Green actions: 应该 + verb, 为了 at the front
Say what people should do with the modal 应该 (yīnggāi — should) + verb: 我们应该节约用水、用电。(Wǒmen yīnggāi jiéyuē yòng shuǐ, yòng diàn.) — We should save water and electricity. Give a purpose with 为了 (wèile — in order to) at the FRONT, not the end like English: 为了保护环境，我每天骑自行车上学。(Wèile bǎohù huánjìng, wǒ měitiān qí zìxíngchē shàngxué.) — To protect the environment, I cycle to school. Green actions: 垃圾分类, 回收, 少用塑料袋, 坐公共交通, 种树.
Env problems: 越来越 + adjective (no 很)
Name the problem, then say it is getting worse with 越来越 (yuè lái yuè — more and more) directly before an adjective: 空气污染越来越严重。(Kōngqì wūrǎn yuè lái yuè yánzhòng.) — Air pollution is getting more and more serious. 越来越 already carries increasing degree, so NEVER add 很: 越来越很严重 ✗. To rate a problem: 我觉得最严重的问题是……. Problem words: 空气污染 (air pollution), 垃圾太多 (too much rubbish), 气候变化 (climate change), 缺水 (water shortage).
Natural resources + 把 (put into the bin)
Natural resources (自然资源 zìrán zīyuán) — 水资源 (water), 能源 (energy), 太阳能 (solar) — are limited, so we must not waste them: 我们不能浪费水和能源。(Wǒmen bù néng làngfèi shuǐ hé néngyuán.) — We must not waste water and energy. To describe recycling, a 把 sentence moves a definite object to a result: 我把塑料瓶放进回收箱。(Wǒ bǎ sùliào píng fàng jìn huíshōu xiāng.) A 把 sentence needs a result or direction after the verb (放进), never a bare verb.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Wrong measure word (棵 for trees)
Chinese has no plural ending, so number + correct 量词 + noun is the only way to show quantity, and the wrong measure word is a stock error. ✗ 三个树 ✓ 三棵树 (sān kē shù — three trees). 树 takes 棵 (kē). Learn each measure word with its noun — a tree 棵, a match 场, a company 家 — and never default to 个.
越来越 and 很 cannot be combined
越来越 (yuè lái yuè) means increasingly / more and more — it already expresses a CHANGE in degree over time, so it can never take the plain degree adverb 很. ✗ 空气越来越很脏 ✓ 空气越来越脏。(Kōngqì yuè lái yuè zāng.) The same holds in a 比 comparison — never 很 there either: 今天比昨天冷, not 今天比昨天很冷. Use 很 only for a plain degree with no comparison and no 越来越: 空气很脏.
Global issues where the task asks LOCAL
Answer only the facet asked — your LOCAL environment or global issues. ✗ writing about 全球变暖 when the task says the environment where YOU live ✓ 在我住的城市，最大的环境问题是空气污染和垃圾太多。(Zài wǒ zhù de chéngshì, zuì dà de huánjìng wèntí shì kōngqì wūrǎn hé lājī tài duō.) For a local task use 在我住的城市 with concrete detail; save 全球变暖 for a global task.
Missing key words (自然资源, 回收箱)
Theme-5 cards need a few exact terms plus opinion vocabulary. ✗ going silent because you cannot say recycling bin or natural resources ✓ learn the anchors: 自然资源 (zìrán zīyuán — natural resources), 回收箱 (huíshōu xiāng — recycling bin), 垃圾分类 (rubbish sorting), 保护环境 (protect the environment), then attach 我觉得保护环境很重要，因为……. A missing noun should not sink the answer.
Future greener actions answered in present
When a task asks what you WILL do in future to be greener, answer in the future, not the present. ✗ 我每天关灯 (a present habit) when the bullet asks what you WILL do next year ✓ 以后我打算参加更多环保活动，也会少买一次性的东西。(Yǐhòu wǒ dǎsuàn cānjiā gèng duō huánbǎo huódòng, yě huì shǎo mǎi yícìxìng de dōngxi.) Signal the future with 以后 / 将来 / 打算 / 会.
把 sentence needs a result after the verb
A 把 sentence fronts a DEFINITE object and moves it to a result, so it needs a result or direction after the verb — never a bare verb. ✗ 我把塑料瓶回收 (bare verb) ✓ 我把塑料瓶放进回收箱。(Wǒ bǎ sùliào píng fàng jìn huíshōu xiāng.) — I put the plastic bottle in the recycling bin. The complement 放进 (put into) is what makes 把 work; without it the sentence is incomplete.
List actions, not feelings, for what to do
When a task asks WHAT people should do to be greener, list concrete ACTIONS, not feelings. ✗ 我很喜欢环保，觉得很重要 (I like the environment, think it matters) when asked what you DO ✓ name actions with 应该 / 会: 我们应该垃圾分类、多回收、节约用水，也可以坐公共交通。Give specific, concrete actions, and if the task wants your local area, concrete local detail — not a vague 环境不好.
