A long text — often a feature article, an essay or an account of research — followed by a set of questions with four options each. It is the last reading part of the advanced paper and the hardest on time.
Questions follow the order of the text and cover facts, definitions, reasoning, the writer’s view and the meaning of expressions in context. There is not time to read every sentence closely, so reading strategy matters as much as vocabulary.
The instruction on the paper
读长文,回答下面的问题。
Read the long text and answer the questions.
HSK 7, 8 and 9 are one exam. Everyone sits the same paper and the score decides which of the three levels is awarded, so this part is the same whichever of them you are aiming for.
HSK 7 Reading Part 3 sample questions with answers
5 questions from our practice bank, in the format of the real paper. Try each one before opening the answer.
shí jiǔ shì jì zhōng yè , lún dūn bào fā huò luàn 。 dāng shí zhǔ liú de kàn fǎ shì jí bìng yóu " zhàng qì "—— kōng qì zhōng de bù jié zhī wù —— chuán bō , yīn cǐ fáng zhì de zhòng diǎn fàng zài qīng chú chòu wèi shàng 。 yī shēng yuē hàn · sī nuò bù jiē shòu zhè ge jiě shì 。 tā bǎ měi yī lì sǐ wáng biāo zhù zài dì tú shàng , fā xiàn bìng lì gāo dù jí zhōng zài bù luó dé jiē yī kǒu shuǐ bèng zhōu wéi , ér fù jìn yī jiā pí jiǔ chǎng de gōng rén jī hū wú rén rǎn bìng —— tā men hē de shì chǎng lǐ zì niàng de pí jiǔ 。 sī nuò jù cǐ tuī duàn , chuán bō méi jiè shì shuǐ ér bú shì kōng qì , bìng shuō fú dāng jú chāi diào le shuǐ bèng de bǎ shǒu 。
zhí de zhù yì de shì , sī nuò dāng shí bìng bù zhī dào huò luàn hú jūn de cún zài , xì jūn lǐ lùn yào dào jǐ shí nián hòu cái bèi guǎng fàn jiē shòu 。 tā suǒ yī kào de bú shì duì bìng yīn de liǎo jiě , ér shì duì fēn bù de guān chá 。 zhè tí shì wǒ men , zài jī zhì shàng bù qīng chǔ shí , yǒu xiào de xíng dòng yī rán kě néng 。
bù guò , zhè ge gù shì cháng bèi jiǎng dé guò yú yuán mǎn 。 shì shí shàng , chāi diào bǎ shǒu shí yì qíng yǐ jīng kāi shǐ huí luò , sī nuò de jié lùn zài cǐ hòu duō nián réng shòu dào zhì yí 。 zhēn zhèng ràng tā zhàn zhù jiǎo de , shì hòu lái yī xì liè dú lì de guān chá 。 kē xué hěn shǎo kào yī cì jué dìng xìng de zhèng míng qián jìn , tā gèng xiàng shì tóng yī jié lùn bèi bù tóng de lù jìng fǎn fù zǒu dào 。
John Snow mapped cholera deaths to a pump without knowing the bacterium; the story is usually told too neatly.
Question
当时主流的看法认为霍乱由什么传播?
dāng shí zhǔ liú de kàn fǎ rèn wéi huò luàn yóu shén me chuán bō ?
A 食物
B 瘴气
C 老鼠
D 水
Show the answer
B 瘴气
Question
斯诺用什么方法研究疫情?
sī nuò yòng shén me fāng fǎ yán jiū yì qíng ?
A 动物实验
B 显微镜观察
C 问卷调查
D 把死亡病例标注在地图上
Show the answer
D 把死亡病例标注在地图上
Question
啤酒厂工人几乎不染病的原因是什么?
pí jiǔ chǎng gōng rén jī hū bù rǎn bìng de yuán yīn shì shén me ?
A 他们喝自酿的啤酒
B 他们已有免疫力
C 工作环境好
D 他们住得远
Show the answer
A 他们喝自酿的啤酒
Question
斯诺当时知道霍乱弧菌的存在吗?
sī nuò dāng shí zhī dào huò luàn hú jūn de cún zài ma ?
A 部分知道
B 文中未提
C 不知道
D 知道
Show the answer
C 不知道
Question
斯诺依靠的是什么?
sī nuò yī kào de shì shén me ?
A 对病因的了解
B 实验室数据
C 权威的支持
D 对分布的观察
Show the answer
D 对分布的观察
How to approach it
Skim the questions first and note what each asks.
Skim the text for structure: what is each paragraph doing?
For each question, return to the relevant paragraph and read that part closely.
Watch the clock: give each text a time budget and move on.
Common mistakes
Reading the whole text slowly before looking at the questions.
Choosing an option that is true but answers a different question.
Running out of time on the last text.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are in HSK 7 Reading Part 3?
9. It is part 3 of 3 in the HSK 7 Reading section, which has 47 questions and lasts about 60 minutes, for 100 points.
How is HSK 7 Reading Part 3 marked?
Automatically. Every question has one correct answer and all carry the same weight. A wrong answer costs nothing more than a blank one, so never leave a question empty.
Is pinyin printed at HSK 7?
No. At HSK 7 the paper is printed in characters only, so you need to recognise the characters themselves.
How long are the texts?
Long — commonly more than a thousand characters each.
Are the questions in text order?
Generally yes, which helps you find the relevant paragraph quickly.
Can I practise HSK 7 Reading Part 3 online?
Yes. HSK Test has practice sets for this part, built like the real paper. Create a free account to start; your answers and scores are saved, so you can see how you are improving.