Then → now → why
Questions about change and childhood test your tenses. Tense slips cost Grammar points.
- 1Then
The examiner is listening for tense
Childhood needs the past: played, went, was. The classic slip is "When I was young, I play…".
play → playedWhen I was a child, I play football every day.
When I was a child, I played football almost every day after school.
- 2Now
used to: past habits
used to + verb for things you did then but not now. The negative is didn't use to.
Then vs now in one sentenceI used to read comics a lot, but these days I hardly read anything on paper.
- 3Why it changed
Always say why it changed
The reason for the change is your extension: you moved, got busier, your phone changed things.
Now + whyNow I don't read books.
Now I mostly read on my phone, mainly because I have a long commute.
今天练什么，上次模考告诉你
先热身，再上一节课，花几分钟练重点问题，最后完成到期复习。下次模考后，计划也会更新。勾选几项试试看。
你的 20 分钟
重点练过去时，这是你在10月10日最拖分的问题。
- 现在 · 新课接着学下一课
第 3 课 · Then and now
学方法听示范开口说改一改存表达为什么今天练。 练习 used to 和过去式，正好对应报告指出的时态问题。
错过的句子，练到不再错
每句错句都会存进笔记本，按计划回来复习。在不同的两天说对，就算过关。试着标记几次复习吧。
When I was in high school, me and my friends go there almost every day after class.
第 1 天该复习。 这次说对了吗？
隔天回来复习。说错了，第二天再来；说对了，3 天后再来。在不同的 2 天说对，就算过关。
全部 35 节课
三个单元练考试的三个部分，三个单元练评分项，还有一个应对考场突发情况。
Part 1: short answers with substance
Answer any Part 1 question in 2–4 natural sentences with a reason and a detail.
- 1Answer, reason, detailTurn every Part 1 answer into 2–4 sentences with a reason and a detail.10 分钟
- 2Likes and habitsAnswer "Do you like…" and "How often…" with how often, when, and how it feels.10 分钟
- 3Then and nowUse "used to" and the present to say what changed and why.10 分钟
- 4Questions you've never thought aboutStart within 3 seconds on an unfamiliar question: answer honestly, then link to something you know.10 分钟
- 5Natural, not memorisedDrop memorised openers and keep three follow-ups sounding natural.10 分钟
Part 2: a two-minute story
Turn any cue card into a 1:45 story with a clear line, real detail and a proper ending.
- 1One-minute notes: five wordsUse the minute to write five keywords, then talk for over a minute from them.12 分钟
- 2Story line: setting, events, turn, resultTell it as setting, events, a turn and a result, joined by time words instead of "then".12 分钟
- 3Fill the time with detailUse senses, numbers and a line of speech to reach 1:45.12 分钟
- 4One story, many cardsMine one story from your life, save it, and adapt it to a new card.14 分钟
- 5Ending and reflectionSpend the last 20 seconds on the card's final line, ending with a feeling and a look back.12 分钟
Part 3: develop an opinion
Give a clear view with a reason and an example on any Part 3 question, and go deeper when pushed.
- 1Opinion, reason, exampleAnswer every Part 3 question with a clear view, one reason and one specific example.10 分钟
- 2Two sides, then your sideGive a reason for each side of a question, then land on a clear view.10 分钟
- 3From me to societyStart from your own experience, then widen it to people your age, big cities or the whole country.10 分钟
- 4Predict and imagineAnswer future and "what if" questions with will, be likely to or would, plus a reason.10 分钟
- 5Go one level deeper on "why"When asked why, give the cause behind the cause, with a reason or example every round.12 分钟
Fluency and coherence
Speak at length without long pauses or restarts, with natural links and a clear order the examiner can follow.
- 1Thinking time that sounds naturalBuy thinking time with a natural phrase instead of silence or "um, um".10 分钟
- 2Clean self-correctionFix a slip in one go with "I mean" or "or rather" instead of restarting the sentence.10 分钟
- 3Vary your linking wordsLink longer answers with varied expressions instead of and, and, so.10 分钟
- 44-3-2 retellingTell the same story three times, shorter each time, keeping every key point with fewer pauses.12 分钟
- 5Signpost, then follow itSay how many points you'll make, then follow that order so the examiner can follow you.10 分钟
Vocabulary: precise and natural
Use what you've learned naturally in new answers, instead of leaning on good, very and a lot of.
- 1Replace the all-purpose wordsSwap good, bad, thing, a lot of and very for words that say exactly what you mean.10 分钟
- 2Collocations matter more than wordsGet the pairs Chinese speakers often miss right: make/do/take, heavy, rise/raise, and no more "learn knowledge".10 分钟
- 3Topic chunks: work and technologyHave two or three ready chunks each for work and technology, two common Part 3 topics.11 分钟
- 4Say the question your wayOpen by putting the question in your own words instead of repeating it, then give your view straight away.10 分钟
- 5Idioms: few and well placedKnow when an idiom fits and when it sounds forced, with three safe ones ready.10 分钟
Grammar: accurate and varied
Use two kinds of complex sentence correctly in one answer, with no tense, -s, article or plural slips.
- 1Present perfect or past simpleUse have done for experience and the past simple for a specific time, never "I have been there last year".11 分钟
- 2Third-person -s, articles and pluralsAdd -s after he and she, put a or the before singular nouns, and never say advices or informations.10 分钟
- 3Relative clauses: join short sentencesJoin two or three short sentences into one with who, which, where or whose, correctly.12 分钟
- 4Conditionals for opinions and what-ifsTell real possibilities from imagined ones: If it rains, I'll…; If I were…, I'd…11 分钟
- 5Comparing and concedingCompare with far more… than and not as… as, and concede with although, even though and while.11 分钟
Test day: handling the unexpected
Handle unclear words, interruptions and odd questions without a silence over five seconds.
- 1When you didn't understandAsk once if you missed it, say your guess if a word is unclear, and just answer if you got it.11 分钟
- 2Being interruptedWhen you're cut off, let the old answer go, accept in a word and answer the new question first.12 分钟
- 3Odd questionsHandle a strange Part 3 question by reasoning from what you know and have seen to a tentative view.12 分钟
- 4Reviewing your mockAfter a mock, listen to one answer, find one fix and say it again straight away.12 分钟
- 5The last 72 hours and the first minuteWarm up aloud before the test, then start each opening answer within two seconds.10 分钟