文化活动: film, television, music and reading

Translate into English. 第六代导演和第五代很不一样. 他们的作品题材更小, 常常拍普通人的日常生活, 有的甚至用非专业演员. 与其说他们在讲故事, 不如说他们在记录. 这样的电影票房往往不高, 可是在国外的电影节上却经常得奖. 正是因为它们不追求商业效果, 才保留了一种别的片子没有的真实感.

1. 01第六代导演和第五代很不一样

   和…不一样 is the comparison-of-difference frame; 很 modifies 不一样 as a whole. Note that 第五代 stands alone with the head noun 导演 understood - Chinese ellipsis of a repeated head is normal and English must usually restore it: the Sixth Generation directors are very different from the Fifth.

2. 02他们的作品题材更小, 常常拍普通人的日常生活, 有的甚至用非专业演员

   题材 is subject matter and 更小 is a bare comparative whose standard is the previous sentence - smaller in subject matter. 拍 is the verb for shooting a film and takes the subject as its object. 有的 means some of them, an indefinite partitive pronoun. 甚至 (even) is an adverb of emphasis from the Appendix 3 list and precedes the verb. 非专业演员 is non-professional actors.

3. 03与其说他们在讲故事, 不如说他们在记录

   与其说 A 不如说 B is the comparative-preference frame: rather than saying A, it is better to say B. Both 在 markers are progressive - are telling, are recording. English will usually invert to it is less that they tell stories than that they record, or keep the Chinese order with rather than saying they tell stories, one might better say they record.

4. 04这样的电影票房往往不高, 可是在国外的电影节上却经常得奖

   这样的 is such, a demonstrative attributive. 票房 is box office and 不高 rather than 很低 is idiomatic. 往往 (as a rule, more often than not) is a frequency adverb and precedes the verb. 在…上 brackets the location; 却 is the contrastive adverb, pre-verbal, and must not be translated as a sentence-initial however without moving it in the English. 得奖 is to win an award, a verb-object compound.

5. 05正是因为它们不追求商业效果, 才保留了一种别的片子没有的真实感

   正是因为…才… is the emphatic causal frame: it is precisely because X that Y. 追求 is to pursue or seek after; 商业效果 commercial effect. 一种别的片子没有的真实感 is a stacked attributive - a kind of authenticity that other films do not have - built by nominalising a whole relative clause with 的. 真实感 is a sense of authenticity; the suffix 感 makes an abstract noun of feeling.

6. 06Where the marks are

   Three of this passage's five sentences turn on a paired structure - 和…不一样, 与其说…不如说…, 正是因为…才… - and one on the placement of 却. That is where Section C distributes its marks. A candidate who translates 却 as however and puts it at the head of the English clause has still earned the mark; one who omits it entirely has not, because the contrast between low box office and international prizes is the sentence's whole content.

Result: The Sixth Generation directors are very different from the Fifth. Their subject matter is smaller in scale: they often film the everyday lives of ordinary people, and some of them even use non-professional actors. Rather than saying that they tell stories, one might better say that they record. Films of this kind usually do not do well at the box office, yet they frequently win awards at festivals abroad. It is precisely because they do not chase commercial effect that they retain a sense of authenticity other films lack.

Write roughly 130 characters answering 弹幕为什么这么受欢迎? - why is danmu so popular? The passage must explain the practice, offer two attributed explanations and reach a judgement.

1. 01Define before you argue

   弹幕是观众发的评论, 会直接从画面上飘过去. Define in one sentence, because half your marks here depend on the examiner being sure you know what you are talking about. 发 is the verb for posting a comment. 飘过去 is verb plus directional complement - float across and away - and it is the vivid, correct verb for the motion.

2. 02First explanation, attributed

   有人认为它受欢迎是因为看视频本来是一个人的事, 而弹幕让人觉得不孤单. 本来 (originally, by nature) sets up the contrast; 而 carries it. 让人觉得 is the causative plus a perception verb: makes people feel. 不孤单 rather than 有朋友 keeps the claim modest and therefore defensible.

3. 03Second explanation, different in kind

   也有人指出, 弹幕本身已经变成了内容的一部分: 有的观众是为了看评论才看视频的. Note that this is not a variant of the first explanation but a different sort of claim - about content rather than about feeling - which is what makes the pair worth setting out. 是…的 is the emphatic frame: it is in order to read the comments that they watch.

4. 04Judge with a comparative frame

   在我看来, 弹幕与其说是评论, 不如说是一种一起看的方式. 与其说…不如说… states what the thing really is, which is a stronger move than saying whether you like it. 一起看的方式 - a way of watching together - is a compact nominalisation and the claim the whole paragraph exists to make.

