These seven questions use original Chinese passages. Write your own answer in Chinese first, then open the explained answer and compare the points, not the exact words.
They test the four skills from summary and synthesis. Use the timed original practice session builder if you want to set a repeatable session length.
Questions
Question 1. State the central point of this passage in one short sentence.
我们社区的老人中心每周三举办手机课，教长辈使用视频通话。很多长辈学会后，可以天天和在外地工作的子女见面聊天。例如，七十岁的陈伯母上个月第一次看到了孙子学走路。
Answer
The central point is what the class does and why it matters: it teaches the elderly to video call, so they can stay in touch with their children. The story of Mrs Chan is an example of the result, so it is not needed.
A model answer: 老人中心的手机课教长辈使用视频通话，让他们能和外地的子女见面聊天。
Skill tested: selecting central information.
Question 2. Two of these four sentences repeat the same idea. Which two, and what is the single idea?
(1) 塑料瓶很难分解。(2) 一个塑料瓶在泥土里要很多年才会消失。(3) 焚烧塑料会产生有害气体。(4) 因此，分类回收很重要。
Answer
Sentences 1 and 2 repeat one idea: plastic bottles take a very long time to break down. Sentence 2 only adds a detail to sentence 1.
The other ideas are separate: burning is harmful (3) and recycling matters (4). After merging, three ideas remain: slow breakdown, harmful burning and the need to recycle.
Skill tested: combining repeated ideas.
Question 3. Merge these into one sentence without changing the relationship between the ideas.
学校图书馆的新书很受欢迎。每天都有学生排队借书。因此图书馆决定增购二十本同类的书。
Answer
The passage has a chain: new books are popular, so students queue, so the library buys more. The first two sentences give one idea (popularity) and the third is the response, joined by 因此.
Model answer: 新书很受欢迎，学生排队借阅，因此图书馆决定增购二十本。
The number 二十 stays, because the amount is part of the decision. A weaker answer, 图书馆买了很多新书, changes both the cause and the number.
Skills tested: combining ideas and keeping the logic.
Question 4. The original says 这座桥可能会在明年修好. Which paraphrase keeps the meaning? (a) 这座桥明年一定修好 (b) 这座桥也许明年能修好 (c) 这座桥明年修好了
Answer
Option (b). 可能 and 也许 both mark an uncertain claim at the same strength.
Option (a) uses 一定, which turns a possibility into a certainty. Option (c) uses 了 and reports it as done, which says something that has not happened.
Skill tested: paraphrasing without changing meaning, especially degree words.
Question 5. Paraphrase this sentence without dropping the number: 由于连续三天下大雨，河水上涨了五十厘米。
Answer
Keep three facts: three days of heavy rain, the cause-and-result link, and the rise of 50 cm.
Model answer: 大雨连下三天，使河水升高了五十厘米。
Here the structure changed (由于 became 使), and the numbers 三天 and 五十厘米 stayed. A version such as 下了很久的雨，河水升了很多 loses both numbers, so it would lose marks.
Skill tested: paraphrasing with figures intact.
Question 6. Below is a draft summary that is 47 characters long. The limit is 35. Trim it and explain each cut.
由于农村的年轻人越来越少，所以许多村子的学校非常担心学生人数会变得很少，最后只好合并到邻村的学校去。
Answer
Cut in order: emphasis words, doubled linking words, then long phrases.
Model answer: 农村年轻人减少，村里学校学生变少，只好合并到邻村学校。
- 由于 and 所以 say the same thing, so one is enough. Here both go because 只好 already carries the result.
- 非常, 许多 and 很 are emphasis words that add no point.
- 担心 is dropped because the passage’s point is the fall in pupils and the merger, not the worry.
The summary keeps the chain: fewer young people, fewer pupils, merger. The model answer is 24 characters, within the limit of 35.
Skill tested: checking length and logical flow.
Question 7. Summarise this passage in no more than 45 Chinese characters, in your own words.
三年前，小镇的河流因为附近工厂排出的废水变得又黑又臭，鱼虾几乎绝迹。居民多次向有关部门反映。后来，工厂安装了新的处理设备，废水经过处理才排放。如今河水重新变清，孩子们又可以在河边玩耍。例如，上个月还有人在河里看见了小鱼。
Answer
Central points: the river was polluted by factory waste, the factory installed treatment equipment, and the river is clean again. Examples and details to drop: the residents’ complaints (support) and the small fish seen last month (example).
Model answer: 工厂废水曾使小镇河流严重污染，工厂安装处理设备后，河水重新变清。
The model is 29 characters and shows cause, action and result in the passage’s order. A version that adds 居民非常生气 would add a feeling the passage never states.
Skills tested: all four together.
If you got these wrong
- Missing points or extra examples: return to selecting central information.
- Over length with repeats: return to combining repeated ideas.
- Meaning shifted in the rewrite: return to paraphrasing without changing meaning.
- Right points but a disconnected result: return to checking length and logical flow.
Log your repeat slips in the mistake log and paper-error review. If you want a teacher to go through your attempts with you, see online one-to-one Chinese tuition.