9.5 Use of Chinese: Sentence Filling and Sentence Ordering (詞句運用：句子填充與排序)

9.5 Use of Chinese: Sentence Filling and Sentence Ordering (詞句運用：句子填充與排序)

Quick Answer: Beyond single words, the CSB's 詞句運用 samples ask you to choose the sentence that best fills a blank and to put five sentence parts in the correct order (選出下列句子的正確排列次序). Both test continuity: topic, logic, punctuation, pronoun reference and sentence pattern. For filling, read beyond the blank. For ordering, find the opening sentence and the fixed pairs, then use the options to eliminate.

Sentence filling: the official sample

「人生如戲。」人人都會這樣說，但是＿＿＿＿＿：不要以為人生如戲，就可以不必認真；就是因為是一場戲，無論是大小演員、台前幕後，也要認認真真的，合力做一齣人生的好戲。 A 戲不是人人能演的　B 劇目個個不同　C 角色大小有別　D 這句話的意義不是人人明白 答案：D

The keys are 但是 and the colon. 但是 sets up a contrast with 人人都會這樣說 (everyone says it). The colon introduces an explanation, which shows how people misunderstand the saying. Only D sets up that explanation. A, B and C each pick up a detail (acting, repertoire, roles) that the following text does not develop.

Continuity checks for filling a blank

Wrong options in filling items are usually true but off-topic, right topic but wrong logic, or right logic but wrong sentence pattern.

Sentence ordering: the official sample

選出下列句子的正確排列次序。 ❶ 其他成員包括政府人員及業外人士 ❷ 管委會的成員主要包括中醫藥業界人士 ❸ 負責執行各項中醫藥規管措施 ❹ 香港中醫藥管理委員會是一個獨立的法定組織 ❺ 在「自我規管」的原則下 A ❷❶❹❺❸　B ❹❷❶❺❸　C ❹❸❺❷❶　D ❺❹❷❶❸ 答案：C

Reasoning step by step:

1. Opening sentence: ❹ gives the organisation's full name. ❷ uses the short form 管委會, which must come later, and ❶ starts with 其他 (other), which depends on an earlier group.
2. Attach the predicate: ❸ 負責執行…… has no subject of its own, so it continues ❹: the council is a statutory body responsible for regulatory measures.
3. Fixed pair: ❷ (members mainly from the profession) must come before ❶ (other members).
4. The principle phrase: ❺ 在「自我規管」的原則下 explains why members come mainly from the profession, so it leads into ❷.
5. Result: ❹❸❺❷❶, which is option C.

A five-step method for ordering

1. Find the opening sentence. It introduces the topic by its full name, and does not begin with a pronoun (此, 其, 該, 這) or a connective (因此, 而且, 但是, 其他).
2. Link pronouns and short forms to their sources: 管委會 needs the full name earlier, and 此舉 needs an action before it.
3. Pair connectives: 不但 comes before 而且, 首先 before 其次, and a 雖然 clause before its 但是 clause.
4. Follow natural order: general before specific (總─分), cause before effect, earlier before later.
5. Use the options. Check which options start with your opening sentence, then which keep your fixed pairs together. Usually only one survives.

Worked ordering example

❶ 部門於是把部分申請改為網上辦理 ❷ 過去，市民申請各類證明文件，往往須親身前往辦事處 ❸ 新安排推出後，平均輪候時間明顯縮短 ❹ 這種做法不但費時 ❺ 而且容易因文件不齊而白走一趟

• ❷ opens with a time marker (過去) and sets the scene.
• ❹ refers back with 這種做法 and opens a 不但 clause, so ❺ (而且) must follow it.
• ❶ uses 於是 (as a result), so it follows the problem.
• ❸ reports the outcome, so it comes last.
• Order: ❷❹❺❶❸.

Worked filling example

數碼化服務的成敗，不在於系統有多先進，＿＿＿＿＿。

The frame 不在於……而在於…… is a fixed contrast pair, so the blank must begin with 而在於 and name the factor that does matter. An option such as 而在於市民是否用得上 completes both the pattern and the logic. Options that add another technical factor (而且系統要經常更新) break the contrast, and options that change the subject (政府應加強宣傳) break the topic.

Common traps in ordering items

• Two possible openings: if two parts both look like openings, the one with the full name or the time marker (過去, 近年) usually wins. The other often contains a pronoun or short form that needs an antecedent.
• Split pairs: an option that separates 不但 from 而且, or a 雖然 clause from its 但是 clause, is wrong even if the rest reads well.
• Result before cause: parts beginning with 於是, 因此 or 結果 must follow the situation they respond to.
• Over-reading: you do not need to rebuild the passage word by word. Fix the opening and one pair, then let the options do the rest.