EuraStudy
This topic carries the whole of Edexcel Theme 1, 当代华人社会变迁 (traditional 當代華人社會變遷), across both of its sub-themes: 家庭, exemplified as 家庭结构和代沟 and 家庭计划和人口老龄化, and 教育与工作, exemplified as 学校生活和学生议题, 工作机会 and 工作和生活的平衡. Chinese has only two sub-themes per theme rather than the three its Italian and Russian sister specifications carry, so a theme is small enough to keep whole, and Theme 1 rewards being kept whole: a family that has shrunk and aged, a single child carrying the expectations of six adults, an examination that decides a university place, and a labour market that then asks for long hours are not four separate subjects but four stages of one argument. Note the script policy that runs through this whole subject and is stated here once: simplified characters are the primary teaching script, traditional forms are given alongside only for specification-quoted titles, for the Appendix 2 works and in the recognition set taught in grammar-and-translation. Pearson prints every paper twice, once in each script, and accepts either.
5 sections~40 min reading time4 competenciesLevel Standard 3 · Advanced 2
basic level
At first-year standard the expectation is accurate, well-organised description with a clear personal view: who lives in a Chinese household today, what 代沟 means and where it shows, what the examination ladder looks like, and what a young graduate hopes for from work. The language should be secure rather than ambitious - correct measure words, correct word order with time and place before the verb, 因为…所以… and 虽然…但是… used properly, and a personal opinion introduced with 我认为 or 在我看来.
higher level
The full A-Level expects argument rather than description, and comparison rather than assertion. Why has the household shrunk, and is the cause economic, legal or cultural? Does 代沟 describe a gap in values or only in technology? Is educational pressure a product of the examination system or of the number of applicants? Whose account of work-life balance is being reported - an employer's, a graduate's, a parent's? The language should reach for the Appendix 3 structures that carry argument: 随着, 不但…而且…, 只有…才…, 不论…都…, 使, and the comparative family with 比 and 没有…这么….
Reading depth: In depth
Text size: Standard
The grammar of describing change
Translate into English. 随着城市化的发展, 三代同堂的大家庭越来越少了. 很多年轻人毕业以后就去大城市工作, 一年只回家两三次, 父母慢慢成了空巢老人. 老一辈觉得孩子应该孝顺, 年轻一代却认为孝顺不等于住在一起. 这种差别不只是技术上的, 更是观念上的.
随着 plus a noun phrase means as something develops or in step with something, and it opens a clause of accompaniment rather than of cause; do not translate it as because. 城市化的发展 is a nominalisation - the development of urbanisation - and English will usually prefer a verb: as urbanisation has developed. 三代同堂的 is an attributive on 大家庭, so the whole four-character expression modifies the noun. 越来越少了 is the rising-trend pattern with sentence-final 了 marking a changed situation: have become fewer and fewer.
毕业以后 is a temporal clause: 以后 follows the event it dates, the opposite of English after. 就 here is the referential adverb of immediacy - as soon as they graduate, they go - and dropping it in translation loses the sense of a step taken directly. Note the word order: subject, then time, then place, then verb. 去大城市工作 is a serial verb construction, go to a big city to work; English needs the infinitive of purpose that Chinese does not use.
一年 is the time frame and stands before the verb. 只 restricts. 两三次 is the juxtaposition pattern from the Appendix 3 numerals list - two or three times - where two adjacent numerals mean an approximation, not a sum. 次 is the quantifier for occurrences of an event, and 回家 is a 离合词, a separable verb, which is why the frequency word can sit after it. 成了 with 了 marks a completed change of state: have gradually become.
老一辈 and 年轻一代 are the generation nouns; keep them distinct in English as the older generation and the younger generation. 却 is the contrastive referential adverb and must sit before the verb, never at the head of the clause as English however does; render it as but or whereas. 不等于 is the neat move in the sentence - is not the same as - and 住在一起 is verb plus the locative complement 在 plus 一起.
不只是…更是… escalates rather than contrasts: not merely X but rather Y. 技术上的 and 观念上的 are 的-nominalisations of a domain expression - a matter of technology, a matter of outlook - and English needs a noun to hang them on. A good rendering: this difference is not merely technological but a difference of outlook. Do not translate 观念 as concept here; it is closer to attitude or outlook.
