During the process of learning Chinese language, after learning some words and sentences, students learn Chinese in China should be tested to see whether they can understand Chinese well. Among so many ways of checking the learning results, reading comprehension is the best one.

We choose reading as a beneficial method to help students learn Mandarin because the reading texts maintain all the elements students have learned before. They can learn words, sentences and consolidate them and gain understanding after reading.

To help students learn Chinese language better, we will take the reading comprehension below to train students’ ability to understand the meaning in the certain contexts. Firstly, students should read the text and try to understand it.

一群事业有成的学生回母校去探望大学时的老教授，大家在客厅里聊在校时的美好时光，但谈话很快就转换成了抱怨工作和生活中的压力。教授听了一会儿站起来，走进厨房。回到客厅时，教授的手里端着一大壶咖啡和各式各样的杯子，有瓷的、塑料的、玻璃的、水晶的，一些普通，一些昂贵，一些精致。教授让他的学生用这些杯子各自倒咖啡喝。
当所有的学生手里都端着一杯咖啡时，教授说：“如果你们留心的话，你们就会发现，你们每人手里拿的都是精致的或者昂贵的杯子。对你们来说，只想要最好的东西，这是正常的，而这正是你们的问题和压力的根源。你们每一个人真正想要的事咖啡，而不是杯子，但你们有意识地选择了最好的杯子，并且关注对方的杯子。要知道生活才是咖啡，金钱和社会地位只是杯子，他们只是承载生活的道具，不能改变生活的质量。过于注重杯子，我们就享受不到香浓的咖啡。所以，不要让杯子驱使你，而应该享受咖啡。

In order to check whether students have understood the text or not, the following questions should be answered by learners study in China.

① 这群学生：
A 不喜欢喝咖啡 B工作上不成功
C想回学校继续学习 D工作和生活中有压力

② 学生们喜欢什么样的杯子？
A玻璃的 B便宜而且结实的 C很贵的或者很美的 D普通的但质量好的

③ 教授认为：
A 压力会让人进步 B 金钱和地位很重要
C咖啡可以改变人的生活质量 D不要过分追求物质满足

④ 根据文章，下列说法正确的是：
A 教授喜欢收集杯子 B他们在厨房喝咖啡 
C 每个学生都选了一个杯子 D 教授给每人倒了一杯咖啡

Four questions are listed all above as a help to teach Mandarin language. We can see most of them aim to testing students’ ability to seize the details. Let’s explain how to solve the problems of this type by analyzing one by one.

For the first question, if students pay attention when they read this passage, they might have noticed the sentence “谈话很快就转换成了抱怨工作和生活中的压力”, which indicates they have much pressure in their life. When dealing with this question, teachers in Chinese language school will tell you to be careful with the important information in the text.

In the same way, we can deal with the second question if you notice what the professor said. One sentence is “你们每人手里拿的都是精致的或者昂贵的杯子”. All learners study Chinese should have known “精致和昂贵” is the same with “美的和贵的”. Then it must be C.

When it comes to the question three, teachers in Mandarin learning courses will tell you never choose the answer with common sense. Most students think that A is right. Indeed it is right, but it is not the point in this passage. If students can understand “要知道生活才是咖啡，金钱和社会地位只是杯子，他们只是承载生活的道具，不能改变生活的质量”, they can find the right answer D easily.

In the last one, students may find it hard to decide between C and D. This is also a test for details. I think that’s the reason students choose to go to school to study Mandarin because teachers will guide you to know how to seize the details. In the end of the first paragraph, it says “学生用这些杯子各自倒咖啡喝”, so D is wrong. So according to “你们每人手里拿的都是精致的或者昂贵的杯子”, we choose C.

Chinese school is a really good place to learn Chinese because teachers will tell you many techniques to improve your language skills.

After training with this passage, students should learn to pay more attention to the details when if they want to understand the meaning thoroughly.