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 does Xiao Chen do the questions before going back to his book?2
How to answer. Two marks means two reasons. The first is what happened when he did it the other way round; the second is what doing the questions first tells him. Keep listening after his first line.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textwhy it matters
Reading it three times did not work — he still could not do it in the test — and doing the questions first shows him which parts he needs to go back to, so he does not have to read everything.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE小晨，你书都没看，怎么就做题了？
MALE我以前先看三遍，考的时候还是不会。
FEMALE那现在呢？
MALE我先做题，做不出来的地方再回去看。这样我就知道要看哪里，不用什么都看。
Words from this text看三遍kàn sān biànread it three times做不出来zuò bù chū láican't work it out再回去看zài huí qù kàngo back over it不用什么都看bú yòng shén me dōu kàndon't have to read all of it
Note and table completion2 marks · phone message
Complete the table below in ENGLISH.2
How to answer. One mark per row. Each place is described in two halves — what is good about it and what comes with it. Both halves belong in your answer. Answer in English.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itself
The quiet room — everyone works on their own and nobody talks to you. The room with a teacher — a teacher is there so you can ask questions, but there are more people and it is not as quiet.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE小雪，学校三点半以后开了两个地方，你自己看你想去哪一个。一个是安静的房间，大家各做各的，没有人跟你说话。还有一个有老师在，你可以问，可是人比较多，也没有那么安静。
Words from this text安静ān jìngquiet各做各的gè zuò gè deeveryone works on their own有老师在yǒu lǎo shī zàia teacher is there人比较多rén bǐ jiào duōthere are more people
Multiple choice1 mark · dialogue
What does Xiao Ding do when there is something he does not follow in class?1
- ☐ A. He asks the teacher straight away.
- ☐ B. He writes it down and asks after the lesson.
- ☐ C. He asks the student sitting next to him.
- ☐ D. He waits until the test to find out.
How to answer. Tick one box. He answers her twice — a short answer first, then the reason. The second time is the one to use.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE小丁，你上课怎么从来不问问题？
MALE我问，我下了课再问。
FEMALE为什么不马上问？
MALE我一问，老师后面说的我就听不见了。所以我先写下来。
Words from this text从来不cóng lái bùnever马上mǎ shàngstraight away听不见tīng bú jiàncan't hear it / miss it写下来xiě xià láiwrite it down
Summarise the main points3 marks · announcement
Summarise how this year's work is different.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 three things with 第一 … 第二 … 第三, so two of them belong together in one bullet.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itself
The one large task has been split into two smaller ones so nothing is left to the end, and the work is now done in class rather than taken home; the mark depends on how clearly it is explained, not on how much is written.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE同学们，今年的作业有三个地方跟去年不一样。第一，一个大的改成两个小的，你们不用等到最后才做。第二，这次要在课上做，不能带回家。第三，分数看你说得清不清楚，不看你写得多不多。
Words from this text跟去年不一样gēn qù nián bù yí yàngdifferent from last year改成gǎi chéngchanged into带回家dài huí jiātake it home说得清不清楚shuō de qīng bu qīng chuwhether you explain it clearly
Opinion and feelings3 marks · dialogue
How does Xiao Jing feel about not knowing yet, and what has changed?3
How to answer. Three marks, and the question asks for a change — so your answer needs a before and an after, plus what happened in between. Do not stop at how she felt at the start.
