Thoughts on the Mandarin Paper - Hannah

Every year, the Mandarin Chinese paper attracts a 3:7 ratio of new learners and native speakers shooting for a more straightforward H1 than would be possible in other subjects. Thus far the exam has been by and large accommodating of both parties, and this year was (happily) no exception. Here I speak from the perspective of someone who learned Mandarin via the traditional Chinese script all the way till I was 12. 

The reading comprehensions were pretty accessible this year. Any curveballs were minute and few in between, and came with ample clues. For example, in one comprehension, you had to spot the classifier for a vehicle; while not a word new learners might have known, it could be found with some simple deduction. The writing sections had some more forgiving questions but others swung niche with topics like your favourite websites, meaning it took some wrangling if you didn't have the prerequisite vocabulary. I personally miscalculated and wrote nearly 300 characters on the 100-character email about future careers. How well the examiners will take this misstep I am unsure.

The listening was also generally quite lenient with demands, often asking for only one option out of multiple listed. Of its contents I have 2 things to say: mainly that Christian is really not getting that job, and I had a very funny image of Emma gushing over 2 hard boiled eggs on plain rice in my head during Section F. 

Going severely over the word count aside, all in all, very happy to get one more exam out of the way as I enter the home stretch!