Level five on the new HSK test corresponds to the Intermediate level on the old HSK exam. While the language you'll find is not actually as difficult as the old Intermediate level, you should notice some of the questions starting to become logically tricky at this level. Especially as you advance through the test, being able to understand a few words should not give enough information to answer any question in isolation. For this reason, this is the level of certification you should aim for if you are planning to study at a university in mainland China.Please note: on our audio for this test we have not included separate recordings of the answers as previously. The reason for this is that the answers aren't included in audio form on the real HSK. We'll go back to providing audio in future exercises, but wanted to bring you at least one sample test that adheres to the HSK standard exactly, so you'll know what it will be like when you sit for the actual test.
trevelyan
said on January 26, 2011
My comment on twitter regarding this lesson... "The new HSK is ridiculously easy. If you can't pass this just go home." Because seriously... anyone who thinks this is intermediate is living in a world of ice cream and ponies. And any journalists out there can quote me on that the next time they're putting together a Hanban fluff piece.We'll keep publishing these things because I know some people need this stuff. But enough is enough. Is it really worth it pushing this stuff on the front page? My feeling is that if the Chinese government is not going to put out a remotely useful test for people who are serious about mandarin acquisition, we will do it ourselves. It will be hard and people will fail. But a good score will be a meaningful measure of fluency, not just a sign someone can pluck out the word "Wednesday" from a sentence spoken at glacial pace.On that note, unless there is a tidal wave of opposition from you guys, I'm opening the floor for suggestions on names for our awesome new test. We will probably go with whatever makes for the best acronym, so be creative.
ckw4y
said on January 26, 2011
I have to agree. The old tests required nuance, but the answers to most of these questions are obvious. This feels like one of the easier HSK Beginner listening tests of old, not on the upper end of intermediate.
orbital
said on January 26, 2011
I've got 汉语水平 and 考试, but need a way to spell out KSUC in the middle. I'll get my Shenzhen buddies on this tomorrow.
jordanhamel
said on January 27, 2011
这个真的比以前的听力理解容易多了。。。最明显的区别就是你们提醒的那个词汇。。。我08年考上了初中等的七级，其实从那个时候开始有很多美国学校随便开个中文班，是否为了班级的大小,他们才会把考试改了吗？呵呵，jk...另外，我05年到海口的时候开始听cpod,现在我只听你们的课，我觉得你们的教育方法对我真好用。谢谢万事如意
Echo
said on January 27, 2011
@jordanhamel，
嗯，是因为换了出题的组织才会变成这样的......复杂的背景故事......
谢谢啦～～我听说海南很美的，之前一直想找时间去看看，不过到现在还没有机会。
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
cygorgen
said on February 6, 2011
In Item 13, the questioner asks why the phone line is busy just now.
Is the word used "占线"? Please tell me the actual characters spoken to mean 电话线忙. 谢谢, 新年快乐!
trevelyan
said on February 6, 2011
@cygorgen,
女：总算打通了，刚才怎么一直占线？
男：刚才妈妈来电话找我有事。
问：他们在做什么？
If you answer any of the listening questions incorrectly, the transcript should appear above the question. This is a relatively new feature, so it doesn't hold for the entire archive. But at least for the new ones, it's a useful way to check if you're not sure what you heard.
--david
huyilin
said on July 1, 2011
Excellent the new feature of the transcript, really helpful, 谢谢！
ran_conan
said on January 15, 2014
Oh My God. I've tried the new HSK level 4. but, the new hsk level 4 is MORE DIFFICULT than the listening exercise of new hsk 5 here.
murrayjames
said on January 15, 2014
@ran_conan,I've read a few reports that the listening portion on the new HSK is harder than mock tests (including Hanban's own prep materials) make it seem. For example, here's the experience of one user who passed the new HSK 6:http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/39999-taking-the-hsk-already-taken-it-report-in-here-2013/?p=315322
wu.goodluck23
said on December 10, 2014
so i cant download the exercise with a free account?
trevelyan
said on December 11, 2014
hi wu.goodluck23,Not the stuff that is in the premium sections of the regular lessons. For the free stuff (flashcards, wordlists, etc.) you can get the content into your account by visiting this page:http://popupchinese.com/hsk/testWe have a never-ending question function that is linked to from that page as well, although it loops through both new and old HSK test questions.
