Secondary 3 Chinese Language Practice Paper: Narrative Comprehension, Classical Fable Reading And Translation, Vocabulary And Rhetorical Devices, Exposition And Argumentation, Proposal Writing, Cross-text Comparison (100 Marks)

Secondary 3 Chinese Language Practice Paper: Narrative Comprehension, Classical Fable Reading and Translation, Vocabulary and Rhetorical Devices, Exposition and Argumentation, Proposal Writing, Cross-text Comparison (100 marks)

2026-11-14

Chinese Language – Secondary 3 – Practice Paper

S3 Chinese Language practice paper: 24 parts, 100 marks, 60 minutes on narrative and classical comprehension, rhetoric, argumentation and proposal writing.

Paper details　S3 Chinese Language practice paper, 24 parts and 100 marks in 60 minutes, covering narrative and classical comprehension, rhetoric, argumentation and proposal writing.

Section A: Narrative Comprehension (18 marks)

Read the passage below and answer the questions. Paragraph 1: The writer joins a calligraphy class at a community centre one autumn. The tutor, Mr Chan, does not ask the class to write at once; he sets an inkstone on the table and asks them to watch how the ink spreads. Paragraph 2: The writer grows impatient with crooked strokes until Mr Chan turns the paper round and points to one horizontal stroke, saying that it has bone. That stroke was the one the writer most wanted to erase. Paragraph 3: For half a year the writer practises every Saturday and learns that slowness can itself be a kind of progress.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
1	(a) The passage has three paragraphs and about 171 characters. Summarise what happens in the first paragraph.	Answer: the writer first joins a community-centre calligraphy class in autumn; the tutor does not ask for writing at once but makes the class watch the ink spread on the inkstone. 1 mark for setting, 2 for the tutor, 1 for the ink.
2	(b) Mr Chan turns the paper round and says one stroke “has bone”. What do these two actions show about his teaching attitude? Explain.	Answer: he does not start from faults; he changes the angle from which the student looks and then names a strength, showing encouragement and guidance so the student discovers the merit of the stroke. 2 marks for encouragement or guidance, 2 for the change of angle, 1 for clarity.
3	(c) How does “the stroke I most wanted to erase” relate to the later line that “slowness can itself be a kind of progress”? Analyse the writer’s change of mind.	Answer: at first the writer judges only neatness and wants to erase the weak stroke; once the tutor affirms it, he measures writing by inner qualities such as bone and comes to accept slow practice, re-reading weakness as a starting point for growth. 3 marks for the change of standard, 2 for linking slowness with progress.
4	(d) The passage is told in the first person. Give one advantage of this choice.	Answer: it presents the narrator’s doubt and change directly, so readers identify with him and the feeling is genuine; a limited viewpoint also makes the turn natural. 2 marks for the point, 2 for applying it to this passage.

Section B: Classical Fable and Translation (17 marks)

Read the classical passage below and answer the questions. The passage is the well-known fable of the farmer of Song who, having once seen a hare break its neck against a tree stump, put down his plough and waited by the stump hoping for more hares, and was laughed at by the whole state.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
5	(a) Explain the three characters “zou”, “shi” and “ji” as used in the passage.	Answer: zou = to run; shi = to put down; ji = to hope for. 1 mark each; the gloss must fit the context, and “walk” scores nothing for zou.
6	(b) Translate “the hare could not be got again, and he himself became the laughing stock of the state of Song” into modern Chinese.	Answer: the hare could not be obtained again, and he himself was mocked by the people of Song. 1 mark for “got again”, 2 for “became the laughing stock”, 1 for fluency.
7	(c) Why does the man of Song wait by the stump, and what is wrong with his reasoning?	Answer: one accidental hare leads him to expect the same event to recur; he treats a chance event as a certainty and generalises from a single case. 2 marks for motive, 3 for the logical error.
8	(d) What warning does this fable offer today? Give one example.	Answer: do not abandon steady effort because of one stroke of luck, for example relying on one lucky exam result and stopping revision, then failing the next time. 2 marks for the warning, 2 for a concrete example.

