Some tests are so good they don't need no fancy introduction in grammatical english. The HSK rarely hits this level of excellence, but our sample exam for today offers the very epitome of test-prep exceptionality. It is easy yet difficult. Simple yet labyrinthine. Cruel yet fair. And as modest about its virtues as we are not.We hope you do really well since that is a sign you're making real progress. But we don't think you need to fear failure either: wrong answers are more instructive here than anything else. So good luck, take the test, and we'll see you on the other side.
glacchia
said on May 1, 2009
Question 4 was really puzzling for me. Could you explain why A and not D?
Gilberto
orbital
said on May 1, 2009
@Gilberto - the proper answer to #4 should be C. The reason is that 适合 is verb ("to be suited for X") and can take an object, but 合适 is an adjective. The blank in that sentence needs a verb.
That said, the two words are so close everyone mixes them up all the time. I personally think Chinese people should do us all a favor and just pick one and run with it, but the HSK committee apparently isn't sympathetic. So you just have to remember. This is one of my pet peeves with Chinese FWIW. The other is the fact that 好容易 and 好不容易 mean the same thing.... Go figure.
Echo
said on May 2, 2009
@Gilberto & orbital,
Exactly like what orbital said :) We need a verb here.
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
glacchia
said on May 2, 2009
@Orbital - Thank you for the explanation. I was so confused that I wrote the wrong solution even after the correction of the test. No wonder that even the Chinese people mixes the words up.
Echo
said on May 2, 2009
@Gilberto,
加油！！！
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
