演变中的华人社会: the internet, growth and the environment

The invigilator offers you Communications and technology or Traditions. You take the first. The card statement reads: 社交媒体让人们更接近, 也让人们更孤独 - social media brings people closer and also makes them lonelier. The first compulsory question is 你觉得这个说法对吗? Build the opening answer.

1. 01Take the statement's own shape as your shape

   The card has given you a two-sided claim; the cheapest good answer accepts the gift. 我觉得这个说法很有意思, 因为它同时说了两件事. Then handle each side in turn. Do not flatten it into agree or disagree - the statement is deliberately double, and an answer that notices this is already showing the analytical response the AO4 grid describes.

2. 02Side one, with a concrete mechanism

   一方面, 微信让家人和朋友随时联系, 就算在国外也能每天见到面. 随时 (at any time) is an adverb and precedes the verb. 就算…也… is the concessive pair from Appendix 3 - even if abroad, they can still see each other every day. 见面 is a 离合词, so 见到面 rather than 见面到 - the resultative slots inside the compound. That single detail is an AO3 mark for accuracy that most candidates miss.

3. 03Side two, and make the loneliness claim specific

   另一方面, 很多人一边吃饭一边刷手机, 面对面的时候反而没有话说. 一边…一边… expresses simultaneous action. 反而 (on the contrary, unexpectedly) is the referential adverb that carries the paradox in the card statement and is far stronger than 但是 here. 面对面 (face to face) is the phrase the whole claim turns on.

4. 04Add a distinction, because a distinction is analysis

   不过我认为, 问题不在于技术本身, 而在于我们怎么用它. 不在于…而在于… - it lies not in X but in Y - is a high-value frame for exactly this move. 本身 (itself, per se) is precise. This is the sentence that lifts the answer from a balanced description to an argued position.

5. 05Hand the conversation over

   您年轻的时候, 大家是怎么保持联系的? A question that invites the examiner's own experience is natural, is on topic, and is what the interaction grid means by eliciting points of view. Ask it once, at a natural join. 保持联系 is to keep in touch.

6. 06What the grids saw

   In about fifty seconds this answer used 一方面…另一方面…, 就算…也…, 一边…一边…, 反而 and 不在于…而在于… - five structures, all from the Appendix 3 list, all doing work rather than decorating. It gave two concrete mechanisms rather than adjectives, it took a position, and it handed over. Task 1 runs six to seven minutes; this is the first minute, and the rest is developed under the examiner's follow-up on the wider theme.

Result: 我觉得这个说法很有意思, 因为它同时说了两件事. 一方面, 微信让家人和朋友随时联系, 就算在国外也能每天见到面. 另一方面, 很多人一边吃饭一边刷手机, 面对面的时候反而没有话说. 不过我认为, 问题不在于技术本身, 而在于我们怎么用它. 您年轻的时候, 大家是怎么保持联系的?

Translate into English. 尽管很多平台都说自己保护用户的隐私, 用户还是很难知道自己的数据被用在什么地方. 有人认为, 问题不在于技术, 而在于监管; 也有人指出, 监管过严反而会让创新变慢. 与此同时, 数字鸿沟还没有消失: 城市里的年轻人几乎离不开手机, 而不少农村老人连挂号都要请人帮忙.

1. 01尽管很多平台都说自己保护用户的隐私

   尽管 is concessive - although, even though - and unlike English although it is normally answered by 还是 or 仍然 later in the sentence rather than by nothing. 都 is the totality adverb and precedes the verb. 自己 is the reflexive pronoun from the Appendix 3 list and here refers back to 平台: protect their users' privacy. Render: although many platforms say they protect users' privacy.

2. 02用户还是很难知道自己的数据被用在什么地方

   还是 answers 尽管 - users still find it hard to know. 很难 plus a verb is an adjectival predicate taking a verb phrase. 被用在什么地方 is a passive with 被 plus the verb plus the locative complement 在什么地方: where their data is used. Note that Chinese embeds the question word in situ, so 什么地方 stays where the answer would be; English must move it to the front of the clause.

3. 03有人认为, 问题不在于技术, 而在于监管

   有人认为 is the attribution frame: some people take the view that. 不在于…而在于… means lies not in X but in Y; 在于 is the verb of consisting-in and takes a nominal. The semicolon in the Chinese is doing what English would do with a semicolon too, so keep it. Render: some argue the problem lies not with the technology but with regulation.

4. 04也有人指出, 监管过严反而会让创新变慢

   也有人指出 is the second attribution - others point out. 过 as a prefix to an adjective means excessively: 过严, over-strict. 反而 marks the counter-intuitive result: on the contrary, conversely. 让 is the causative - make, cause to - and 变慢 is a verb plus resultative complement, become slow. Render: others point out that over-strict regulation will conversely slow innovation down.

