We’re just a few days away from the national listening compre exam. Many of us might be feeling the jitters, concerned about the lack of preparation for this component. Let us share some key tips to ace this listening compre exam!
Sleep Well
Ample rest the night before listening compre is very important. You’ll need the energy to focus on the listening passages and to think about the most appropriate answers. Some students might lose their train of thoughts or even doze off during the intermission due to lack of sleep. Make sure you rest your mind and sleep well to avoid unnecessary stress.
For those who struggle to fall asleep due to anxiety, try switching off your mobile devices an hour before bedtime. Take a nice shower torelax your body and mind. Do some light breathing exercises to help you calm your nerves too. These will signal your mind to let go of frustrating thoughts and rest for the night.
Listen More
Many of us lack the exposure to Chinese language in our daily lives. Hence the panic when listening compre is done fully in Mandarin. To avoid feeling lost during the listening exam, listen to some Mandarin podcasts in the days leading up to exam. You can make use of the travelling time to and fro school to do so. This allows you to be more familiar with the tone and sentence structures of Chinese language.
Here are some interesting podcasts that you can try:
Analyse with a Clear Mind
There are different components in the listening compre exam. Understand the types of passages and you’ll be able to better determine the right answers.
对话类 Conversation
- You’ll need to analsye the speaker’s intentions / purpose through the conversation. Pay attention to their tones to assess if they feel positively or negatively towards the topic discussed.
- You’ll also need to determine what might be the next line of conversation. Find out the speaker’s motive / stand towards the discussion by listening to what they emphasize on. They usually sound more agitated or excited when conveying their motive / stand.
语段类 Short Passages
- This component usually features 广告 (advertisements) or 新闻 (news). You’ll usually need to determine their 主要内容 or 目的. For advertisements, their main goal is to attract customers to buy their product. So you’ll need to select the option that shows that goal. For news, they’ll need to let readers know about the key incident that happened. So select the option that tells you what went on in the article (谁？做了什么？).
理解篇章 Passages
- The skills needed to complete this segment is very similar to paper 2’s MCQ. Identify the keyword (key noun) in each option before the start of the passages. This will help you to narrow down the choices while listening to the passage.
- While listening to the passage, circle the option that’s most appropriate. Shade your answer afterwards to avoid wasting time erasing any answers.
- The main purpose of a passage is to convey the learning point, which follows the structure of 谁+做什么+好处. For questions asking about the theme 主题, pick the option which most accurately tells you the learning point.
Check Thoroughly
Stay Confident
While it’s important to check your answers, remember to remain confident of yourself. If you’ve analysed properly and thought things through, don’t doubt your decision. Some tend to regret changing their answers at the last minute.
All in all, have faith in yourself and give your best at the listening compre exam. 大家加油!
