English in Daily Life Test-taking Techniques By Feng Xue BeiwaiOnline.

English in Daily Life

Test-taking Techniques

By Feng Xue

BeiwaiOnline

• Structure and Strategies ( 各部分应试策略 )

– Written test

– Oral test

• Special exam items and their exam techniques

( 难点题型以及答题要领 )

• Marking criteria ( 评分标准 , 得分点 )

Contents

Exam Structure & Strategies

Structure & Strategies ( 各部分应试策略 )

– Written Session （笔试听力）

Section 1 Section II Section III

Skill Listening Reading Writing

Score 40 40 20

Time 30 min + 10 min 60 min 30 min

ContentThree listening texts: • short conversation• extended conversation • monologue

(Played twice)

Three reading tasks:

• practical reading (150 ＊５ )

• reading comprehension (450*1 + 650*1)

Description or narration • appr. 150 words • structured • theme-based

Written TestWritten Test + Oral Test+ Oral Test

Strategies for Listening （听力策略）

• Pre-read to predict the main content.• Grab general ideas in the first listen, and more details in the

second.• Listen for key words.• Don’t waste time thinking about one or two words you missed.• Be aware of paraphrase ( 换一种说法 ).

– For example, “11am” can be paraphrased as “late in the morning” .

• Write beginning letters instead of whole word when hearing long words. Add letters during pauses.

• Be alert to tense, capitalization and parts of speech ( 时态、大小写和词性 ).


– Written Session （笔试阅读）



Score 40 40 20


Content

Three listening texts: • short conversation

• extended conversation • monologue

(Played twice)


• practical reading

(150 ＊５ )• reading comprehension (450*1 + 650*1)

Description or narration • appr. 150 words • structured • theme-based


Strategies for Listening （阅读策略）

• First scan – for main idea; then skim – for answers.• Don’t be put off by new words. They are always there. • Try to guess the meaning of some new words, and

ignore the rest. • It is useless to worry about the words you think you

missed when the tape is running.• Recognize paraphrase.


– Written Session （笔试写作）



Score 40 40 20


ContentThree listening texts: • short conversation• extended conversation • monologue

(Played twice)


• practical reading

(150 ＊５ )• reading comprehension

(450*1 + 650*1)

Description or narration • appr. 150 words • theme-based• structured


Strategies for Listening （听力策略）

DO’s• Plan your time wisely.• Plan your structure nicely.• Read the instruction and

underline key words.• Keep your role and your

reader in mind when setting off to write.

• Write according to English conventions.

• Proofread after writing.

DON’Ts• Don’t spend too much time or too

many words on opening, leaving no space for body and end.

• Don’t write on your own will.• Don’t write to nobody or to the

examiner only.• Don’t transfer Chinese

punctuations in English writing.• Don’t let simple errors affect your

score.


– Oral Session （会话口试）

Pre-test Section 1 Section II

SkillSkill (Info. processing) Conversation Conversation

ScoreScore NA 50 50

TimeTime 10 min 5 min 5 min

ContentContent Look at the topics and think alonethink alone.

AA asks initiates and BB responds.

BB asks initiates and AA responds.

Written Test +Written Test + Oral TestOral Test

Profile of a Good Speaker （口试要求）

• 95:

Demonstrates an extremely high level of oral

English fluency rarely achieved by others.

Excellent conversational skills, sentence

structure, grammar and vocabulary. Able to

argue and make points very clearly with only

rare errors. Excellent pronunciation.

Strategies for Oral Test( 口试注意事项 )

• No reading from the test paper or your notes

• Appropriate body language (gesture, eye contact, facial expressions)

• No silent waiting.

– If you can’t quite understand your partner, ask your partner to repeat or rephrase.

– If your partner gets stuck, say something to keep the conversation going or to invite your partner’s responses.

• Don’t overdo your role, leaving no chance to your partner.

• No enquiry about your performance.

End of Exam Structure and Strategies

Special Items and Their Techniques

( 特殊题型及其答题要领 )

a. Blank-filling

b. Short answer questions

Special Items and Their Techniques –1

All the following details are decisive All the following details are decisive for a point to be given or reduced: for a point to be given or reduced:– spellingspelling– word formword form– word numberword number– capitalization capitalization (( 大小写大小写 ))

Blank-fillingBlank-filling

Special Items and Their Techniques (1)

“As foot specialists will tell you, shoes can be dangerous to your feet. The thinner and higher the heel, the greater the risk of foot and back problems. Standing in high heels inevitably hurts after an hour on foot. This results in aches and pains.”

Short answer questions:

Question 49. What are the harms high heels can do to people?Question 49. What are the harms high heels can do to people?

You find the following sentences relevant in the text:You find the following sentences relevant in the text:


“As foot specialists will tell you, shoes can be dangerous to your feet. The thinner and higher the heel, the greater the risk of foot and back problems. Standing in high heels inevitably hurts after an hour on foot. This results in aches and pains.”


