Travel verbs and the trip measure word 次/趟
Travel verbs collocate with a specific object: 出国 (chūguó -- go abroad), 旅行/旅游 (lǚxíng/lǚyóu -- to travel), 参观 (cānguān -- visit a place or sight), 预订 (yùdìng -- book a ticket or hotel). Count a trip with 次 or 趟, never 个: 一次旅行 (yí cì lǚxíng -- one trip). Example: 暑假我们打算去国外旅游，我已经预订了机票。(Shǔjià wǒmen dǎsuàn qù guówài lǚyóu, wǒ yǐjīng yùdìngle jīpiào.) -- In summer we plan to travel abroad and have booked the flight.
le = a specific trip; guo = past experience
Use 了 for a SPECIFIC completed trip on a particular occasion: 去年夏天我去了法国。(Qùnián xiàtiān wǒ qùle Fàguó.) -- Last summer I went to France. Use 过 for a general life EXPERIENCE, often counted with 次: 我去过中国三次。(Wǒ qùguò Zhōngguó sān cì.) -- I have been to China three times. They are not interchangeable: 过 answers "have you ever...", 了 narrates one specific trip.
Compare with 比 and justify with 因为
Compare destinations with 比 (bǐ): 我觉得出国旅游比在国内旅游更有意思，因为可以体验不同的文化。(Wǒ juéde chūguó lǚyóu bǐ zài guónèi lǚyóu gèng yǒu yìsi, yīnwèi kěyǐ tǐyàn bùtóng de wénhuà.) -- I think travelling abroad is more interesting than travelling at home, because you can experience a different culture. After 比, drop 很 before the adjective (比...有意思, not 比...很有意思), and always give the REASON with 因为, not just the comparison.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Not recognising 国外/出国 (abroad)
✗ candidate does not recognise 国外/出国 in the question and cannot answer, needing the examiner's simplified alternative. ✓ Over-learn 国外 (guówài -- abroad, overseas) and 出国 (chūguó -- to go abroad) as a pair: 我很想出国旅游，看看国外的风景。(Wǒ hěn xiǎng chūguó lǚyóu, kànkan guówài de fēngjǐng.) -- I really want to travel abroad and see the scenery overseas.
Digest Speaking, International World: "abroad" named a vocabulary gap; candidates needed the simplified alternative (s22 Topic 5; s23 Topic 6)
Confusing 庆祝 (celebrate) with 度过 (pass time)
✗ 我庆祝了假期。(celebrate wrongly applied to a whole holiday period) ✓ 我在国外度过了一个愉快的假期。(Wǒ zài guówài dùguòle yí gè yúkuài de jiàqī.) -- I spent a happy holiday abroad. 庆祝 (qìngzhù) only takes a specific OCCASION as its object (庆祝生日/庆祝节日 -- celebrate a birthday or festival); a period of TIME like a holiday is 度过 (dùguò -- to spend/pass time).
Digest Speaking, International World: "to celebrate" vs the easier "to spend [time]" named as a vocabulary confusion (s22 Topic 5; s23 Topic 6)
Bare "有很多好处" names no benefit
✗ 出国旅游有很多好处。(a bare restatement with no specific benefit named) ✓ 出国旅游最大的好处是可以亲身体验不同国家的文化和生活方式。(Chūguó lǚyóu zuì dà de hǎochù shì kěyǐ qīnshēn tǐyàn bùtóng guójiā de wénhuà hé shēnghuó fāngshì.) -- the biggest benefit of travelling abroad is personally experiencing another culture. A benefit question needs an actual named benefit, not a claim that benefits exist.
Digest Writing: the "there are many benefits of X" bare restatement fails top-band Task Completion (s22 Q3(a); s23 41/42/43 Key Messages)
Keeping 很 after 比 (比...很)
After 比, the adjective drops 很. ✗ 出国旅游比在国内旅游很有意思。(很 cannot stay after a 比 comparison) ✓ 出国旅游比在国内旅游更有意思。(Chūguó lǚyóu bǐ zài guónèi lǚyóu gèng yǒu yìsi.) -- Travelling abroad is more interesting than travelling at home. Use 更 or the bare adjective after 比, never 很.
Digest grammar checklist: comparison-with-比 misuse named at multiple components, both sittings (s22; s23)
Counting a trip with 个 not 次/趟
A trip or visit is counted with 次 or 趟, not the default measure word 个. ✗ 我去过中国三个。 ✓ 我去过中国三次。(Wǒ qùguò Zhōngguó sān cì.) -- I have been to China three times. ✓ 这次旅行 (zhè cì lǚxíng -- this trip). Reach for 次/趟 whenever you count an occurrence of travelling, never 个.
general FL trap
Lifting a whole sentence in a reading answer
In Reading short-answer, copying a whole sentence earns no credit -- give the precise phrase asked for. ✗ lifting the entire paragraph about a trip. ✓ answer only the exact detail, e.g. the place visited, in a short phrase such as 参观名胜古迹 (cānguān míngshèng gǔjì -- visited places of historic interest). Read the question word and lift only that.