5. 05Close by connecting outward

   这也解释了为什么很多年轻人一边看剧一边和网友聊天. 解释了为什么… is the connective that shows your judgement doing work: it explains something else. 网友 (online friends, fellow users) is the right noun. Ending on a consequence rather than a restatement is a habit worth building; examiners notice it.

6. 06Why this counts as argument

   The paragraph defines, attributes twice, distinguishes two kinds of explanation, judges with a frame and then makes the judgement explain something further. It is about 130 characters and contains 本来…而…, 让人觉得, 是…的, 与其说…不如说… and 一边…一边…. Neither the definition nor the judgement required a statistic, and neither could be dislodged by a follow-up question.

Result: 弹幕是观众发的评论, 会直接从画面上飘过去. 有人认为它受欢迎是因为看视频本来是一个人的事, 而弹幕让人觉得不孤单. 也有人指出, 弹幕本身已经变成了内容的一部分: 有的观众是为了看评论才看视频的. 在我看来, 弹幕与其说是评论, 不如说是一种一起看的方式. 这也解释了为什么很多年轻人一边看剧一边和网友聊天.

Translate into Chinese. Many young people say they have never watched a whole Peking opera, but they will happily listen to a pop song that uses a guzheng. Some critics argue that this is not genuine preservation of tradition; others reply that any contact is better than none.

1. 01Many young people say they have never watched a whole Peking opera

   很多年轻人说, 他们从来没有看过一整部京剧. 从来没有…过 is the standard never-have frame: 从来 precedes, 过 marks past experience and is the aspect marker the Appendix 3 list names. 一整部 needs the measure word 部, used for films, plays and substantial works; 整 (whole) sits between the numeral and the measure word. A comma after 说 is normal Chinese punctuation for reported speech and there are no quotation marks.

2. 02but they will happily listen to a pop song that uses a guzheng

   但是很愿意听一首用了古筝的流行歌曲. 愿意 (be willing to) renders happily better than 高兴地 here. 一首 is the measure word for songs and poems. The English relative clause that uses a guzheng must become a pre-nominal attributive: 用了古筝的. Note that 了 stays inside the attributive; it marks the fact that the song has used the instrument, not a past tense.

3. 03Some critics argue that this is not genuine preservation of tradition

   有些评论者认为, 这并不是真正在保护传统. 有些 plus 评论者 attributes. 并不是 is emphatic negation - is not at all. 真正 (genuinely) is an adverb here and precedes 在保护. Rendering the English noun preservation as the Chinese verb phrase 在保护传统 is the right instinct: Chinese prefers a verb where English nominalises, and a candidate who writes 真正的保护 will produce something stiffer but not wrong.

4. 04others reply that any contact is better than none

   也有人反驳说, 有一点接触也比完全没有好. 反驳 is to rebut, a precise verb worth a mark. The comparison is 比 plus the standard plus the adjective: 比完全没有好, better than having none at all. 也 before 比 covers English any…at all. Note the word order: the standard of comparison comes before the adjective, which is the reverse of English.

5. 05Where the points-based marks sit

   The marks cluster on 从来没有…过, the measure words 部 and 首, the pre-nominal attributive 用了古筝的, 并不是 as emphatic negation, and the 比 comparison with the adjective last. Four of the five are structural. Section A's points-based scheme is unusually kind to a candidate who has drilled structures, because each correct structure is a separately awardable section of language.

Result: 很多年轻人说, 他们从来没有看过一整部京剧, 但是很愿意听一首用了古筝的流行歌曲. 有些评论者认为, 这并不是真正在保护传统; 也有人反驳说, 有一点接触也比完全没有好.

Passage: 网络文学是中国出版业里很特别的一部分. 作者一般每天更新一到两章, 读者按章节付费, 还可以在下面留言. 因为收入和长度有关, 所以很多作品非常长, 有的超过几百万字. 一位编辑指出, 这种模式的好处是作者能很快知道读者喜欢什么; 问题是, 为了留住读者, 情节常常拖得太长. 近年来, 不少网络小说被改编成电视剧和游戏, 这也让作者的收入来源变得更多. Questions: (a) How are web-literature authors paid? [1] (b) According to the editor, what is one advantage and one problem of this model? [2] (c) Explain why many web novels are extremely long. [3]

1. 01Read the questions before the passage

   Three questions, six marks, and each one names its interrogative: how, what advantage and problem, why. Underline 按章节, 编辑 and 因为 as you read, because those three are where the answers live. Reading the questions first turns a passage into a search rather than a translation, and it is the single biggest time saving available in Section B.

2. 02(a) One mark, one fact, no elaboration

   读者按章节付费 - readers pay by the chapter. 按 is the coverb meaning according to or on the basis of, from the Appendix 3 preposition list. Answer: They are paid by the chapter, by readers. Do not add the daily update or the adaptation income; the question asked how they are paid, and the extra material costs time and can introduce an error.

