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Study Guide

Field 101: Chinese (Mandarin)
Reading Comprehension

Sample Directions for Reading Comprehension

In this section of the test, you will read two passages in the target language. You will then prepare a written response to the assignment that follows each passage.

Your responses may be written in either English or the target language. If you choose to respond in English, type your response in the response box presented on-screen. If you choose to respond in the target language, your final response must be written on the response sheet provided. Please label each response sheet with the appropriate exercise (e.g., "Reading Comprehension Assignment 1"). Your response sheets must be scanned using the scanner provided at your workstation.

Instructions for scanning your Response Sheets are available by clicking the "Scanning Help" button at the top of the screen.

You may use the erasable notebooklet to make notes, write an outline, or otherwise prepare your response. However, your final responses to the exercises must be typed into the on-screen response box OR written on the response sheet and scanned using the scanner provided.

Your responses will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria.

Be sure to write about the assigned topics. You may not use any reference materials during the test. Remember to review your work and make any changes you think will improve your responses.

Any time spent responding to the assignments, including scanning the response sheet(s), is part of your testing time. Monitor your time carefully. When your testing time expires, a pop-up message will appear on-screen indicating the conclusion of your test session. Only response sheets that are scanned before you end your test or before time has expired will be scored. Any response sheet that is not scanned before testing ends will NOT be scored.

Select the Next button to continue.

Sample Reading Comprehension Assignment

Read either the passage presented in Traditional characters or the same passage presented in Simplified characters below. Then prepare a written response to the assignment that follows. Your response may be written in either Chinese or English. If you choose to respond in Chinese, your response must be written in Standard Modern Chinese characters (Traditional or Simplified).

[TRADITIONAL CHARACTERS]

張勇是中山大學的研究生，在學校的宿舍住了兩個學期了。他有三個同屋，每個人的作息時間都不一樣，他嫌宿舍太吵，睡不好覺。房間也太小，連一個書架都放不下，再說也沒有地方可以做飯，他吃素，很不方便，所以張勇準備下個學期搬到校外去住。他找房子找了一個多月了，可是廣州的房子很難找，不是太貴，就是太遠，他一直沒有找到合適的。

昨天他在早報上看到一個廣告，說學校附近有房屋出租出租，走路到學校只有十五分鐘，很方便。那套房子有一個臥室，一個廚房，一個衛生間，一個客廳，還帶家俱。張勇覺得那套房子可能對他很合適，所以他今天就請房東帶他看了一下房子。

客廳裏有一套沙發、一張飯桌跟四把椅子。臥室裏有兩張單人床、一張書桌和一個書架。房東告訴他這裏比較安靜，交通也很方便。每個月房租包水電是八百元，要多付一個月的房租當押金。

[SIMPLIFIED CHARACTERS]

张勇是中山大学的研究生，在学校的宿舍住了两个学期了。他有三个同屋，每个人的作息时间都不一样，他嫌宿舍太吵，睡不好觉。房间也太小，连一个书架都放不下，再说也没有地方可以做饭，他吃素，很不方便，所以张勇准备下个学期搬到校外去住。他找房子找了一个多月了，可是广州的房子很难找，不是太贵，就是太远，他一直没有找到合适的。

昨天他在早报上看到一个广告，说学校附近有房屋出租，走路到学校只有十五分钟，很方便。那套房子有一个卧室，一个厨房，一个卫生间，一个客厅，还带家俱。张勇觉得那套房子可能对他很合适，所以他今天就请房东带他看了一下房子。

客厅里有一套沙发、一张饭桌跟四把椅子。卧室里有两张单人床、一张书桌和一个书架。房东告诉他这里比较安静，交通也很方便。每个月房租包水电是八百元，要多付一个月的房租当押金。

Write a response several sentences in length in which you:

Sample Response for the Reading Comprehension Assignment

Zhang Yong is a graduate student. He has lived in the student dormitory for two semesters. He has three roommates but they each have a different schedule. He feels that the dorm is too noisy for him to sleep well. The room is also small and he cannot cook there. Therefore, he has decided to move off campus next semester.

He has been looking for an apartment for over a month but it is very difficult to find anything he wants in Guangzhou. The apartments are either too expensive or too far away from school.

Yesterday he saw an apartment ad in the morning newspaper. Zhang Yong thought the apartment was just what he wanted so he asked the landlord to show him the apartment. Zhang Yong likes the apartment but the rent is a bit expensive. He plans to find a friend to share the apartment with him so that it would be affordable.

Performance Characteristics for the Reading Comprehension Assignments

Literal Comprehension accuracy and completeness in comprehending literal content of written language
Inferential Comprehension demonstrated ability to infer information implied in a reading passage, including subtleties such as tone

Score Scale for the Reading Comprehension Assignments

Score
Point 		Score Point Description
4 The "4" response gives evidence of strong reading comprehension skills.
  • The candidate demonstrates thorough comprehension of literal content, including virtually all significant ideas, details, and grammatical relations.
  • The candidate accurately infers implied information, even if it is subtly or abstractly conveyed.
3 The "3" response gives evidence of satisfactory reading comprehension skills.
  • The candidate demonstrates adequate comprehension of main ideas, but misses some details and grammatical relations.
  • The candidate adequately infers information, but may misinterpret some subtleties and abstractions.
2 The "2" response gives evidence of limited reading comprehension skills.
  • The candidate demonstrates limited comprehension of main ideas, details, and grammatical relations.
  • The candidate demonstrates limited ability to make inferences, particularly if information is presented subtly or abstractly.
1 The "1" response gives evidence of weak reading comprehension skills.
  • The candidate fails to comprehend ideas, understanding only isolated words and phrases.
  • The candidate fails to make any inferences.
U The response is "unscorable" because it is not on the given topic, illegible, not in the appropriate language, or too short to score.
B There is no response to the assignment.