Digest Reading: over-lifting / whole-sentence copying earns no credit, an isolated precise phrase required (s23 P21 Q8; s22 P21 Q11)
Believing 去了 and 去过 are interchangeable
Both describe past travel, so learners swap them, but they are not interchangeable. ✗ 我去过法国上个星期。(过 wrongly used for a specific, dated trip) ✓ 上个星期我去了法国。(Shàng ge xīngqī wǒ qùle Fàguó.) -- Last week I went to France. ✓ 我去过法国三次。(Wǒ qùguò Fàguó sān cì.) -- I have been to France three times. The wrong one flips a specific event into a general life experience.
Structure a travel answer
For a travel task: name the destination with its collocating verb (出国/旅行/参观/预订); choose the aspect marker -- 了 for one completed trip, 过 (with 次) for a general experience; then give one named opinion with 因为, using 比 (drop 很) to weigh home against abroad.
Listen for the later clause, not the first
A travel extract often names more than one place. The wrong option echoes a detail that WAS spoken but belongs to a different place or time. Take the LATER clause that gives the real answer -- e.g. north, not the east merely mentioned earlier.
Answer the exact question word
Q8 and Q11 depend on reading the question word -- what, when, where, how long, why. Identify it first, locate the matching detail, and answer with a short precise phrase in Chinese including its key verb, not a general topic word or a whole-sentence lift.
This topic (Area E: The International World, E3) covers holidays and tourism, visiting other places and countries, tourist activities and sights, planning a trip, and travel experiences and opinions. It appears in listening and reading (comprehension about someone's holiday plans or a past trip), functional and extended writing (a postcard or message about a trip, an article comparing travelling at home and abroad), and the speaking role play and topic conversation (planning a trip, describing a past holiday, giving an opinion on travel).
Planning and booking a trip 计划与预订 (jìhuà yǔ yùdìng)
| 汉字 | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 旅行/旅游 | lǚxíng / lǚyóu | to travel, a trip |
| 出国 | chūguó | to go abroad |
| 国外 | guówài | abroad, overseas |
| 假期 | jiàqī | holiday, vacation |
| 预订 | yùdìng | to book (a hotel, ticket) |
| 机票 | jīpiào | flight ticket |
| 护照 | hùzhào | passport |
| 行李 | xíngli | luggage |
| 旅行社 | lǚxíngshè | travel agency |
Places, sights and activities 地方、名胜与活动 (dìfang, míngshèng yǔ huódòng)
| 汉字 | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 参观 | cānguān | to visit (a place, sight) |
| 名胜古迹 | míngshèng gǔjì | places of historic interest |
| 旅游景点 | lǚyóu jǐngdiǎn | tourist attraction |
| 海边 | hǎibiān | seaside |
| 博物馆 | bówùguǎn | museum |
| 当地 | dāngdì | local |
| 风景 | fēngjǐng | scenery |
| 文化 | wénhuà | culture |
| 气候 | qìhòu | climate |
Experiences and opinions 经历与看法 (jīnglì yǔ kànfǎ)
| 汉字 | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 经历 | jīnglì | experience |
| 度过 | dùguò | to spend/pass (a period of time) |
| 庆祝 | qìngzhù | to celebrate (an occasion) |
| 体验 | tǐyàn | to experience (personally) |
| 印象深刻 | yìnxiàng shēnkè | to leave a deep impression |
| 难忘 | nánwàng | unforgettable |
| 有意思 | yǒu yìsi | interesting |
to book (a hotel, ticket)
用中文写出四个和旅游有关的名词（例如护照、机票），并标出拼音。
Level-of-response questions with model answers and mark scheme rubrics.
你正在给一位中国朋友写一张明信片，谈谈你去年的一次旅行。明信片里要写清楚以下几点：（1）你去了哪里，什么时候去的（用"了"说明这是一次具体的旅行）；（2）举一个具体例子说明你在那里做了什么（比如参观了什么名胜古迹）；（3）说说这次旅行给你留下了什么印象，并说明理由。请用中文（汉字）书写，约80-90字，注意明信片的语气比较随意，不需要很长的问候语。（8分）
你们学校的校刊正在征稿，主题是「在国内度假还是出国旅游，哪一个更好？」有人认为在国内度假更方便、更省钱，也有人认为出国旅游能体验不同的文化。请写一篇文章，谈谈你的看法，并具体说明国内度假和出国旅游各有什么优点。请用中文（汉字）书写，约130-150字，注意用连接词把观点展开，不要只写"出国旅游有很多好处"而不举出具体例子。（16分）
