Topics · Primary Chinese · Passage Cloze (短文填空)
短文填空: filling the gaps in a passage
A passage with words taken out. The gap is not filled by whichever word means the right thing — it is filled by the word that fits the sentence around it, and there is usually only one.
- 191 exam papers analysed
- appears in 67% of P4 Chinese papers
- ~3 min read
01 Read the whole passage first
Filling gaps one at a time, in order, is how pupils lose marks on this. The clue to gap 2 is often in the sentence after gap 4.
Read it through once with the gaps empty, to see what the passage is about. Then go back and fill.
Do the easy ones first. Every word you place removes an option from the bank and narrows the hard ones.
Do the hardest last, by elimination. With a word bank, the final gap often takes whatever is left — and that is a legitimate way to get it.
02 What the gap is testing
Look at what kind of word is missing. That alone usually cuts the options down to two.
| Kind of gap | What to check | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Connective | does the sentence agree or disagree with itself? | 虽然…但是, 因为…所以 |
| Measure word | what noun follows? | 一 ＿ 书 → 本 |
| Verb | what comes after it? | ＿ 电视 → 看 |
| Adjective | what noun is it describing? | ＿ 的风景 → 美丽 |
| Adverb | how, or how much? | ＿ 地跑 → 慢慢 |
03 Connectives are the ones that repeat
More cloze gaps take a connective than anything else, and they come in fixed pairs. Learning the pairs is the highest-value thing on this topic.
- 因为…所以… — because, so. Cause then result.
- 虽然…但是… — although, but. The two halves disagree.
- 不但…而且… — not only, but also. The second half adds more of the same.
- 只要…就… — as long as, then. A condition and what follows from it.
- 一…就… — as soon as, then. One thing immediately after another.
- When half the pair is printed, the gap takes the other half. That is a free mark, and it is in most papers.
04 Checking
Read the passage back with your answers in. A wrong word usually sounds wrong, and this is the only check that catches a gap you filled with the right meaning but the wrong grammar.
Every gap filled. A blank scores nothing; a wrong guess scores nothing either, so there is never a reason to leave one.
One word per gap, unless the paper says otherwise. Two words written in is marked wrong even if one of them is right.
Write the character properly. A right word with a wrong stroke is a wrong answer, and 已/己 and 未/末 cost marks every year.
05 How to say them
These are words most children have never said out loud, and a word you cannot say is a word you avoid using. The respelling is Hanyu Pinyin, with the tone marked over the vowel. Tap the speaker to hear it.
- 短文填空sayduǎn wén tián kòng
Passage cloze — a passage with words removed, to be filled in.
- 关联词sayguān lián cí
A connective such as 因为 or 但是. They come in fixed pairs, which is what makes them answerable.
- 量词sayliàng cí
A measure word, used between a number and a noun: 一本书, 一只猫.
- 虽然saysuī rán
Although. Its partner is 但是, and a gap next to one takes the other.
- 不但saybù dàn
Not only. Its partner is 而且.
- 上下文sayshàng xià wén
The context. In a cloze the clue is often not in the sentence with the gap.
06 What each level is tested on
The same topic, asked differently as it goes up. The percentage is the share of papers at that level in which it appears.
- P2
Short passages with a word bank, and gaps taking common nouns and verbs.
Practise P2 Chinese Passage Cloze (短文填空) — 8 questions →57% of P2 Chinese papers
- P3
Measure words and simple connectives, still with a bank to choose from.
Practise P3 Chinese Passage Cloze (短文填空) — 8 questions → Practise P3 Higher Chinese Passage Cloze (短文填空) — 8 questions →17% of P3 Chinese papers
29% of P3 Higher Chinese papers
- P4
Longer passages, and gaps whose clue is in a neighbouring sentence.
Practise P4 Chinese Passage Cloze (短文填空) — 8 questions → Practise P4 Higher Chinese Passage Cloze (短文填空) — 8 questions →67% of P4 Chinese papers
55% of P4 Higher Chinese papers
- P5
Connective pairs, and clozes where the bank has more words than gaps.
Practise P5 Chinese Passage Cloze (短文填空) — 8 questions →36% of P5 Chinese papers
- P6
Passages with no word bank, where the word has to be produced rather than chosen.
Practise P6 Chinese Passage Cloze (短文填空) — 8 questions →45% of P6 Chinese papers
07 Mistakes worth knowing about
Each of these is wrong. Decide why before you open it.
“I filled the gaps in order.”
The clue to an early gap is often later in the passage. Read it all first, then fill the easy ones.
“The word means the right thing, so it fits.”
Meaning is only half of it. The word must also be the right kind — a verb where a verb is needed.
“虽然 … 所以 …”
The pairs are fixed. 虽然 takes 但是; 因为 takes 所以.
“I left the last gap blank because I was unsure.”
With a word bank, the last gap takes what is left. A blank scores nothing and a guess costs nothing.
“I did not read it back at the end.”
Reading the passage back with your answers in is the check that catches the gap that means the right thing but reads wrongly.
Now try it
40 questions across 5 levels, marked as you go with the working shown.