5. 05与此同时, 数字鸿沟还没有消失

   与此同时 is a formal connective - at the same time, meanwhile - and belongs at the head of the sentence. 还没有 plus a verb is not yet, with 还 pre-verbal. 消失 is to disappear. The colon that follows introduces the evidence, exactly as in English. Render: meanwhile the digital divide has not yet disappeared.

6. 06城市里的年轻人几乎离不开手机, 而不少农村老人连挂号都要请人帮忙

   离不开 is the potential complement in its negative form - cannot be separated from, cannot do without - and it is one of the structures the Appendix 3 complement list is pointing at. 而 here contrasts. 连…都… is the emphatic pair from the grammar list: even X. 挂号 is to register at a hospital, a specific and useful verb. 请人帮忙 is to ask somebody for help. Render: while quite a few older people in the countryside need help even to register at a hospital.

7. 07Where the marks are

   Section C awards marks for correct individual sections of language, and this passage puts them at the connectives and the complements: 尽管…还是…, 不在于…而在于…, 反而, 与此同时, 离不开 and 连…都…. Translate the connective before you translate the content of its clause; if you render 反而 as but, you have lost the whole point of the sentence, and no amount of fluency downstream recovers it.

Result: Although many platforms say they protect their users' privacy, users still find it very hard to know where their data is being used. Some argue that the problem lies not with the technology but with regulation; others point out that over-strict regulation will, on the contrary, slow innovation down. Meanwhile the digital divide has not yet disappeared: young people in the cities can hardly do without their phones, while quite a few older people in the countryside need someone's help even to register at a hospital.

Write roughly 130 characters answering 经济发展是不是让每个人都受益? - has economic development benefited everybody? Use no statistics.

1. 01Open with the undisputed part, in formal register

   改革开放以来, 中国经济发展很快, 大量人口摆脱了贫困. 以来 (since) follows the event it dates, as 以后 does. 大量 (a large quantity of) is the formal quantifier. 摆脱 (to shake off, escape from) plus 贫困 (poverty) is the standard collocation and is far better than 变得不穷. 了 marks the completed change. Nothing here is contested, so it costs you nothing to state it flatly.

2. 02Introduce the qualification with a formal connective

   然而, 这些好处并不是平均分配的. 然而 is the written 但是 and belongs at the head of the sentence. 并不 is emphatic negation - not at all, by no means - and 并 must precede 不. 平均分配 is evenly distributed. This sentence is the thesis of the paragraph and should be short.

3. 03Give the two axes of unevenness, concretely

   沿海城市的机会比内陆地区多得多; 城市和农村之间的差距也长期存在. 沿海 (coastal) and 内陆 (inland) are the geographical pair; 城乡差距 is the urban-rural gap and 差距 is the right noun. 多得多 is the comparative with a degree complement. 长期 (over a long period) is an adverb and precedes the verb. Two axes, both real, neither quantified.

4. 04Attribute the counter-view rather than dismissing it

   也有人指出, 尽管差距仍然存在, 但很多农村家庭的生活水平确实提高了. 尽管…仍然…但… concedes properly. 生活水平 is standard of living and 提高 is the verb that goes with it - not 变高, which sounds like a physical height. 确实 (indeed, genuinely) signals that you are granting the point sincerely, which is what a strong AO4 answer does.

5. 05Close with a conditional judgement

   因此我认为, 发展本身是好事, 但只有缩小差距, 才能说每个人都受益. 因此 concludes. 缩小差距 is to narrow the gap. 只有…才能… is the conditional pair, and it makes your conclusion an argument with a condition attached rather than a verdict. 受益 (to benefit) closes the loop with the question, which is a small thing an examiner always notices.

6. 06Why this counts as argument

   Roughly 130 characters, six Appendix 3 structures (以来, 并不, 得多, 尽管…仍然…, 因此, 只有…才能…), two attributed positions, two concrete axes of unevenness and not one number. The AO4 grid asks for points of view justified by appropriately selected evidence: here the evidence is the geography of the gap, which is descriptive and defensible, rather than a statistic that would be neither.

Result: 改革开放以来, 中国经济发展很快, 大量人口摆脱了贫困. 然而, 这些好处并不是平均分配的. 沿海城市的机会比内陆地区多得多; 城市和农村之间的差距也长期存在. 也有人指出, 尽管差距仍然存在, 但很多农村家庭的生活水平确实提高了. 因此我认为, 发展本身是好事, 但只有缩小差距, 才能说每个人都受益.

Translate into Chinese. Rapid industrialisation caused serious air pollution in many cities. By the 2010s, smog was being discussed everywhere. Since then, rubbish sorting has been introduced in a number of cities, and the government has set a target of reaching carbon neutrality before 2060.

1. 01Rapid industrialisation caused serious air pollution in many cities

   快速的工业化使很多城市出现了严重的空气污染. Two choices worth defending. First, caused: 使 plus a clause is the causative from Appendix 3 and is more idiomatic here than 造成了…的污染, though both are acceptable. Second, English cities have pollution becomes Chinese cities see pollution appear - 出现 with 了 - because Chinese prefers an existence-and-appearance verb where English uses have. 快速的 needs the 的 before a noun.

