This set covers the five skills of Characters, words and context: look-alike characters, collocations, meaning from context, punctuation and word review. All sentences are invented for practice. Use paper, write each answer first, and only then open the answer.
Questions are ordered from easier to harder. The Chinese stays in Simplified Chinese; explanations are in English.
Questions
Look-alike characters
1. Choose the correct character: 他（已 / 己）经回家了。
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已. 已经 means “already”. 己 appears in 自己.
2. Choose the correct character: 我们要学会相信自（已 / 己）。
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己. 自己 means “oneself”.
3. Choose the correct character: 爸爸每个月（末 / 未）发工资。
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末. 月末 means “end of the month”. 未 means “not yet”.
4. Choose the correct character: 这个问题老师还（末 / 未）回答。
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未. 还未回答 means “has not yet answered”. The word 末 does not fit the meaning.
Collocations
5. Choose the natural verb: （养成 / 提高）早睡早起的习惯。
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养成. A habit is developed, so 养成习惯. 提高 pairs with levels, marks and standards.
6. Which is natural? A. 做出决定 B. 做成决定
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A. 做出决定 is the fixed phrase for making a decision. 做成 means to complete something, as in 做成一件事.
Meaning from context
7. What does 凌乱 mean? 她的房间非常凌乱，书和衣服扔得到处都是，连路都难走。
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“Messy, in disorder.” Clues: books and clothes are thrown everywhere (description), and it is hard to walk (result).
8. What does 艰深 mean? 这篇文章太艰深了，连老师也要读很久才明白。
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“Hard to understand, difficult.” Clue: even the teacher needs a long time to understand it.
Punctuation
9. Add the punctuation: 小明问妈妈今天吃什么
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小明问妈妈今天吃什么。 The question is reported inside a statement, so the sentence ends with 。, not ？.
10. Add the punctuation: 她喜欢唱歌跳舞和画画
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她喜欢唱歌、跳舞和画画。 A list takes 、 between items, with 和 before the last.
Word review
11. The new word is 谦虚 (qiānxū, modest). Plan a review on day 1 and day 3 with a different sentence each time, and write both sentences.
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Possible answer: Day 1: 他成绩很好，但是为人谦虚。 Day 3: 谦虚的人更容易向别人学习。 Any two different, meaningful sentences with 谦虚, reviewed on separate days, are correct.
If you got these wrong
| Mistake | Go to |
|---|---|
| Questions 1 to 4: picked the character by shape | Distinguish visually similar characters through meaning |
| Questions 5 and 6: unnatural verb partner | Use a new word in a natural collocation |
| Questions 7 and 8: guessed from one character | Infer meaning from sentence context |
| Questions 9 and 10: wrong mark at a boundary | Relate punctuation to a sentence boundary |
| Question 11: same sentence copied, no gap | Review a word in spaced meaningful examples |
Record each wrong answer in the mistake log and retest queue, then retest it on a later day. The summary selection and paraphrase studio and the writing revision compare view support your own drafts.
If the same type of mistake returns, our teachers can work on it with you in online one-to-one Chinese tuition.