# Advanced Higher Mandarin Practice: Talking, Reading and Translating, Listening and Discursive Writing (Scotland) Discussion questions with model answers in all four contexts, reading and translating, listening, a discursive essay and portfolio steps for Advanced Higher Mandarin, with audio Source: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/sqa-advanced-higher-mandarin-practice ## At a glance - Level: Advanced Higher (about HSK 4-5) - 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/sqa-advanced-higher-mandarin-practice. SayMei emails a copy too. ## A line from the workbook 我想从两个方面来分析。 (Wǒ xiǎng cóng liǎng ge fāngmiàn lái fēnxī.) — I'd like to look at this from two angles. ## By the end you can - Know the four parts of Advanced Higher Mandarin. Reading and translating, listening and discursive writing, the performance–talking with a visiting assessor, and the portfolio, with what lifts an answer above Higher: analysis as well as opinion. 这要看情况。 (Zhè yào kàn qíngkuàng.): It depends. - Put the result first and the cause second. Use 之所以…是因为… to analyse why something happens, which sounds measured and clear in talking and writing. 很多年轻人之所以学中文，是因为想了解另一种文化。 (Hěn duō niánqīngrén zhīsuǒyǐ xué Zhōngwén, shì yīnwèi xiǎng liǎojiě lìng yì zhǒng wénhuà.): Many young people learn Chinese because they want to understand another culture. - Discuss all four contexts with model answers. Society (fast fashion), learning (why learn a language), employability (skills or grades) and culture (sharing a culture): agree with a condition, disagree politely and weigh both sides. - Read a longer text, answer in English and translate. A story about an Edinburgh bookshop that changed, with questions, true-or-false items to correct and a section to translate into natural English, with a model translation in the key. - Follow a monologue and a conversation. Hear Chen Xiaoyu talk about what she did after school, then Lin Hao and Chen Xiaoyu plan a writing project, and answer in English. - Plan and write a balanced discursive essay. Sort a plan into introduction, for, against and conclusion, swap spoken words for formal ones like 此外, 然而 and 因此, then write on one of three titles. 一方面很方便，另一方面也有风险。 (Yì fāngmiàn hěn fāngbiàn, lìng yì fāngmiàn yě yǒu fēngxiǎn.): On the one hand it's convenient; on the other, there are risks. - Build the portfolio in plain steps. Narrow a topic to one question, write each paragraph as point, evidence and analysis, and cut anything that doesn't answer your question. 这个细节说明，主人公其实很孤独。 (Zhège xìjié shuōmíng, zhǔréngōng qíshí hěn gūdú.): This detail shows that the main character is actually very lonely. ## What's inside - The course: Advanced Higher in One Page - Talking 1: Society: Fast Fashion and Us - Talking 2: Learning: Why Learn a Language? - Talking 3: Employability: Skills or Grades? - Talking 4: Culture: Sharing a Culture - Reading: Reading: A Bookshop That Changed - Listening: Listening: After School - Discursive writing: Discursive Writing: Plan and Write - Portfolio: The Portfolio in Plain Steps - Plan: Your Ten-Week Plan ## How to use this book The book's own ten-week plan on page 12 leads up to the exam. For the talking, cover the model answers, answer each question aloud first, then compare and use the models for ideas, not a speech to learn. - Week 1: Set up. Read the course specification, list your deadlines and agree your portfolio focus with your teacher. - Weeks 2–4: Talking in all four contexts. Answer the questions on pages 4 to 7 aloud and record yourself. Add one Scottish example to every answer, then have a mixed discussion with a friend who asks follow-ups. - Weeks 5–6: Reading and listening. Do page 8 and translate one short paragraph from a Chinese article a day. Play page 9 twice, then listen to ten minutes of Chinese a day and note key points in English. - Weeks 7–8: Essay and portfolio. Plan two of the titles on page 10 and write one against the clock. Finish and cut your portfolio draft before your school's deadline. - Weeks 9–10: Mixed practice and rest. Do one reading, one listening and one essay plan, fix your three most common mistakes, then read your best answers aloud and keep the last days light. ## Who it's for S6 students taking Advanced Higher Mandarin (Simplified) in Scotland, the step after Higher, and their teachers, who want practice for the talking, reading and translating, listening, discursive writing and portfolio. Before you start: A pass at Higher Mandarin or similar, about HSK 4 to 5. Practice texts are in Simplified characters; phrase pages add pinyin, and the key has the answers and model translations. ## Does it cover all of Advanced Higher Mandarin? It gives practice for every part: four talking topics with model answers, a reading and translating text, a listening page, a discursive essay and portfolio steps. SayMei wrote every text and question. Check marks, timings and portfolio rules in the current course specification. ## Should I learn the model answers? Use them for ideas and phrases, then answer in your own words. The talking is a real discussion with follow-up questions, so a learned speech won't help. ## Where is the listening audio? Free on this book's page on saymei.app, with a QR code in the PDF. Every Chinese line is recorded with a pause to say it back. The listening on page 9 is on the audio only, so play it twice before checking your answers. ## 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 Qualifications Scotland (formerly SQA). Version 2026-11, updated Nov 5, 2026.