You should have found the underlined words useful:You should have found the underlined words useful:

-- foot and back problems / It hurts. / foot aches and pains

As they are all about foot problems, you can summarise them as:As they are all about foot problems, you can summarise them as:


• Let’s look at another example --



Question 50. Question 50.

Name at least two reasons why women wear high heels? Name at least two reasons why women wear high heels?

You should notice that “at least two reasons” are required You should notice that “at least two reasons” are required in your answer, so look out for a group of reasons in the in your answer, so look out for a group of reasons in the text.text.



Question 50. Name at least two reasons why women wear high heels? Question 50. Name at least two reasons why women wear high heels?

• “… So why do we do it? The traditional criticism is that women are slaves to male ideas. • “… Almost everyone is trying on the new higher heels. …• “… Feet look smaller in high heels. … And it is not just feet. High heels make a woman’s leg look longer, and everyone looks better with longer legs. …• “… It is what they do to your head, not your feet. That is what makes women walk differently and look differently in high heels. …“

With the above clue, you may easily find the following sentences relevant in the text:With the above clue, you may easily find the following sentences relevant in the text:



Question 50. Name at least two reasons why women wear high heels? Question 50. Name at least two reasons why women wear high heels?

•So why do we do it? The traditional criticism is that women are slaves to male ideas. •Almost everyone is trying on the new higher heels. •Feet look smaller in high heels. … And it is not just feet. High heels make a woman’s leg look longer, and everyone looks better with longer legs. •It is what they do to your head, not your feet. That is what makes women walk differently and look differently in high heels.

Then let’s find the key words in these ideas:Then let’s find the key words in these ideas:


• slaves to male ideas / influence of men’s ideas; intention to please men; • social trend / fashion;• looking better – smaller feet, longer legs;• make women think differently, so they walk differently and look differently


So why do we do it? The traditional criticism is that women are slaves to male ideas. Almost everyone is trying on the new higher heels. Feet look smaller in high heels. … And it is not just feet. High heels make a woman’s leg look longer, and everyone looks better with longer legs. It is what they do to your head, not your feet. That is what makes women walk differently and look differently in high heels.

Now you can paraphrase the words as (any two of the following): Now you can paraphrase the words as (any two of the following):

Summary of Short Answer Questions ( 简答题答题要领总结 )

• Step One: Identifying key words

• Step Two: Check Understanding

• Step Three: Paraphrasing & summarising

End of Special Item Analysis

Writing and Speaking Criteria

写作及口语评分标准

Writing Criteria ( 写作评分标准 )项项目目

分数分数(20)(20)

标准标准

内内容容

8 分文章切题，内容充实，思维新颖，见解独到。篇幅适当，行文流畅，有很强的可读性趣味性。

6 分文章切题，但新意不足，结构较清晰，篇幅适当，有一定的可读性和趣味性。

4 分文章大致切题但缺乏新意。篇幅不够 / 过长或篇章结构较差，可读性和趣味性较差。

2 分文章离题较远、结构紊乱，或大部分重要信息缺失。篇幅不够 / 过长。

语语言言

10 分用词巧妙，辞藻丰富，表达手法灵活，写作技巧娴熟，明显超出普通水平。语法结构严谨。

8 分用词准确，能运用多种表达手法，偶有选词错误。语法结构一般但不影响理解。

5 分用词很差，表达手法单一。文中使用汉语词汇或拼音，错词很多，语法结构较混乱。

3 分用词很差，表达手法单一。文中使用汉语词汇或拼音，错词很多，语法结构较混乱。

书书写写

2 分拼写及标点符号使用偶有错误。书写整洁，易于认读。

1 分拼写及标点符号使用有较多的错误，影响认读。书写基本工整。

0 分拼写及标点符号错误极多，字迹潦草，全篇认读困难。

规定使用的词汇少于 8 个每个扣 0.5 分；规定词汇使用错误每个扣 0.5 分。

Speaking Criteria ( 口语评分标准 )

• 95:

• Demonstrates an extremely high level of Oral English fluency rarely achieved by others. Excellent conversational skills, sentence structure, grammar and vocabulary. Able to argue and make points very clearly with only rare errors. Excellent pronunciation.

• 85:

• Demonstrates a quite high level of Oral English skills. Fairly good sentence structure, very small grammar and vocabulary problems. Adequate conversation skills, no requirement for partner to repeat questions or ask student for explanation, but a few pronunciation errors cause the listener to concentrate.

• …

• 20:

• Has almost no oral English skills at all and uses Chinese constantly. Little vocabulary. Very poor pronunciation.

To get a high score

• you need to aim high• You need to pay attention to the

highlighted points above.

The End

Wish you success!

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English in Daily Life Test-taking Techniques By Feng Xue BeiwaiOnline.

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