There seem to be very few Sec 1 Chinese / Higher Chinese Exam Papers available online, be it free or for sale. Similarly, Secondary 2 Chinese Exam Papers are equally rare.
It contains Secondary 1 HCL MYE (Mid Year Exam) Revision Materials 2017, which is still relatively recent. There are also lists of Chinese vocabulary for different chapters, as well as tips for Chinese Oral Exam. Do download the PDF and Zip files while it is still online!
On the opposite spectrum, Secondary 4 ‘O’ Level Chinese or Higher Chinese Exam Papers are very common, almost every site has it, it is very easy to find.
If you find any Secondary 1 or 2 Chinese Notes/ Exam/ Test paper materials, do comment down in the comment section below! It will help many readers who are searching for free Chinese Exam Papers (Secondary 1 or Secondary 2).
Score less than 65 marks for Chinese (Mother Tongue), and it is Impossible to Enter Good IP Schools under the new system
This is a totally new era, where all previous PSLE strategies are outdated. Do share this article with your relatives/friends, where we show (using official evidence), that students scoring below 65 for Chinese (Mother Tongue) have virtually zero chance of entering good IP schools.
Since language (especially Mother Tongue) is the hardest subject to improve within a short period of time, students starting from as early as Primary 1 have to take note and adjust to the new PSLE scoring system. The Achilles heel for many students is actually Chinese language (or Mother Tongue), since it is very common for the entire family to be speaking English at home, at work, and with friends.
Our source of official evidence is the Straits Times, where it is indicated that the Official MOE Indicative AL COP range for 2019 PSLE for Express [Integrated Programme (IP)] is 6-9 points. For independent schools (which form the bulk of the best IP schools), the cut off point is 6-8. The same information can be found on Today Online, and Channel News Asia.
Indicative AL COP range for 2019 PSLE
Course
Government and Government-aided schools
Autonomous schools
Independent schools
Express Integrated Programme (IP)
7–9
7–9
6–8
Achievement level (AL)
Marks
1
90 and above
2
85-89
3
80-84
4
75-79
5
65-74
6
45-64
7
20-44
8
Below 20
Score under New PSLE System (for child weak in Mother Tongue)
Let us suppose the child scores:
>90 for English (AL 1)
>90 for Mathematics (AL 1)
>90 for Science (AL 1)
<65 for Chinese/ Mother Tongue (AL 6)
His/her total PSLE Score will be 1+1+1+6=9, which is not good enough to enter Independent IP Schools (requirement of 6-8 points). Independent IP Schools include schools like Raffles Institution, Nanyang Girls’ High School, RGS, HCI, and more. From common sense, the top IP schools’ COP is in fact likely to be on the lower end closer to 6 (or even lower?) rather than 8.
Score under Old PSLE System (for child weak in Mother Tongue)
Under the old PSLE system, the child’s score is likely good enough to enter even the best of IP schools:
>90 for English (e.g. 91)
>90 for Mathematics (e.g. 98)
>90 for Science (e.g. 95)
<65 for Chinese/ Mother Tongue (e.g. 64)
Estimated PSLE Score = (91+98+95+64)/4 x 3 = 261
The actual old PSLE T-score formula is slightly different (depends on bell curve and relative performance), but nevertheless, the estimated PSLE score of 261 is good enough to enter the best of IP schools like Raffles Girls’ School (RGS), RI, HCI. In fact, it is common knowledge that in the past, many students relatively weak in Chinese managed to enter RI and RGS due to their excellent scores in other subjects. Students in NYGH and HCI tend to have better grasp and mastery of the Chinese language.
A similar effect for students weak only in Math
The above effect is not unique to Chinese/ Mother Tongue. There are many students who excel in languages (English, Chinese), and Science, but are weak in Math for some reason or another.
The exact analysis also applies in this scenario, unfortunately. Basically, in order to enter top IP schools, no subject can be below 65 marks no matter how excellent the other subjects are.
Chinese Oral O Level Mark Weightage (O水准华文口试题目分数比重)
The weightage for Chinese Oral for O Level (classified under Paper 3) is quite high, at 25%. The duration of the Chinese Oral exam is only 15-25 minutes in total, hence this short period of time determines quite a lot of marks!