3. 03(b) Two marks, and the attribution is load-bearing

   一位编辑指出 signals that both halves belong to the editor. 好处是…问题是… gives them to you in parallel. Advantage: authors quickly learn what readers like. Problem: to keep readers, plots are often dragged out too long. 拖 is to drag and 拖得太长 is verb plus degree complement with 得, so the length is a result rather than an intention - keep that nuance in the English.

4. 04(c) Three marks: the causal chain has three links

   因为收入和长度有关, 所以很多作品非常长 gives you two links: income is tied to length, therefore works are long. The editor's remark supplies the third: plots are extended to retain readers. Three links, three marks. Answer: because the authors' income is linked to length, so a longer work earns more; because readers pay per chapter as they go; and because plots are deliberately drawn out to keep readers reading.

5. 05Check against the interrogative, not the text

   Re-read (c) and ask: have I explained WHY, or have I described what? A common near-miss here is an answer that says web novels are long and are serialised - which is a description of the phenomenon, not its cause. The word 因为 in the passage is the marker; if your answer does not contain a because, you have not answered a why question.

6. 06What was actually assessed

   Comprehension of 按…付费, of the parallel 好处是…问题是…, of the 因为…所以… chain and of the resultative 拖得太长 - plus English precise enough to keep drawn out rather than flattening it to long. No Chinese was written. That is Section B: read a lot of Chinese, answer in short exact English, and always match the interrogative.

Result: (a) They are paid by their readers on a per-chapter basis. (b) The editor says the advantage is that authors find out very quickly what readers like; the problem is that, in order to retain readers, plots are frequently drawn out for too long. (c) Because an author's income is tied to the length of the work, so a longer novel earns more; because readers pay chapter by chapter as the story is serialised; and because plots are deliberately extended in order to keep readers coming back.

Here is a paragraph that says everything it needs to and would score in the middle of the AO3 range grid. Rewrite it so the same content is carried by Appendix 3 structures, and audit the result.

1. 01The flat original

   网络文学很受欢迎. 它很长, 因为作者按章节收费. 有人说它不是文学, 因为写得不好. 但是很多人喜欢看. 我觉得它也是文学. Everything here is accurate and comprehensible. It uses 因为 twice, 但是 once, and nothing else. That is roughly two distinct items of range in 60 characters, and the accuracy grid will reward it while the range grid will not.

2. 02Job one - state the phenomenon with emphasis, not with 很

   网络文学之所以这么受欢迎, 并不只是因为它便宜. 之所以…是因为… inverts the causal order so the phenomenon leads, which reads far more like written Chinese. 并不只是 combines emphatic negation with restriction and immediately promises the reader a second reason. Two distinct Appendix 3 items in one sentence, both doing a job.

3. 03Job two - explain the mechanism with a causal chain

   由于作者按章节收费, 作品的长度就和收入直接相关, 因此很多小说动辄几百万字. 由于 is the formal 因为 and belongs at the head. 就 links the consequence. 因此 concludes the chain. 动辄 (readily, at the drop of a hat) is an adverb worth having for exactly this sort of quantity claim, and it avoids committing you to a number.

4. 04Job three - concede, properly

   尽管有人批评这些作品写得不够精练, 读者的数量仍然在增长. 尽管…仍然… is the concessive pair; 写得不够精练 is a degree complement with 得 plus the negative 不够. Conceding with a structure rather than with 但是 is the single clearest signal to the range grid that you are in control.

5. 05Job four - judge, conditionally

   在我看来, 只要一部作品能让读者思考, 它就是文学; 至于形式是印在纸上还是发在网上, 并不重要. 只要…就… is the condition. 至于 (as for) introduces a shift of topic, a genuinely written-register connective. 是…还是… is the alternative question used as a nominal. 并不重要 closes with emphatic negation.

6. 06Why this counts as argument

   Audit: 之所以…是因为…, 并不只是, 由于, 就, 因此, 动辄, 尽管…仍然…, 得 complement, 不够, 只要…就…, 至于, 是…还是…, 并不 - thirteen distinct Appendix 3 items in about 130 characters, and every one of them attached to a job the paragraph actually needed. The content did not change. Only the structures did, and with them the range grid.

Result: 网络文学之所以这么受欢迎, 并不只是因为它便宜. 由于作者按章节收费, 作品的长度就和收入直接相关, 因此很多小说动辄几百万字. 尽管有人批评这些作品写得不够精练, 读者的数量仍然在增长. 在我看来, 只要一部作品能让读者思考, 它就是文学; 至于形式是印在纸上还是发在网上, 并不重要.