Topics · Primary Chinese · Comprehension (阅读理解)
阅读理解: finding the answer in the passage
The answer to a comprehension question is nearly always in the passage. The skill being tested is finding it, not remembering it — and knowing which question word tells you what shape of answer to look for.
- 429 exam papers analysed
- appears in 99% of P4 Chinese papers
- ~3 min read
01 Read the questions first
Reading the passage cold means reading it twice. Read the questions first, then read the passage knowing what you are hunting for.
As you read, mark where each answer is — a number in the margin next to the line. When you come to write, you go straight back to that line instead of searching again.
Chinese passages at P5 and P6 are long enough that searching twice costs real time, and time is what most pupils run out of on this paper.
02 The question word decides the answer
Each question word asks for a different shape of answer. Getting the shape wrong loses the mark even when you understood the passage.
| Question word | Asks for | Look for |
|---|---|---|
| 谁 | a person | a name, 他/她, a role like 老师 |
| 什么时候 | a time | 早上, 星期天, 三点 |
| 在哪里 | a place | 在… , 学校, 家里 |
| 为什么 | a reason | 因为…, 为了… |
| 怎么样 | a manner or a state | how it was done, or how it felt |
| 你认为 | your own view | an opinion, plus a reason from the passage |
03 Answer in a full sentence, using the passage's words
Use the words the passage used. Rewriting the idea in your own characters risks changing it, and risks a character you cannot write.
Turn the question into the answer. 他为什么每天跑步？ → 他每天跑步是因为… The question hands you most of the sentence.
Answer in a complete sentence unless the question asks for one word. A bare 因为想参加运动会 usually scores less than the full sentence.
One question, one answer. If the question asks for two reasons, give two, and number them.
04 The question that is not in the passage
One or two questions each paper start 你认为… or 从这个故事中，你学到什么？ These have no line to copy.
Give the opinion, then the evidence. 我认为小明很努力，因为他每天六点起床跑步。 The 因为 half is where the mark is — an opinion with nothing from the passage behind it scores little.
Stay inside the story. The evidence has to come from the passage, not from your own life.
Keep it short. Two sentences is usually enough, and a long answer in shaky Chinese loses more than it gains.
05 How to say them
These are words most children have never said out loud, and a word you cannot say is a word you avoid using. The respelling is Hanyu Pinyin, with the tone marked over the vowel. Tap the speaker to hear it.
- 阅读理解sayyuè dú lǐ jiě
Comprehension. Reading a passage and answering questions on it.
- 短文sayduǎn wén
The passage — literally a short piece of writing.
- 为什么saywèi shén me
Why. The answer is a reason, usually a sentence containing 因为 or 为了.
- 因为sayyīn wèi
Because. The word that marks a reason in the passage, and the word your answer should use.
- 所以saysuǒ yǐ
So, therefore. It marks the result rather than the reason — the other half of a 因为 sentence.
- 认为sayrèn wéi
To think, to be of the opinion. 你认为 asks for your own view plus a reason.
06 What each level is tested on
The same topic, asked differently as it goes up. The percentage is the share of papers at that level in which it appears.
- P2
Short passages with 谁, 什么时候 and 在哪里 questions, answered from one line.
Practise P2 Chinese Comprehension (阅读理解) — 8 questions →95% of P2 Chinese papers
- P3
Longer passages, 为什么 questions, and answering in a full sentence.
Practise P3 Chinese Comprehension (阅读理解) — 8 questions → Practise P3 Higher Chinese Comprehension (阅读理解) — 8 questions →91% of P3 Chinese papers
88% of P3 Higher Chinese papers
- P4
Two passages a paper, and questions whose answer is spread over more than one line.
Practise P4 Chinese Comprehension (阅读理解) — 10 questions → Practise P4 Higher Chinese Comprehension (阅读理解) — 10 questions →99% of P4 Chinese papers
95% of P4 Higher Chinese papers
- P5
Inference and 你认为 questions, where the answer is not written down but has to be supported from the passage.
Practise P5 Chinese Comprehension (阅读理解) — 10 questions →97% of P5 Chinese papers
- P6
Long passages with multi-part questions, and answers judged on precision as well as content.
Practise P6 Chinese Comprehension (阅读理解) — 10 questions →97% of P6 Chinese papers
07 Mistakes worth knowing about
Each of these is wrong. Decide why before you open it.
“I read the passage first, then the questions.”
That means reading it twice. Read the questions first and the passage answers them as you go.
“I wrote the answer in my own words to show I understood.”
Use the passage's words. Rewriting risks changing the meaning, and risks a character you cannot write correctly.
“为什么…? 因为运动会。”
Not a sentence. Turn the question round: 他每天跑步是因为他想参加学校的运动会。
“你认为…? 我认为他很好。”
Half an answer. The mark is in the 因为 that follows — the evidence from the passage.
“The question asked 在哪里 and I gave a time.”
Match the question word. 在哪里 wants a place; 什么时候 wants a time.
Now try it
46 questions across 5 levels, marked as you go with the working shown.