Chinese Oral O Level Topics 华文口试题目
There is a wide variety of topics that can be tested for the Chinese O Level Oral in the “Daily Conversation” section. The old format used to be based on a picture or photograph, but nowadays students view a video clip and answer or discuss questions based on the video clip.
Chinese/ Higher Chinese Oral O Level Tips (O水准高级华文口试提示）
Firstly, one common problem for some students is talking too little. Clearly, the content marks is proportional to the amount of relevant content the student says. Hence, ideally, the student should keep talking until the time is up or the teacher says stop. If only a few words are spoken, the content marks cannot be high. This is the same concept as in Chinese composition, basically if the student only writes one page, his/her composition marks will be low.
Secondly, another problem is peppering of the speech with English words like “then”, “but”, or acronyms like MOE. Even names like “Joseph Schooling” should ideally be translated into Chinese (约瑟林). A few of these English words are not fatal, but too many English words would indicate a lack of mastery of Chinese vocabulary. Hence, students are advised to memorize a key list of Chinese terms that have high chance of appearing in Chinese O level exams.
List of Ministries in Singapore (Chinese)
新加坡国防部（Ministry of Defence (MINDEF)）
新加坡环境及水源部（Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR))
新加坡教育部（Ministry of Education (MOE))
新加坡律政部（Ministry of Law (MINLAW))
新加坡贸易和工业部（Ministry of Trade and Industry ( MTI))
新加坡人力部（Ministry of Manpower (MOM))
新加坡社会及家庭发展部（Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSFD)）
新加坡通讯及新闻部（Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI)）
新加坡卫生部（Ministry of Health (MOH))
新加坡总理公署（Prime Minister’s Office)
建屋发展局（Housing and Development Board、简称：HDB)
国家传染病中心（National Centre for Infectious Diseases，简称NCID)
新加坡文化、社区及青年部（Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY))
Lastly, one tip would be to memorize a list of “powerful Chinese idioms and proverbs” （口试好词好句）, for instance sayings of Confucius or Tang poetry. If any one of them are used appropriately, it is an instant boost to your vocabulary score and place you in the top 5% of the student cohort. Imagine if a student uses the phrase below correctly, the examiner will be impressed beyond words:
天将降大任于斯人也，必先苦其心志，劳其筋骨，饿其体肤，空乏其身，行拂乱其所为，所以动心忍性，增益其所不能. In English, Mencius is saying that, “whenever heaven invests a person with great responsibilities, it first exercises his mind with suffering, and his muscles and bones with toil. It exposes his body to hunger, and subjects him to extreme poverty. In this way his patience and endurance are developed and his weakness is overcome.”
A list of 500 proverbs (including many by Confucius) can be found in the book below, in Chinese, Hanyu Pinyin and English translation. The author, Qin Xue Herzberg, is a native speaker of Chinese and a graduate of Beijing Normal University in Chinese Language and Literature.
Basically, the Reading portion is 10 marks (5%), while the Conversation portion is 40 marks (20%).
Within the Conversation portion, the official marking scheme does not mention how the marks is broken down, but traditionally it is common that 20 marks (10%) is for Content while another 20 marks (10%) is for Vocabulary/Proper usage of Chinese Language. Alternatively, the 20% could be allocated evenly among the 3 or 4 questions asked (but note the Vocabulary is still important as it contributes to Impression Marks 印象分 that is subconsciously applied by the examiner).
How to Improve Chinese Oral O Level
As mentioned above, the key aspects to improve Chinese Oral (O Level) are in the aspects of Content and Vocabulary.
For Content, students are advised to watch more Chinese television, especially news broadcasts on current affairs. Also, students can read more Chinese newspapers to improve their general knowledge. For example, Dengue Fever is a common O Level Chinese Oral topic, at minimum students should know that Dengue is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes (some students thought that it is transmitted by houseflies).
口试好词好句
For Vocabulary, students should aim and target for speaking in Chinese 100% without usage of English words. To achieve that, a list of common Chinese terminologies should be memorized, especially words that are unique to Singapore (see the list of Singapore ministries listed above). To achieve the highest distinction, students should in addition memorize a list of “powerful” Chinese idioms and proverbs to further improve their vocabulary score.
This book below has over 500 powerful Chinese proverbs in Chinese, Hanyu Pinyin, as well as English translation, including proverbs by Confucius. Proper usage of such proverbs have a high chance of impressing the examiner in Chinese Oral and even Chinese composition.