2. 02By the 2010s, smog was being discussed everywhere

   到了 2010 年代, 雾霾到处都被讨论. 到了 plus a time expression is by the time of. 到处 (everywhere) is an adverb of place and precedes the verb; 都 reinforces it. 被讨论 is the 被 passive from the grammar list. A common alternative that avoids the passive altogether and sounds more natural is 大家到处都在讨论雾霾 - people were discussing smog everywhere - and Chinese generally prefers this. Either earns the marks; knowing why is the point.

3. 03Since then, rubbish sorting has been introduced in a number of cities

   从那以后, 不少城市开始实行垃圾分类. 从那以后 is since then, with the time phrase at the head. Note the reversal English speakers find hardest: Chinese makes the cities the subject and 实行 (to put into practice) the verb, rather than using a passive. 开始 marks the inception. 不少 is the plurality quantifier. Writing 垃圾分类被介绍 would be understandable and wrong: 介绍 is to introduce a person or a topic, not to bring a measure into force.

4. 04and the government has set a target of reaching carbon neutrality before 2060

   政府也提出了在 2060 年前实现碳中和的目标. 提出目标 is to put forward a target - 设置 would sound technical. The whole content of the target becomes an attributive on 目标, marked by 的: 在 2060 年前实现碳中和的目标. 在…前 brackets the time expression and stands before the verb. 实现 (to realise, to achieve) is the verb that goes with 目标 and with 碳中和. 也 continues from the previous clause and precedes the verb.

5. 05Where the points-based marks sit

   Section A gives one mark for each correct individual section of language, and this passage distributes them across: the 使 causative, 出现了 for English have, the pre-verbal 到处都, the 被 passive or its idiomatic avoidance, 从那以后 at the head, 实行 rather than 介绍, the long 的 attributive on 目标, and 在 2060 年前 before the verb. Notice how many of the marks are word-order marks. Translate the skeleton first - who does what - and hang the modifiers on afterwards.

Result: 快速的工业化使很多城市出现了严重的空气污染. 到了 2010 年代, 大家到处都在讨论雾霾. 从那以后, 不少城市开始实行垃圾分类, 政府也提出了在 2060 年前实现碳中和的目标.

Extract, roughly two minutes, two speakers. A woman argues that waste sorting has genuinely changed household habits in her city, that it was difficult at first because nobody knew the categories, that older neighbours adapted faster than she expected, and that the real problem is what happens after collection. A man replies that the policy is mainly symbolic, that individual households cannot solve an industrial problem, that he nonetheless sorts his own rubbish, and that he would prefer investment in recycling facilities. Question: Summarise the two speakers' views on waste sorting. [6]

1. 01Before playing: write the stem's key noun

   The stem asks for views, plural, of two speakers, for six marks. Write views - woman / man at the top and rule the page in two. That single act prevents the commonest failure here, which is producing a merged account in which the marker cannot tell who thought what. Six marks across two speakers suggests roughly three points each.

2. 02Pass one, no pen: get the shape

   Two speakers, they disagree about how much the policy achieves, both of them actually sort their rubbish. Knowing before you write that they disagree about effect but not about behaviour is worth more than any single detail, because it tells you what the summary is about.

3. 03Pass two: short English phrases, one per line, in the right column

   Woman: habits genuinely changed; hard at first, categories unclear; older neighbours adapted faster than expected; real problem is after collection. Man: mainly symbolic; households cannot fix an industrial problem; still sorts his own; wants investment in recycling facilities. Eight candidate points for six marks - now you can select rather than scrape.

4. 04Pass three: replay the doubtful lines only

   The two lines worth checking are the woman's about older neighbours, because the surprise is easy to invert, and the man's about still sorting, because a concession is easy to attribute to the wrong speaker. Replay just those, using the controls. This is the pass that protects you from the attribution error.

5. 05Write from the notes, selecting for the stem

   Drop the woman's difficulty-at-first point if you must lose one - it is about implementation, not about her view of the policy. Keep the concession from the man, because a summary of views that omits the point on which the speakers agree misrepresents the extract. Attribute every point explicitly.

6. 06What was actually assessed

   Not memory: you replayed twice. Not Chinese writing: the answer is in English. What was assessed was whether you could hear the difference between a claim about effect and a claim about behaviour, and could keep two speakers apart. Both are trainable, and both are trained by doing this three-pass routine on real Chinese audio until it is automatic.

Result: The woman believes waste sorting has genuinely changed household habits in her city; she was surprised that older neighbours adapted faster than she expected, and argues that the real weakness lies in what happens to the rubbish after collection rather than in the sorting itself. The man regards the policy as largely symbolic, arguing that individual households cannot solve what is essentially an industrial problem and that investment in recycling facilities would achieve more; he nevertheless sorts his own rubbish. Both therefore continue to comply, and their disagreement is about how much the policy can achieve, not about whether to take part.