# Checkpoint A Chinese Practice: Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing (New York) New York Checkpoint A Chinese speaking, listening, reading and writing practice, with model lines and audio Source: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/ny-checkpoint-a-chinese-practice ## At a glance - Level: Checkpoint A (about HSK 1-2) - Format: Workbook · PDF · 16 pages · US Letter (prints on A4) - Price: Free · free with a saymei account · updated Nov 5, 2026 ## Download Free with a SayMei account, on the workbook's page: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/ny-checkpoint-a-chinese-practice. SayMei emails a copy too. ## A line from the workbook 我学中文两年了。 (Wǒ xué Zhōngwén liǎng nián le.) — I have studied Chinese for two years. ## By the end you can - Know the four skills the exam tests and the lines that save you. Checkpoint A is set by your school or district, so tasks differ, but it tests speaking, listening, reading and writing. Learn four lines for when you get stuck. 请再说一次。 (Qǐng zài shuō yí cì.): Please say that again. - Answer family questions in full sentences and ask one back. Say how many people are in your family, who they are, what they do and what they like, then keep the talk going with 你呢？ 我家有四口人：爸爸、妈妈、姐姐和我。 (Wǒ jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén: bàba, māma, jiějie hé wǒ.): There are four of us: my dad, my mom, my older sister and me. - Describe your school day with times and reasons. When you leave home, how you get to school, when class starts and your favourite class, with a reason after 因为. 我七点半出门，八点开始上课。 (Wǒ qī diǎn bàn chūmén, bā diǎn kāishǐ shàngkè.): I leave home at seven thirty, and class starts at eight. - Talk about food, shopping, prices and your neighbourhood. Order a meal and ask 多少钱, say what you bought yesterday, name places like 超市, 书店 and 饭馆, and tell what you did last Saturday. 我经常和妈妈去超市。那儿的水果很便宜。 (Wǒ jīngcháng hé māma qù chāoshì. Nàr de shuǐguǒ hěn piányi.): I often go to the supermarket with my mom. The fruit there is cheap. - Catch numbers, times, places and weather when you listen. A family introduction, a voice message about where to meet, a supermarket announcement and a weather report, all on the free audio, with circle, English and true-or-false questions. - Read signs, notes and messages for the key facts. Say where you would see each sign (a hospital, a bookstore, a restaurant, the subway), then answer questions in English about a note to Mom and a birthday invitation. - Write a short note and an email to a pen pal. Complete sentences about yourself, write a note saying where you are going and when you'll be back, then a four- or five-sentence email with one question, and compare with the Model answers. ## What's inside - The exam: Checkpoint A Chinese in One Page - Speaking 1: Me and My Family - Speaking 2: My School Day - Speaking 3: Food and Shopping - Speaking 4: Free Time and My Neighborhood - Listening: Listening Practice 1 · Listening Practice 2 - Reading: Reading Signs, Notes and Messages - Writing: Writing a Note and an Email - Plan: Your Four-Week Checkpoint A Plan ## How to use this book Do one page a day. Say every model line out loud with the free audio, then answer again with facts about your own life. Page 12 is a four-week plan to exam day. - Week 1: Survival lines and two speaking topics. Learn the four lines on page 3 until you can say them without thinking. Do Speaking 1 and 2: say each line back, then answer every question with your own facts. - Week 2: More speaking and the listening pages. Do Speaking 3 and 4 the same way, timing each answer with a phone timer. Do both listening pages, listening twice before you check the audio script. - Week 3: Reading and writing. Read each sign and message out loud, then answer the questions. Write the note and the email and compare them with the Model answers. - Week 4: Without the book. Answer the speaking questions in any order in three sentences each. Write one new note and one new email about your own week. - Exam week: Rest and get ready. Say the four lines once more, get a good night's sleep and bring two pens. ## Who it's for Middle school students in New York preparing for the Checkpoint A Chinese exam, usually at the end of grade 8 or after about two years of Chinese, and teachers who want practice in all four skills with audio. Before you start: About two years of Chinese, around HSK 1 to 2. The models use Simplified characters with pinyin; if your school gives the exam in Traditional, some characters will look different. Answers and the audio script are in the key. ## Will the tasks match my school's exam? Not exactly. Checkpoint A is set by your school or district, so tasks differ. The book is practice for New York Checkpoint A Chinese in all four skills, on four common topics. SayMei wrote every text and question, so ask your teacher about your exam's format too. ## What if I don't understand a question in the speaking part? Say 请再说一次 (please say that again) or 让我想想 (let me think). It is much better than silence. Then answer in a full sentence, add one detail with 因为 or 也, and ask a question back. ## Is the book in Simplified or Traditional characters? Simplified, with pinyin. Many schools also give the exam in Traditional characters, where some characters look different, so ask your teacher which one you will see. ## Is this workbook free? Yes. The whole 16-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. This is an independent practice resource by SayMei. It is not produced or endorsed by the New York State Education Department, NYSAWLA or the New York City Department of Education. Version 2026-11, updated Nov 5, 2026.