PowerPac is a quite well-known and reliable local brand. It is very affordable, and buying online from their Qoo10 official store is even cheaper. It is only S$14.80 for this Steamboat Cooker. It is good enough for a small family gathering for Chinese New Year. There is also a Free BBQ plate for you to cook food like steak.
If you need a bigger pot, you can always purchase their bigger model (Model : 3.5L Steamboat and Multi Cooker (PPMC282)(+S$7.00)) which costs $21.80. There is another even bigger model (Model : 5L Multipurpose Steamboat pot and Cooker(PPMC718)(+S$19.00)) which costs S$33.80.
Quite surprising to see news on Kiasuparents that the distinction rate for ‘O’ Levels HCL is so low.
Case study 1)
In the below case study, zero students scored A1 for Higher Chinese in the recent O Levels. This is very surprising since even in neighborhood schools, we would expect there to be at least a few students strong in Chinese. For example for Mathematics, even in neighborhood schools there is guaranteed to be at least a few students scoring A1.
In my DD’s (dear daughter) school, no one scored A1 for Higher Chinese for the recent GCE O Levels.
This is very surprising becos there are students who are very academically inclined and some have shown consistent strength in the subject over the 4 years in secondary school.
I wonder how other secondary schools perform in this subject. Or did MOE raised the standard or the school is just unlucky where their students exam papers were marked by an unusually strict examiner/marker?
The below case study is also very surprising since SAP schools are known to have a heavy emphasis on Chinese language and culture, usually leading to excellence in the Chinese subject. Examples of top SAP schools include Dunman High, Catholic High, Chung Cheng High School (Main), etc.
The distinction (rate) for HCL in my DS school is 29.6%. Considering that he is from a SAP school with strong Chinese culture.. this is quite low.. but to be fair.. with 8-9 subjects to manage and knowing that C6 will get you the 2 bonus points.. how many kids will aim for A1? My DS got C6 and he is happy that he got his 2 bonus points..
This is a classical piano tune that is masterfully transcribed (by arranger Wang Jianzhong 王建中). In English, it is also called “Colourful Clouds Chasing the Moon”. In Chinese, it is called 彩云追月.
The transcription is really very nice, the harmony and the melody of the original tune is preserved and even enhanced. Few piano scores for Chinese music can achieve this effect.
The sheet music (or piano score) is originally from http://www.everyonepiano.com, we simply convert to PDF for the convenience of those who are seeking it:
This is one of the easiest ways to type Chinese characters in LaTeX on Mac, using the default TeXShop editor. (If you know of an easier way, please let me know in the comments below!)
I have tried for hours, experimenting with different packages, before “discovering” the following steps. Hope it helps!
Step 1) Add “\usepackage{ctex}” to the beginning of the document. This will load the main package ctex.
Step 2) It is very important to save the LaTeX file in UTF-8 format, otherwise all Chinese characters will appear as question marks. The preferred way to do this is via:
This will “permanently” set the format as UTF-8 by default. If you don’t do this, an annoying thing that can happen is that your TeX file reverts to “non-UTF8” upon saving. That means, the Chinese characters may appear correctly at first, but once you re-save the file, all Chinese characters become question marks again.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to set UTF-8 as default, you may add the following line to the very first line of the TeX document:
% !TEX encoding = UTF-8 Unicode
This will make TeXShop remember to save it in UTF-8 format every time.
Step 3) Just type Chinese characters directly into the LaTeX file. No “wrapper” is needed around the Chinese characters.
Step 4) When you compile the document, be sure to compile it by XeLaTeX. You can select this option next to the “Typeset” button. If you compile it using normal LaTeX, you will get the following error:
“Critical ctex error:”fontset-unavailable
CTeX fontset `fandol’ is unavailable in current mode.”
For Windows users, I suppose the above steps still work. I have not tried it personally though. Other packages may work only for Windows/Mac specifically since each system have different preloaded Chinese fontsets.
Hyperref Problems with Chinese TeX
A known problem is that hyperref does not work well with xetex or xeLaTeX. This may be a problem if you are using xeLaTeX in conjunction with Hyperref. The proposed solution is to use the option
\usepackage[xetex]{hyperref}
Note that if you have multiple options for hyperref, xetex should be the first of all the options.
