8.2 Use of Chinese: Short Extract Reading (片段╱語段閱讀)

8.2 Use of Chinese: Short Extract Reading (片段╱語段閱讀)

Quick Answer: Six of the 45 Use of Chinese questions are based on short extracts, usually a single paragraph. According to the CSB, they test whether you understand what the extract means or the view it implies (理解該段文字的含義或引申出來的觀點), can pick options that support or reject a view (找出支持或否定某些觀點的選項), and can choose the sentence that best sums up the extract (選出最能概括該段文字的一句話). Spend about one minute on each: find the central sentence, decide what the extract actually commits to, and eliminate options that overstate it.

The official sample

The CSB's sample extract and question:

虛心接受別人的意見，能糾正不必要的錯誤。然而，真正能虛心受教的人卻少之又少。說到底，人就是怕被人指出錯處，當眾出醜；又或心底裡不願承認其他人比自己強、比自己看得透。到最後，人會因不願受教，終於越走越歪，並要承受自己種下的惡果。

對這段話，理解不準確的是： A 要糾正錯誤必須接受他人的意見。 B 不願受教的人怕被人指出錯處，當眾出醜。 C 其他人一定比自己強、比自己看得透。 D 不願接受意見的人最終會自食其果。

答案：C

Why C is keyed: the extract says people are unwilling to admit (不願承認) that others may be stronger or see further. It describes a psychological reluctance; it never asserts that others are always stronger. Option C converts a reported attitude into an absolute fact and adds 一定 (necessarily). This combines two classic traps: absolute wording (絕對化) and swapping a concept (偷換概念), with "unwilling to admit X" becoming "X is true".

The other options paraphrase the extract closely. B restates 怕被人指出錯處，當眾出醜, and D restates 承受自己種下的惡果 as 自食其果. The lesson: in a "not accurate" question, the keyed option is usually the most clearly distorted one, not the one that sounds most negative.

How short extracts are built

Most extracts follow one of three structures. Identifying the structure finds the central sentence quickly:

The official sample uses a turn (然而) followed by an explanation (說到底) and a consequence (到最後). Its central point is that few people truly accept advice, because of fear and pride, and they suffer for it.

Question types and how to handle them

1. Accurate or inaccurate understanding (理解準確／不準確的是)

Circle the negative word first. For an inaccurate stem, check each option against the extract and mark it ✓ or ✗; the single ✗ is the answer. Common distortions are:

• adding 一定, 必然, 所有 or 唯一 to a hedged statement;
• turning "some people" or "many cases" into everyone;
• reversing cause and effect;
• presenting a view the extract reports as one it endorses.

2. Best summary (最能概括這段文字的是)

A good summary covers the extract's main claim and its scope. Reject options that:

• describe only the example or the opening background (too narrow);
• extend the claim to a wider field than the extract covers (too broad);
• capture a detail that appears in the extract but is not its point.

3. Implied view (這段文字意在說明／可以推出的是)

An implied view must follow from what the extract says without extra assumptions. If an option needs outside knowledge to be true, it is not an inference from the extract, however reasonable it sounds.

4. Support or weaken (最能支持／削弱上述觀點的是)

These items test the link between the extract's reason and its conclusion:

Worked example on an original extract

不少人以為，會議開得越長，討論就越充分。其實，冗長的會議往往令與會者疲於應付，真正需要決定的事項反而被擱置。有些部門規定每次會議不超過四十五分鐘，並在會前發出議程，結果決策速度明顯加快。可見，會議的成效不在於時間長短，而在於準備是否充足。

• Structure: a common view, then a turn at 其實, then evidence, then a conclusion at 可見. The central sentence is the last one.
• Best summary: 會議成效取決於會前準備，而非開會時間長短. An option such as 會議時間應一律限制在四十五分鐘內 turns one example into a universal rule, so it is too broad.
• Weaken: evidence that the departments' faster decisions came from new staff rather than from preparation would weaken the conclusion, because it offers another cause.

Timing and accuracy habits

1. Read the question stem before the extract, so you know whether you are summarising, checking accuracy, or supporting or weakening.
2. Read the extract once, carefully. Extracts are short, so precision matters more than speed.
3. Underline the central sentence and any qualifier (有些, 往往, 不少, 可能).
4. For each option, find the source words. If an option has no source in the extract, it is either an unsupported addition or a distortion.

Avoiding the "real-world truth" trap

Many wrong options in extract questions are statements that are true or sensible in real life but are not what the extract says. In a "best summary" or "can be inferred" item, an option is correct only because of the extract, not because of general knowledge. If you find yourself defending an option with "but everyone knows that...", it is probably a distractor.