GCSE Chinese Reading and Listening Practice: All 5 Themes, with Audio and Answers

By the end you can

• Know what each question word asks for. 为什么 wants a reason, 什么时候 a time, 跟谁 a person and 在哪儿 a place. Answer in the language the question uses, and in Chinese give just the words that answer it.
  他为什么不去？ · Tā wèishénme bú qù? · Why isn't he going?
• Read and listen on all five GCSE themes. Each theme has a reading text and a recording, from a Mid-Autumn post and a tour guide in Guilin to a nurse talking about her job and a charity race, with questions marked Foundation or Higher.
  我用手机听音乐，很方便。 · Wǒ yòng shǒujī tīng yīnyuè, hěn fāngbiàn. · I listen to music on my phone. It's really handy.
• Answer Higher questions in Chinese. Every theme has a Higher question written in Chinese to answer in Chinese, such as what a family does after dinner or what Huang Le plans to do after senior high school.
• Catch the change that turns a likely answer into a wrong one. A page of traps: 以前 and 现在, 本来 and 后来, a correction like 不是…是…, 没 and 还没, 不太, and 除了…都, each with what it does to the answer.
  不是三点，是四点。 · Bú shì sān diǎn, shì sì diǎn. · Not three o'clock: four.
• Translate Chinese into English with every detail. Four sentences and a short passage about a friend called Anna. Keep every time word, negative and number, and check the tense of every verb before you finish.
  她的中文说得很好。 · Tā de Zhōngwén shuō de hěn hǎo. · She speaks Chinese very well.
• Answer short tasks against the clock. A timed run of three short recordings and two short texts, then say all five answers aloud as full Chinese sentences.
  电影七点半开始。 · Diànyǐng qī diǎn bàn kāishǐ. · The film starts at half past seven.
• Retell a recording and a text aloud. Hear a model retell of the tour guide's plan, then retell Huang Le's text and Zhang Wen's recording in three sentences with the book closed.
  我听懂了！ · Wǒ tīngdǒng le! · I understood it!

What’s inside

• The papers: Papers 1 and 3 in One Page
• Theme 1: Identity and Culture
• Theme 2: Local Area, Holiday and Travel
• Theme 3: School
• Theme 4: Future Aspirations, Study and Work
• Theme 5: International and Global Dimension
• Translation: Translate Chinese into English
• Exam skills: Traps That Change the Answer · Timed Run: 3 Recordings, 2 Texts
• Review: Say It Back: Retell Aloud
• Plan: Your 6-Week Plan

How to use this book

One page per theme, each with a reading text, a recording and questions at both tiers. Answer from the recording first and read the script only when you check. The free audio plays each line with a pause to say it back. The book's own plan takes six weeks.

1. Before you start: Learn the question words. Page 3: what 为什么, 什么时候, 跟谁 and 在哪儿 ask for, and when to answer in Chinese.
2. Week 1: Themes 1 and 2. Read each text twice, answer the Foundation questions, then mark them with the key.
3. Week 2: Themes 3, 4 and 5. Same routine. Write every word you missed in a notebook with its pinyin.
4. Week 3: Higher questions. Go back to all five themes and answer the Higher questions without the audio script.
5. Weeks 4 and 5: Translation, traps and a timed run. Do the translation page and translate one sentence a day from any text. Then learn the traps on page 10 and do the timed run on page 11.
6. Week 6: Time it and retell. Do the timed run again, and retell one text and one recording aloud every day.

Who it’s for

GCSE Chinese (Spoken Mandarin) students preparing the listening and reading papers for Pearson Edexcel 1CN0 or AQA 8673, at Foundation or Higher tier, and teachers who want themed texts and recordings for class.

Before you start: About two years of GCSE Mandarin, roughly HSK 2 to 3. The book uses simplified characters. The answers and the audio script are at the back, and every recording is on the free audio.

Frequently asked questions

Does it work for both Edexcel and AQA?

Yes. It is practice in the GCSE Chinese (Spoken Mandarin) format for Pearson Edexcel 1CN0 and AQA 8673: listening (Paper 1) and reading (Paper 3), each worth a quarter of the GCSE, with translation from Chinese into English. SayMei wrote every text, recording and question.

Are the questions for Foundation or Higher?

Both. Each theme has Foundation (F) and Higher (H) questions on the same text and recording, so Foundation students can start with the F questions and try the H ones when they are ready.

Does it cover speaking and writing?

No, this book is for listening and reading. For the speaking exam, the book points to GCSE Chinese Speaking Practice, with role plays, picture tasks and conversation questions.

Is this workbook free?

Yes. The whole 19-page PDF is free, and you can look through its pages here before you download. There's no card and nothing to pay.

Do I need a SayMei account?

Yes, to download the PDF, and the account is free: sign up with Google, Apple or your email address. With it we email you a copy of the workbook, keep every workbook you download on your account on all your devices, save your place in the free online practice, and you can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor.

How do I print it?

The PDF is US Letter size. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" (or "Scale to fit") in the print dialog so nothing is cut off. Print the whole workbook or only the pages you need; colour looks best, and black and white works too.

Can I print copies for my class?

Yes. Print as many copies as you like for your own class or family. To share it, send this page: everyone can download their own copy.

Keep going

GCSE Chinese Speaking Practice: Role Plays, Picture Tasks and Conversation Questions · GCSE Chinese Writing Practice: Foundation and Higher Tasks with Model Answers · AP® Chinese Speaking Practice: Project Presentation and Q&A (2027 Format) · AP® Chinese Story Narration and Email Response Practice: 10 Prompts with Model Answers · More exam practice · Browse all 294 workbooks