Reading exam skills (Paper 3) 阅读考试技巧（第三卷）

Marks are lost from unclear English, not from failing to understand the Chinese. ✗ leaving 记者 (jìzhě) untranslated or guessing; ✗ writing "topper of the class" (not acceptable English) ✓ 记者 (jìzhě) — journalist / reporter; 歌手 (gēshǒu) — singer; "the top student in the class". Build clear English equivalents for common jobs, and re-read your answer so it says one clear thing.

Precision decides these marks. ✗ "give up watching TV" when the text said 放弃不看电视 (fàngqì bú kàn diànshì — give up NOT watching TV): the dropped 不 reverses the meaning. ✗ "be confident" where a comparison needed "be MORE confident". ✗ an object (电视, TV) where an activity (看电视, watching TV) was asked. Keep every negative (不/没), comparative (更/比) and activity intact.

On multiple-response items the count is a rule. When an item says choose three, ticking two (under) or four (over) both lose marks — over-marking is penalised, so never add a fourth to "cover yourself". Choose your best three only, using ONLY the options given. Watch negatives in the text (不喜欢) that mark distractors you must NOT tick.

Read WHOSE action the question asks about. An item may ask what the father hopes to do versus what he hopes his SON will do — attach each verb to the right subject. ✗ "the father will check the passport" when it was the immigration officer who checks it. Underline the subject the question names before you answer, especially where several people appear.

An inference question wants what the text SHOWS or implies, not the literal line. ✗ restating 天气很热，不用穿毛衣 (it is hot, no need for a sweater) word for word when asked what this SHOWS ✓ "the weather there is warm" — the implication. Restating the literal statement scores nothing on a shows/implies item. Underline the question verb — say, show or imply — before you answer.

Give one clear answer per mark. Do not offer a choice with a slash: if you write A/B, only the text BEFORE the slash counts, and information in brackets ( ) is ignored — so the safe word must come first and stand alone. Never leave a Chinese word untranslated, and do not use pinyin (as a rule it is not accepted). One precise response, no alternatives.

Learners think writing more can only help, so they copy a whole sentence to be safe. On Paper 3 the opposite holds: one response per mark, and any unasked extra can CONTRADICT the text. ✗ for "How long does he read each day?" writing 他看半个小时，而且他不喜欢数学 (reads half an hour and dislikes maths) ✓ "half an hour". A full sentence is optional and risky; give exactly what is asked.