Section C is marked for accurate rendering of individual sections of language, so the marks sit in the small decisions: 随着 as as and not because, 就 as as soon as, 两三次 as two or three, 却 as by contrast placed where English puts it, and 不只是…更是… as an escalation. Read the whole passage before writing anything - the last sentence tells you that 差别 is the theme and stops you translating 观念 as concept.
Result: As urbanisation has developed, extended households of three generations under one roof have become fewer and fewer. Many young people go to work in the big cities as soon as they graduate, returning home only two or three times a year, and their parents gradually become empty-nesters. The older generation feels that children ought to be filial; the younger generation, by contrast, holds that being filial is not the same as living together. This difference is not merely technological - it is a difference of outlook.
Typical mistakes
Active revision
用中文写一段大约 120 个字的文章, 说明中国家庭结构的变化. 至少使用 越来越, 随着 和 不再…了 各一次, 并且区分三种不同的代沟. 不要使用任何具体的百分比.
Active recall
Recall the key points — then reveal.
You are given a single fact for a Task 1 or Paper 2 paragraph: 2021 年起, 一对夫妻可以生育三个子女. Build it into an argued paragraph of roughly 120 characters rather than a sentence of report.
2021 年, 中国允许一对夫妻生育三个子女. This is the anchor and it must be flat. Resist 终于 (at last) or 只 (only), because both smuggle in an evaluation before you have argued for one. Note 一对夫妻: 对 is the measure word for a couple, and getting it right is a free AO3 mark. 生育 rather than 生 is the register the topic wants.
政府希望通过这个政策提高生育率, 减轻人口老龄化带来的压力. 通过 plus a noun means by means of and is the coverb this sentence needs; it sits before the verb. 带来的压力 is an attributive built on a verb phrase - the pressure brought by ageing - and it is a compact structure the AO3 range grid rewards. The subject is 政府, so the intention is attributed rather than floating.
但是不少专家指出, 光放开限制是不够的. 但是 opens the contrast; 不少 is the Appendix 3 plurality quantifier and is more idiomatic than 很多 in this register. 光 means merely and precedes the verb; 放开限制 is to lift restrictions. 是不够的 uses the 是…的 emphatic frame from the grammar list. Naming 专家 makes this an attributed view, not your own claim smuggled in.
他们认为, 养育孩子的成本, 特别是教育和住房, 比过去高得多. 养育 is to raise; 成本 is cost in the economic sense. 特别是 introduces the specific instances. 比过去高得多 is the comparative with 比 plus the degree complement 得多, much higher than in the past - a comparison rather than a number, which is both honest and safer.
在我看来, 政策是必要的, 但只有同时降低教育和住房的负担, 才可能真正见效. 在我看来 marks the opinion as yours. 只有…才… is the Appendix 3 pair meaning only if X, then Y, and it forces a conditional argument rather than an assertion. 见效 is to take effect. The paragraph now has a fact, an attributed intention, an attributed objection, comparative evidence and a conditional conclusion - the shape of an argument.
The paragraph is about 110 characters and contains six structures from Appendix 3: 通过, the 带来的 attributive, 不少, 是…的, 比…得多 and 只有…才…. That is what the AO3 range grid means by a range used deliberately. It also contains no invented number, and every opinion in it belongs to somebody - 政府, 专家, 我 - which is what the AO4 grid means by justified points of view.
Result: 2021 年, 中国允许一对夫妻生育三个子女. 政府希望通过这个政策提高生育率, 减轻人口老龄化带来的压力. 但是不少专家指出, 光放开限制是不够的. 他们认为, 养育孩子的成本, 特别是教育和住房, 比过去高得多. 在我看来, 政策是必要的, 但只有同时降低教育和住房的负担, 才可能真正见效.
Typical mistakes
Active revision
用中文写一段大约 140 个字的议论文, 回答: 二孩和三孩政策能不能解决人口老龄化的问题? 至少提出一个正面论点和一个反面论点, 每个论点都要说明是 谁 的看法, 最后表明自己的立场. 不要引用任何数字.
Active recall
Recall the key points — then reveal.
The mainland education ladder
The invigilator offers you Family or Education and work. You choose Education and work. The card statement reads, in Chinese and English: 学生的压力主要是考试制度造成的 - student pressure is mainly caused by the examination system. The first compulsory question is 你同意这个说法吗? Build the answer.