Section C: Vocabulary and Rhetorical Devices (16 marks)

Answer each item as directed.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
9	(a) Distinguish “impatient” from “not durable” and use each in a sentence.	Answer: impatient refers to a hasty temper that cannot wait; not durable refers to an object that does not last. 1 mark for each meaning, 1 for each suitable sentence.
10	(b) Name the rhetorical device in “every stroke looked like someone else’s writing” and explain its effect.	Answer: simile, comparing the strokes to another person’s writing. It makes the stiffness and strangeness concrete and highlights the beginner’s frustration. 2 marks for the device, 2 for the effect.
11	(c) Rewrite “the writing was not very beautiful” as a complex sentence with a contrast, keeping the meaning.	Answer: use “although … yet …” while keeping the original sense, for example adding that it was at least neater than before. 1 mark for the pattern, 2 for keeping the sense, 1 for fluency.
12	(d) Turn “slowness can itself be a kind of progress” into a rhetorical question.	Answer: is slowness not also a kind of progress? 2 marks for the rhetorical form, 2 for unchanged meaning; a plain question scores nothing.

Section D: Exposition and Argumentation (16 marks)

Answer each item as directed.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
13	(a) To explain that practising calligraphy builds concentration, name two suitable expository methods and give an example of each.	Answer: giving examples, such as a student who is less distracted after fifteen minutes of daily copying, and using figures, such as attention rising from ten to twenty-five minutes after twelve weeks. 1 mark per method, 1 per example.
14	(b) State one argument and one supporting piece of evidence for the claim that practising calligraphy builds concentration.	Answer: the claim is that copying demands hand-eye coordination and lengthens attention span; the evidence is classroom observation that the practice group concentrates longer than a control group. 2 marks for the claim, 2 for relevant evidence.
15	(c) Some argue that practising calligraphy is mere technique training with no bearing on character. Write a short rebuttal.	Answer: concede that technique is the starting point, then argue that copying requires following stroke order, keeping rules and tolerating repetition, which builds self-discipline and restraint. 1 mark for concession, 2 for the rebuttal, 1 for relevance.
16	(d) How do expository and argumentative writing differ in purpose? One sentence each.	Answer: exposition aims to make something understood and stresses clear explanation; argumentation aims to persuade and stresses sound proof. 2 marks each.

Section E: Proposal Writing (17 marks)

The school library plans to extend its Saturday opening hours. As chairperson of the library society, write a proposal to the principal giving reasons and practical arrangements in at least 250 characters.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
17	(a) List three format elements a proposal must contain.	Answer: a salutation to the principal, a body in paragraphs, and a signature with the date. 1 mark each, 3 in total; a title is acceptable but earns no extra mark.
18	(b) Give two concrete reasons for extending the opening hours.	Answer: Saturday mornings are a peak self-study time and the current closure leaves too few seats; demand rises before public examinations, so longer hours relieve weekday crowding. 1 mark each, must be concrete.
19	(c) What tone should a proposal adopt? Explain one point.	Answer: it should be sincere and courteous, persuading by reason rather than demanding or complaining, for example saying “suggest” rather than “demand” and acknowledging existing arrangements. 2 marks for the tone, 1 for the example.
20	(d) Suggest one further practical measure, besides longer hours, to raise library use.	Answer: for example a themed examination shelf with fifteen-minute consultations run by society volunteers, or a monthly reading sharing session. 1 mark for feasibility, 1 for explaining the effect.

Section F: Cross-text Comparison and Personal View (16 marks)

The narrative in Section A runs to about 171 characters and the classical passage to 39, a difference of 132. Compare the two views of success and failure.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
21	(a) What situation does each protagonist face?	Answer: the writer in A is a beginner whose stiff strokes frustrate him; the man of Song in B abandons farming after one lucky hare and ends up mocked. 2 marks each.
22	(b) How do the two texts understand “progress” differently?	Answer: A sees progress as the accumulation of inner quality, so slowness can still be advance; B rejects gain without labour and treats waiting as decline. 2 marks each.
23	(c) Which view do you agree with more? Support it with one example.	Answer: any well-argued choice; for A an athlete who corrects technique over months and improves; for B someone who stops working after one lottery win and fails. 1 mark for a clear stance, 2 for a fitting example, 1 for explanation.
24	(d) Drawing on both texts, sum up your view of success in one sentence.	Answer: success is not one lucky gain but a process of steady correction that accepts slow improvement. 2 marks for drawing on both texts, 2 for a complete sentence.

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