TeXShop opens Chinese documents showing Gibberish
This is quite common, especially if your Mac or Windows system is not set with Chinese as primary language. A proposed solution (there may be a better solution) is to:
Set the primary language of your Mac / Windows as Chinese. The entire system, including all your taskbars, icons should be in Chinese.
Open the TeX file containing Chinese characters with Notepad/TextEdit, not TeXShop. Ideally, the Chinese characters should display ok there.
Copy and paste the entire file from NotePad to TeXShop.
Add the line % !TEX encoding = UTF-8 Unicode at the start of your TeX document to ensure that the Chinese characters will continue to stay there after closing of the document.
Quite interesting to see how Chinese lessons are like nowadays. To be honest it doesn’t seem much different from 10 years ago? One aspect that has changed is email writing. Nowadays it is rare to write letters, hence the modern syllabus focuses on writing emails instead. Also more multimedia like videos are being used.
One notable statistic is this: “At Tanjong Katong Secondary, Mrs Lee said about 70 per cent of students come from an English-speaking background.” This is a very high percentage compared to the times of the past. To master Chinese is increasingly hard for such students, great effort needs to be put in for improving their command of the Chinese language.
Notable Quotes:
She agreed that it can be difficult at times to speak Mandarin fluently. But she makes it a point to practice by having conversations in Mandarin with friends and family members, and exposing herself to Chinese shows.
“I enjoy it when the teacher shows videos in class,” she said. “I understand how the characters feel, and how they speak. I can learn a lot from the way they phrase their sentences.”
Chinese Tuition Singapore
新加坡华文补习老师
Tutor: Ms Gao (高老师）
Ms Gao is a patient tutor, and also effectively bilingual in both Chinese and English.
A native speaker of Mandarin, she speaks clearly with perfect accent and pronunciation. She is also well-versed in Chinese history, idioms and proverbs.
Ms Gao is able to teach Chinese at the Secondary school level (Chinese and Higher Chinese). She will teach in an exam-oriented style, but will also try her best to make the lesson interesting for the student.
Ms Gao has taught students from: Nanyang Girl’s High (NYGH), RGS, RI, and other schools.
Chinese Tuition Singapore
新加坡华文补习老师
Tutor: Ms Gao (高老师）
Ms Gao is a patient tutor, and also effectively bilingual in both Chinese and English.
A native speaker of Mandarin, she speaks clearly with perfect accent and pronunciation. She is also well-versed in Chinese history, idioms and proverbs.
Ms Gao is able to teach Chinese at the Secondary school level (Chinese and Higher Chinese). She will teach in an exam-oriented style, but will also try her best to make the lesson interesting for the student.
Ms Gao has taught students from: Nanyang Girls’ High (NYGH), RGS, RI, and other schools.
Wakin Chau was born in a rice store owned by his family in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. Growing up as the fourth son in his seven-member family, Wakin learned to play the guitar when he was about 13 years old. In 1979, he left for Taipei to major in mathematics at National Taiwan University. During his college years, he sang and played folk songs in local coffee shops. This activity was a tradition among NTU students, and it is how Wakin learned to sing in Mandarin, which would be key to his future as a music-maker in Taiwan.
Source: Wikipedia
Probably one of his most famous songs is “Friends”, 朋友.
Just to share, for those who are interested. Two theatrical works, Four Horses Road, and Legend of the Monkey King, are happening this month/next month.
Quite a good deal if you are also interested in obtaining the HSK (Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì) Grade 6 Qualification (HSK六级成绩报告), which will be useful if you study/work in China in the future.
Entry fee is S$90 for test takers at Singapore location. For Malaysia location, it is RM 250.
By the way, Grade 6 is the highest grade in the HSK, designed for “learners who can easily understand any information communicated in Chinese and are capable of smoothly expressing themselves in written or oral form.”.
This is open to both students and adults. Previous years youngest participant is 10 years old. Also, there is a “Singaporean and Malaysian Citizen” Category, together with an “International” Category.
As we can see from the photos, there is a mixture of adults and children taking this test, there is no age limit.
Recently, there is a PSLE Chinese Listening Exam that does not make sense.
Question: Student A bought a new clothes. Student B asks Student A: “You bought new clothes?” Student A said: ” No, it is sewn by my mother, do you think it is beautiful?” Student B said: It is very beautiful, I didn’t knew your mother could sew?”.
