It is definitely not enough for foreign students to learn the words and sentences if they want to learn Chinese in China. The ability of understanding is a standard to measure whether you master Chinese language, so reading comprehension is a necessary lesson to learn.

For the purpose of improving students’ reading comprehension during the process of learning Mandarin Chinese, the following text named “谁是老外?( shuí shì lǎo wài？) “ is illustrated as a help.

刚刚到美国的时候，几个中国朋友请我到一个中国餐馆吃饭。（ɡānɡ ɡānɡ dào měi ɡuó de shí hou，jǐ ɡè zhōnɡ ɡuó pénɡ you qǐnɡ wǒ dào yí ɡè zhōnɡ ɡuó cān ɡuǎn chī fàn 。）
小林看到旁边的桌子有几个美国人正在用筷子吃饭，就说：“现在会用筷子的老外越来越多了！”（xiǎo lín kàn dào pánɡ biān de zhuō zi yǒu jǐ ɡè měi ɡuó rén zhènɡ zài yònɡ kuài zi chī fàn，jiù shuō：“ xiàn zài huì yònɡ kuài zi de lǎo wài yuè lái yuè duō le！”） 
小王也说：“那些老外不但会用筷子，而且还会电中国菜呢。他们再也不是只会点春卷、面条了。”（xiǎo wánɡ yě shuō：“ nà xiē lǎo wài bú dàn huì yònɡ kuài zi，ér qiě hái huì diàn zhōnɡ ɡuó cài ne。tā men zài yě bú shì zhǐ huì diǎn chūn juǎn、miàn tiáo le。”） 
小张正要开口，只见那边的一个老外慢慢走到我们桌子前面，用非常标准的普通话说：“请你们搞清楚，在这里，你们才是老外。”（xiǎo zhānɡ zhènɡ yào kāi kǒu，zhǐ jiàn nà biɑn de yí ɡè lǎo wài màn màn zǒu dào wǒ men zhuō zi qián miɑn，yònɡ fēi chánɡ biāo zhǔn de pǔ tōnɡ huà shuō：“qǐnɡ nǐ men ɡǎo qīnɡ chu，zài zhè lǐ，nǐ men cái shì lǎo wài。”）

The above are all the contents of the text, to help students who study in China, the Pinyin is attached to correct the pronunciation.

There are some new words are listed in the following part with the English explanations. It will beneficial for students to study Chinese after understanding the meaning of this text.
① 不但……而且……(bú dàn…ér qiě…) not only…but also…
② 春卷 (chūn juǎn) spring rolls
③ 开口 (kāi kǒu) to start to speak
④ 慢慢 (màn màn) slowly
⑤ 标准 (biāo zhǔn) standard

When learners go to Chinese school in China to learn Chinese language, teachers often ask some relevant questions to check whether students have understood the reading texts. So we will also have some questions to answer.

The first one to check students learn Mandarin in China is that “这个故事是在中国还是美国?( zhè ɡe ɡù shi shì zài zhōnɡ ɡuó hái shì měi ɡuó?)”. To answer this question, let’s back to the beginning of the passage. The passage says “刚刚到美国的时候”, so we know this story take place in America.

There is an important point in this question. Many students learn Chinese language in China find it is difficult to tell apart “或者（huò zhě）” and “还是(hái shì)”. Generally speaking, the most obvious difference is that “还是” is used in questions but “或者” is in the declarative sentences.

Another questions asked is “他们吃的是日本菜吗?( tā men chī de shì rì běn cài mɑ?)”. According to the text, they eats in the “中国餐馆”, so what they eat is definitely not Japanese food. What’s more, the mentioned “春卷” is a dish with much Chinese culture.

Last but not least, the question “他们说的是汉语还是英语?( tā men shuō de shì hàn yǔ hái shì yīnɡ yǔ ?)” is needed to answer. After reading the text, we know that even they are in America, all of them speak Chinese, which can be inferred from “非常标准的普通话”. Students learn Mandarin should have noticed that the pattern of the question is the same with the first one.

It is essential to do some reading comprehension to practice Chinese language in the class, but students should read more as free Chinese lessons to improve their language skills.

Reading comprehension is a very good method to practice Chinese language because students can learn many useful expressions and can consolidate the words and grammar points have learned.