Notes are allowed on one side of A4 and may be referred to, but reading out prepared sentences is explicitly discouraged and the interaction mark punishes it. Write six items: 立场 (position), 两个理由 (two reasons), 一个反面 (one counter), 一个例子 (one example), 一个比较 (one comparison), 一个问题给考官 (one question for the examiner). Six words is a plan; six sentences is a script that will make you sound read.
我基本同意, 不过我认为考试制度只是原因之一. Do not begin with a history of Chinese education. 基本同意 (broadly agree) with a qualification is a stronger opening than a flat yes, because it opens the argument you are about to make. 原因之一 - one of the reasons - is the phrase that promises the examiner more is coming.
高考是一次性的, 分数决定大学, 所以学生和家长都不敢放松. A mechanism explains: the examination is a single occasion, the score decides the university, therefore neither students nor parents dare to relax. 不敢 plus a verb, dare not, is compact and idiomatic. 都 is the referential adverb of totality and must precede the verb.
但是压力也来自别的地方. 就算改革考试, 竞争还是存在, 因为好大学的名额有限. 就算…还是… is concessive - even if X, still Y - and it shows you can argue against your own position. 名额 (places, quota) is precise and 有限 (limited) is the adjective that carries the argument. This paragraph is what separates a band 7 to 9 AO4 answer from a band 4 to 6 one.
您觉得英国的情况是不是也差不多? The interaction grid is worth 6 marks and explicitly rewards eliciting points of view and checking understanding. Use 您 to the teacher-examiner. Do it once, naturally, at a joint in the conversation - not as a tic after every answer, which the grid describes as contrived.
Roughly one minute of speech, and it does five things the grids look for: it answers the statement, it explains a mechanism, it concedes, it compares with a system the candidate knows, and it hands the conversation back. Task 1 lasts six to seven minutes, so this is the opening move - the rest is developed under the examiner's follow-up questions, which is exactly what the interaction grid wants.
Result: 我基本同意, 不过我认为考试制度只是原因之一. 高考是一次性的, 分数决定大学, 所以学生和家长都不敢放松. 很多学生放学以后还要上补习班, 睡眠时间很短. 但是压力也来自别的地方. 就算改革考试, 竞争还是存在, 因为好大学的名额有限. 和英国比起来, 中国的竞争更集中在一次考试上. 您觉得英国的情况是不是也差不多?
Typical mistakes
Active revision
准备一个两分钟的口语回答: 中国学生的压力主要来自哪里? 说明教育制度的两个阶段, 解释 内卷 的意思, 并且和英国的情况做一次比较. 使用 和…比起来 和 与…不同的是 各一次.
Active recall
Recall the key points — then reveal.
Translate into Chinese. Many young graduates move to a big city because there are more job opportunities there. However, they soon discover that the cost of living is much higher than at home, and that overtime is very common. As a result, quite a few of them decide to return to a smaller city after two or three years.
很多年轻的毕业生搬到大城市去. Word order first: subject, then verb, then the directional complement. 搬到…去 is verb plus the resultative 到 plus the directional 去, and dropping 去 is a common learner omission. 年轻的毕业生 needs the 的 because 年轻 is a two-syllable adjective modifying a noun. Do not add a measure word: 很多 already quantifies and 很多个毕业生 is wrong.
因为那里的工作机会比较多. Two decisions. First, the existential: English there are becomes either 有 or, as here, a topic-comment sentence with 那里的 as an attributive - the job opportunities of that place are comparatively many. Second, 比较多 rather than 更多, because English more here is absolute rather than an explicit comparison; if you want the comparison overt you must supply the standard, 比家乡多. Chinese does not allow a dangling comparative the way English does.
可是他们很快就发现, 生活成本比家乡高得多. 可是 or 但是 opens the contrast at the head of the clause - this is one of the few connectives that may. 很快就 puts the adverb before the verb. The comparative is 比 plus the standard plus the adjective plus the degree complement: 比家乡高得多, much higher than home. Note that 得多 follows the adjective; 比家乡很高 is ungrammatical, and it is one of the most frequent errors at this level.
加班也非常普遍. 加班 is a 离合词 used here as a noun-like topic. 也 continues the list of discoveries and must precede the adverb and the verb. 非常 is the degree adverb from the Appendix 3 list. 普遍 (widespread) is the right adjective; 常见 (commonly seen) also works. Avoid 平常, which means ordinary or usually and would change the meaning.