What did Student A say next?
1) My mother will sew clothes for me whenever she is free.
2) My mother does not like to spend money to buy clothes.
3) My mother just started learning how to sew.
I am totally puzzled by this question. The three options seems equally plausible. How are we supposed to know which is the truth?
Ms Gao specializes in teaching secondary level chinese (CL/HCL) tuition in Singapore. Ms Gao has taught students from various schools, including RI (Raffles Institution IP Programme).
Teaches West / Central Area: E.g. Clementi, Jurong East, Bukit Timah, Dover, Bishan, Marymount
Excellent interview of S.T. Yau, Fields Medalist. One mischievous student tried to ask a trick question that is a variant of the Missing Dollar Problem. The interviewer is Sa Beining, who is a famous celebrity in China.
Not much mathematical content though, since it is aimed at the general audience. Nevertheless, it is inspirational, especially for Chinese youth.
Translation: “Don’t be disturbed by fortune or misfortune. Be relaxed no matter how flowers bloom and wilt. To be or not to be needs no hard decision. Take it natural no matter how clouds flow high and low.” (Source: http://www.en84.com/dianji/minyan/201410/00015499.html)
Interesting book on how to read mathematical texts in Chinese. Even students fluent in Chinese everyday language may have difficulty translating the mathematical terms from Chinese to English (and vice versa), hence this book is a very useful one.
My own interest in the work of Chinese mathematicans arises from their significant contributions to the qualitative theory of ordinary differential equations and, in particular, of plane quadratic systems. However, Chinese mathematics covers a very wide range. This is hardly surprising, since a quarter of the world’s population is Chinese. It is predictable that during the next quarter century the importance of Chinese mathematics will increase greatly.
Very motivational lyrics. The title itself <Try> is very motivational.
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” ― Robert F. Kennedy
The full lyrics are as follows (includes some Chinese):
Try – 派伟俊/周杰伦
(《功夫熊猫3》电影全球主题曲)
中文词：方文山
英文词：冼佩瑾
曲：派伟俊
小派：You always have to do something
Just to show the world that you exist
So you try
You hope they’ll see
If on this brand new day you’ll look
On the bright side of the same old street
You will see
What you deserve
Jay：Let’s go
我说几华里我送别了过去
他们说人生的结局非常的戏剧
塞外羌笛孤城马蹄
在武侠的世界里谁与谁来为敌
合：La la la la la la la la la
黄沙里用竹笔写下的字叫勇气
Jay：You just have to try
To be who you are
And you ought to fly
Step into the light
小派：And soon you will find
Be yourself
Somewhere deep inside
There’s a universe right there waiting to be unlocked
The key lies in looking into yourself
Jay：Oh Try try try try
Just do what is right
You’ll fly so high
Let go of the brakes
Be who you are
Be yourself ’cause your power is on
合： When you believe in what you’ve got
You know you’re perfect just be who you are
小派：So they don’t see what you’re made of
But I like you and I know they’re wrong
Now it’s time
To show them what you got
Let the blue skies cheer you on
Embrace the wind we’ll ride along
You’re perfect when you’re who you are
Jay：这世界有些事有些人凭感觉
别管他旌旗密布遍野狼烟霜雪
那故事在穿越而我也在翻页
一行行做好准备敏锐而直接
合：La la la la la la la la la
爱不灭真实的一切废话全收回
小派：You just have to try
To be who you are
Jay：And you ought to fly
Step into the light
小派：And soon you will find
Be yourself
Somewhere deep inside
There’s a universe right there waiting to be unlocked
The key lies in looking into yourself
Jay：Oh Try try try try
Just do what is right
You’ll fly so high
Let go of the brakes
合： Be who you are
Be yourself ’cause your power is on
When you believe in what you’ve got
You know you’re perfect just be who you are
小派：You just have to try
To be who you are
Jay：And you ought to fly
Step into the light
小派：And soon you will find
Be yourself
Somewhere deep inside
There’s a universe right there waiting to be unlocked
The key lies in looking into yourself
Jay：Oh Try try try try
Just do what is right
You’ll fly so high
Let go of the brakes
合： Be who you are
Be yourself ’cause your power is on
When you believe in what you’ve got
Singapore Maths Tuition 