Model answer — open after you have written yours
the answer itselfevidence from the textwhy it mattersties it together
At first it was uncomfortable: the moment she said she had not decided, people's faces changed — but she would not invent an answer just to stop them asking. Her sister told her that not knowing is fine, and that if she does the subjects she likes well it becomes clear as she goes. She feels much better now and simply says she is still working it out.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE小静，你想好以后做什么了吗？大家都在问你。
FEMALE我知道。我一说还没想好，他们的脸马上就变了。
MALE那你怎么办？
FEMALE我不想为了让他们别问，就随便说一个。我姐姐跟我说，不知道没关系，先把你喜欢的那几门课学好，做着做着就知道了。
MALE你听了以后呢？
FEMALE好多了。别人再问，我就说我还在看。
Words from this text想好xiǎng hǎohave decided脸马上就变了liǎn mǎ shàng jiù biàn letheir face changes at once随便说一个suí biàn shuō yí gèjust say something for the sake of it做着做着就知道了zuò zhe zuò zhe jiù zhī dao leyou work it out as you go
Compare two speakers4 marks · dialogue
Compare what the two students think about choosing your own group.4
How to answer. Four marks: two points from each speaker, and they have to be set against each other. Use whereas or on the other hand. Writing what one says and then what the other says, 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 wants students to choose for themselves, because working with friends is easier to talk through and gets done faster, and because when the teacher decides there is always someone who does nothing and has to be carried. She takes the opposite view: choosing for yourself leaves the same few people together every time and leaves everyone else unwanted, and she would rather put up with a passenger than always work with the same people — at work, she says, you do not get to choose who you are with either.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
MALE我觉得应该让我们自己找人一起做。跟朋友做，说话方便，也做得快。
FEMALE我不这么想。自己找，最后总是那几个人在一起，别的人没有人要。
MALE老师分的话，有的人什么都不做，还得别人帮他做完。
FEMALE那也比一直跟一样的人做好。以后上班，你也不能自己选跟谁一起。
Words from this text自己找zì jǐ zhǎochoose for yourself说话方便shuō huà fāng biàneasy to talk things through总是那几个人zǒng shì nà jǐ gè rénalways the same few people不能自己选bù néng zì jǐ xuǎnyou don't get to choose
Predict and justify5 marks · dialogue
What is Xiao Wei likely to do, and why?5
How to answer. Five marks: give the decision, the reasons on both sides, and say what makes one side heavier. He never says what he will do, 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 hand it in tomorrow as it is. He does not want to hand in work when he already knows two parts are wrong, and that is what is stopping him. But asking for two more days costs him more: he was the one who handed in late last time and the teacher will remember, and late work loses marks anyway. Handing it in on time costs him only the two mistakes, which even his friend says do not matter much, so that is the smaller loss of the two.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE小伟，作业明天要交，你写完了吗？
MALE写完了。可是有两个地方我知道是错的。
FEMALE那你问老师能不能多给你两天。
MALE能是能。可是上次晚交的也是我，他会记得。
FEMALE那就这样交，两个地方错了也没什么。
MALE我知道错在哪儿还交上去，我心里不舒服。可是晚交了，分也会少。
Words from this text明天要交míng tiān yào jiāodue tomorrow能是能néng shì néngI could, but …他会记得tā huì jì dehe will remember分也会少fēn yě huì shǎoyou lose marks too
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 — the question she opens with, the story about her own work, the repetition of three times, the contrast between the number and the writing, and how small her final 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 opens with a question that makes every listener answer privately — how many seconds do you actually look at returned work — and then answers it against herself: she looked at the number, put the work in her bag and never took it out again. Her evidence is her own three pieces of work, and she repeats three times until it lands — the same comment three times, the same mistake three times — then reframes it, that three mistakes are not proof she cannot do it but proof she never went back. The contrast is the sharpest line in the speech: the number tells you about yesterday, the teacher's writing tells you about tomorrow. She closes by shrinking the request until refusing looks unreasonable — not more work, only five more minutes, said twice.
Transcript — open only after you have answered
FEMALE同学们，我先问大家一件事：老师把作业还给你的时候，你看几眼？我以前只看前面那个数字，看完就放进书包，再也没拿出来过。上次考试以前，我把三次作业都拿出来，一张一张地看。我发现老师写的话，三次差不多是一样的：同一个地方，我错了三次。错三次不是我不会，是我从来没回去看过。那个数字告诉你昨天怎么样，老师写的字告诉你明天怎么办。我不是要你们多做题。我是要你们下次拿回作业的时候，多看五分钟。就五分钟。
Words from this text还给你huán gěi nǐgive it back to you那个数字nà ge shù zìthe number (the mark)差不多是一样的chà bu duō shì yí yàng dealmost exactly the same从来没回去看过cóng lái méi huí qù kàn guonever went back over it