结果, 不少人决定两三年以后回到比较小的城市去. 结果 opens the consequence. 不少人 is the Appendix 3 plurality quantifier. The time phrase 两三年以后 stands before the verb - this is the single most important word-order rule in the sentence, and putting it at the end would produce the English-order error the specification names. 两三年 is the numeral-juxtaposition approximation. 回到…去 again takes the resultative plus directional pair.
Section A is marked by a points-based scheme with one mark for each correct individual section of language, so the marks are distributed across exactly these joints: the directional complement pair, the attributive 的, the 比…得多 comparative, the pre-verbal position of 很快就 and of 两三年以后, and the quantifier 不少. Translate joint by joint, then read the Chinese aloud in your head; a misplaced time phrase is audible before it is visible.
Result: 很多年轻的毕业生搬到大城市去, 因为那里的工作机会比较多. 可是他们很快就发现, 生活成本比家乡高得多, 加班也非常普遍. 结果, 不少人决定两三年以后回到比较小的城市去.
Typical mistakes
Active revision
把下面的句子翻译成中文, 注意量词, 语序和补语: Many new graduates find that although the big cities offer more job opportunities, the cost of living is far higher than at home, so quite a few of them decide to go back after two or three years.
Active recall
Recall the key points — then reveal.
Passage: 近几年, 越来越多的中国年轻人毕业以后选择留在大城市. 他们说, 那里的工作机会多, 也更容易认识和自己想法相近的人. 不过, 有些人两三年以后又回到了家乡. 一位社会学者认为, 真正的原因不是工资, 而是住房: 在大城市, 买房几乎不可能, 租房也很贵. 他还指出, 这种流动对家庭关系有明显的影响, 因为父母年纪越来越大, 需要照顾. Questions: (a) Give ONE reason the passage gives for young people staying in big cities. [1] (b) According to the sociologist, why do some return home? [2] (c) What consequence does the sociologist identify, and why? [3]
The passage gives two reasons in the same sentence - 工作机会多 and 更容易认识和自己想法相近的人. One mark means one reason, so pick the cleaner one and stop. Answer: There are more job opportunities there. Adding the second reason wastes seconds and gains nothing; adding a third invented one risks contradicting the text.
The question says according to the sociologist, so the answer must be his view, not the young people's. 不是工资, 而是住房 is a 不是…而是… contrast: not X but Y. Two marks are almost certainly the two halves of the housing point, so give both: buying a home in a big city is almost impossible, and renting is also very expensive. Answer: He argues the real cause is housing rather than pay - buying is virtually impossible in a big city and renting is also very expensive.
他还指出, 这种流动对家庭关系有明显的影响, 因为父母年纪越来越大, 需要照顾. The consequence is the effect on family relationships; the mechanism is that parents are getting older; the reason is that they need looking after. That is three distinct elements for three marks. Note 对…有影响, to have an effect on, which is the structure carrying the claim, and 明显 (marked, obvious), which is the strength of the claim and should survive into your English.
Re-read (b) and ask: have I said why they return, in his view? Re-read (c) and ask: have I given a consequence AND a reason? This is where the marks that were nearly earned get earned. The commonest failure at this stage is an answer that reproduces the passage faithfully and never states the causal link the question asked for.
Nothing in these three answers is written in Chinese, and nothing needed to be. What was needed was accurate decoding of 不是…而是…, of 对…有影响 and of the 因为 clause, plus English precise enough to preserve 明显 as marked rather than dropping it. That is what Paper 1 Section B assesses, and preparing for it means reading a lot of Chinese and writing short, exact English.
Result: (a) There are more job opportunities in the big cities. (b) He argues that the real reason is housing rather than pay: buying a home in a big city is almost impossible, and renting is also very expensive. (c) He identifies a marked effect on family relationships, because the parents of those who move are growing older and need to be looked after.
Typical mistakes
Active revision
Take any Chinese article of about 300 characters on family or education. Write four questions in English on it in the Edexcel Section B style - one multiple-choice, one one-mark detail, one three-mark reason and one summary question - then answer them in English under a 12-minute timer, and afterwards check each answer against the interrogative in its question rather than against the text.
Active recall
Recall the key points — then reveal.