Keep the future in the future
If a bullet asks what you WILL do to help the environment, use 以后 / 将来 / 打算 / 会 — do not answer a future question with a present habit (我每天关灯). Keep present habits in the present (我平时……) and future plans in the future (以后我打算……), so the examiner sees you control the time frame.
Four-step routine for an environment task
For an environment writing or speaking task: CHECK the focus — LOCAL (在我住的城市) or GLOBAL (全球) — and answer only that; NAME and rate the problem (……越来越严重, no 很); SAY what people can do with 应该 and 为了; give an OPINION and cover the time frame (present 我平时……, future 以后/打算/会).
Check LOCAL vs GLOBAL focus first
Before writing, decide the scope: does the task want the environment where YOU live, or the whole world? A local task needs 在我住的城市 and concrete detail (垃圾太多, 随手扔垃圾); a global task needs 全球变暖 and world issues. Answering the wrong scope wastes an otherwise good answer.
Learn anchor nouns and add an opinion
Theme-5 cards reward exact vocabulary plus opinion. Learn the anchors — 自然资源, 回收箱, 垃圾分类, 保护环境 — and never answer with one word. After naming a problem or action, add 我觉得……很重要，因为…… so every point carries an opinion and a reason.
This topic (Theme T5: International & Global Dimension, T5.2) covers being green and access to natural resources: naming local and global environmental problems (pollution, rubbish, climate change), saying what individuals can do to help, and talking about natural resources such as water and energy. It is central to the Paper 2 Speaking picture-based task and conversation and to Paper 4 functional and extended Writing, and appears in listening and reading too. At Higher tier you must give and justify opinions with connectives and cover past, present and future time frames.
Problems 环境问题 (huánjìng wèntí)
| 汉字 | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 环境 | huánjìng | environment |
| 污染 | wūrǎn | pollution |
| 空气污染 | kōngqì wūrǎn | air pollution |
| 垃圾 | lājī | rubbish, litter |
| 气候变化 | qìhòu biànhuà | climate change |
| 全球变暖 | quánqiú biànnuǎn | global warming |
| 浪费 | làngfèi | to waste |
| 严重 | yánzhòng | serious |
| 缺水 | quēshuǐ | water shortage |
| 森林 | sēnlín | forest |
Being green 环保行动 (huánbǎo xíngdòng)
| 汉字 | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 环保 | huánbǎo | environmental protection |
| 保护环境 | bǎohù huánjìng | to protect the environment |
| 垃圾分类 | lājī fēnlèi | to sort rubbish |
| 回收 | huíshōu | to recycle |
| 回收箱 | huíshōu xiāng | recycling bin |
| 节约用水 | jiéyuē yòng shuǐ | to save water |
| 塑料袋 | sùliàodài | plastic bag |
| 一次性 | yícìxìng | single-use, disposable |
| 骑自行车 | qí zìxíngchē | to cycle |
| 公共交通 | gōnggòng jiāotōng | public transport |
| 种树 | zhòng shù | to plant trees |
Natural resources 自然资源 (zìrán zīyuán)
| 汉字 | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 自然资源 | zìrán zīyuán | natural resources |
| 资源 | zīyuán | resources |
| 能源 | néngyuán | energy |
| 水资源 | shuǐ zīyuán | water resources |
| 太阳能 | tàiyángnéng | solar energy |
| 节能 | jiénéng | to save energy |
| 减少 | jiǎnshǎo | to reduce |
| 应该 | yīnggāi | should |
environmental protection / to protect the environment -- say it in Chinese with pinyin and use it in a short sentence
用中文写出四个和"环保"有关的词或短语（例如"回收"），并标出拼音。
Level-of-response questions with model answers and mark scheme rubrics.
请写一写你住的地方的环境。内容包括：（1）你住的地方有什么环境问题；（2）你平时做一件什么小事来保护环境；（3）你觉得保护环境重要不重要。请用中文（汉字）书写，约20-30字，可以写得简单一些。（12分）
你们学校的中文网站要发表学生的文章。请从下面两个题目中选一个来写（只写一个）：
题目一： 写一写你住的地方的环境问题，以及你自己做什么来保护环境。你以前做过什么？以后你打算做什么？
题目二： 写一写上个周末你参加的一个环保活动。你做了什么？你觉得怎么样？以后你还想不想参加？
请用中文（汉字）书写，约80-110字，语气自然，用连接词把内容连起来，可以谈过去、现在和以后。（20分）
这是一道口语看图说话题（Paper 2 Picture-based task）。请看下面这张照片，先描述照片，再回答五个问题。
照片： 在一个公园里，一群中学生正在做环保活动——有的学生在把垃圾分类、放进回收箱，有的学生在种小树，天气很好，大家看起来很开心。
请用中文完成下面的任务：
请用完整的句子回答，多用连接词和理由。（约24分）
