tiring because she had to decide where to go and what to eat every day, but she would do it again: because the visitor spoke no English she had to speak Chinese all day, she spoke far more than usual, and she is no longer afraid of making mistakes.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE小星，客人昨天走了，这个星期你觉得怎么样？
FEMALE很累。每天要想去哪里、吃什么。
MALE那你还想再做吗？
FEMALE想。虽然累，可是我的中文说得比以前多。
MALE真的吗？
FEMALE他不会说英文，所以我一天到晚都得说中文。现在我不怕说错了。
Words from this text很累hěn lèivery tiring虽然…，可是…suī rán…，kě shì…although …, still …一天到晚yì tiān dào wǎnall day long不怕说错bú pà shuō cuònot afraid of making mistakes
Compare two speakers4 marks · dialogue
Compare and contrast the two speakers' views on where to take visitors.4
How to answer. 'Compare and contrast' asks for both what they share and where they differ — an answer that gives only the difference cannot reach full marks. Note each speaker in a separate column. Each gives a reason; use the reasons as your evidence.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textwhy it matters
Both want the visitors to have a good time and both are thinking about what the visitors will take away. They differ on what is worth showing. He wants the famous places, arguing that first-time visitors would regret missing them and that they need something to tell friends about at home. She thinks those places are already online and the visitors will get to them anyway; she took her last visitors to the market near her house, which they liked best because it showed them how people actually live here.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE小南，客人来了以后你打算带他们去哪里？
MALE还是去歌剧院和海边吧，来了都要看的。
FEMALE可是那些地方网上都有照片，他们自己也会去。
MALE第一次来的人，不看这些会觉得可惜。
FEMALE我上次带客人去我家附近的市场，他们最喜欢那里。他们说在那儿才看得到我们平常怎么生活。
MALE话是这么说，可是他们回国以后，朋友问他们去了哪里，总不能只说去过市场吧。
Words from this text还是…吧hái shì…balet's just … (after all)可惜kě xīa pity / a shame平常píng chángusually / ordinarily总不能只说…吧zǒng bù néng zhǐ shuō…bayou can hardly say only …
Predict and justify5 marks · dialogue
Is the female 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 she likely to'. Five marks, so justify it: track which of her objections get answered and which do not, and pay attention to what her last line adds that the earlier ones did not.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textwhy it mattersties it together
Probably yes, but it is not settled. Each practical objection is answered: she has never done it, but he says it is not difficult; her Saturday Chinese class is solved by an eleven o'clock start; next month's exams are solved by taking a break then. Her last objection is different in kind — it is not about the timetable but about her mother, who thinks she should rest at weekends — and she does not reject the job herself, she says she will ask. Since every practical barrier has gone and she has to reply tomorrow, she takes it if her mother agrees.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE小飞，我们公司星期六要人带客人在城里走走，你想不想做？
FEMALE我？我没有做过。
MALE不难。跟他们说说这些地方以前是做什么的，一天一百二十块。
FEMALE可是我星期六上午有中文课。
MALE十一点开始就行。
FEMALE那下个月呢？下个月我要考试。
MALE你先做这个月，考试的时候休息。
FEMALE……让我问问我妈妈。她一直说我周末应该多休息。
MALE那你明天给我回话，星期五以前我要找到人。
Words from this text想不想做xiǎng bu xiǎng zuòdo you want to do it?没有做过méi yǒu zuò guohave never done it就行jiù xíngthat'll do / that works给我回话gěi wǒ huí huàget back to me
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 numbers she opens with, the question she asks the audience, the objection she raises before you can, her own story, and how she ends.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textwhy it mattersties it together
She opens with two numbers that do not match — thirty visitors, eleven families — and turns them onto the audience with a rhetorical question about where the rest will sleep, so the audience works out the problem themselves. She then raises the objections her classmates would make — my house is too small, my Chinese is not good enough — and answers them with her own experience, in which both were true of her too. Her story is told as a change over time, from two people sitting in silence on the first day to shopping and cooking together by the third, ending in the visitor's own words. She reduces the cost to almost nothing — no money, one week — and closes by connecting three years of classroom Chinese to thirty real people, then gives one clear action.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE同学们，下个月有三十位学生要来我们学校，可是现在只有十一个家庭愿意接待。三十个人，十一个家庭，你们说，剩下的人住哪里？有人会说，我家太小了，我的中文也不好。可是我去年接待过一个学生。我家也不大，我的中文也不好。第一天我们两个人坐在那里，谁都不说话。到了第三天，我们一起去买东西、一起做饭。他走的时候说，这个星期是他来澳大利亚最开心的时候。接待一个人，不用花钱，只要一个星期。我们在课上学了三年中文，现在有三十个人来，他们就住在我们家里。请大家今天下课以后到办公室报名。
Words from this text愿意yuàn yīwilling to你们说，…？nǐ men shuō，…？what do you think — …?不用花钱bú yòng huā qiánit costs nothing报名bào míngsign up / register