Paper 1 Listening: capture facts, sequence and opinions
Practise the five listening question groups with original short recordings, two-pass listening and careful transfer of answers.
Exam scope and assessment notes
This is an original StudyForA starter sequence, not the approximately 130 guided learning hours Cambridge uses as a planning guide. A qualified Mandarin teacher still needs to check every Chinese sentence, character form, vocabulary choice, register and pronunciation cue. The complete 2025–2027 and 2028–2030 vocabulary lists have not yet been reconciled word by word. Browser speech synthesis is variable practice audio, not Cambridge recordings. Speaking rehearsal and written self-checks do not award Cambridge marks; the centre conducts, marks and records Paper 3 and Cambridge moderates it. No full-length timed mock papers are included. All Chinese examples and practice prompts are original StudyForA material, not copied Cambridge assessment content.
Before you begin
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What should a second listen check?
What you will learn
- 2025–2027 and 2028–2030 Paper 1: 30 multiple-choice/matching items, each one mark in the 2028 specimen mark scheme
- Understand announcements, phone messages, statements, monologues, dialogues, interviews and conversations
- Identify facts, main points, opinions, emotions and relevant details
- 2028 test: approximately 40 minutes including 6 minutes to transfer answers to a separate answer sheet; each recording is heard twice
Use two listens for different jobs
On the first listen, identify the context and who is speaking. On the second, confirm the exact detail: a changed time, a place, a reason or a speaker's preference. Avoid choosing an option only because it repeats one word.
The 2028 paper uses five groups: short texts with multiple choice; a factual monologue/dialogue; matching people to pictures; matching speakers with statements; and longer conversations/interviews with matching and multiple choice. The 2028 paper has 30 items and a six-minute answer-transfer period.
Transfer carefully
The published 2028 syllabus PDF and specimen Paper 1 mark scheme show 30 one-mark questions. Cambridge's subject-page summary currently says 'all papers are now worth 40 marks'; that conflicts with those detailed documents. This course follows the syllabus and specimen count, and the discrepancy should be checked with Cambridge before an exam entry or score conversion.
Original in-browser speech synthesis is optional practice audio. It may pronounce tones or names differently from a speaker and is not the recording used in an exam.
Sources for this lesson
- Cambridge IGCSE Mandarin Chinese Foreign Language 0547 subject page
- 0547 syllabus for exams in 2025–2027
- 0547 syllabus, version 2, for exams in 2028–2030
- 0547 2028–2030 syllabus update
- 0547 vocabulary list for 2028
- 0547 specimen Paper 1 mark scheme for exams from 2028
- Cambridge guidance on simplified and traditional responses
Pause and explain
Why is the published Paper 1 raw total shown as 30 in this course?
Worked example
Listen to «原来的火车下午三点开，现在改到三点半。请提前十分钟到站。» What is the new departure time, and when should a traveller arrive?
Show the worked solution
- Hear the change marker «改到».
- Keep the new time, not the old one.
- Subtract ten minutes from the new departure time.
Answer The train now leaves at 3:30 p.m.; the traveller should arrive at 3:20 p.m. The original 3 p.m. time is no longer current.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Listen twice to «今天的足球比赛因为下雨，改在体育馆举行。比赛还是下午四点开始。» Answer: what changed, and what stayed the same?
Give me a hint
On the second listen, separate the place from the time.
Compare my reasoning
- Find the reason for the change.
- Identify the new venue.
- Check the explicit unchanged time.
The match moved to the sports hall because of rain; it still starts at 4 p.m. The time did not change.
Look for these in your work
- Identifies the reason
- Identifies the new place
- Keeps the start time unchanged
Listen to «我觉得新图书馆很方便，因为离学校近。可是周末我常常去市中心的书店买杂志。» What is convenient, why, and what does the speaker often do at weekends?
Give me a hint
Notice the opinion, the reason after «因为» and the contrast after «可是».
Compare my reasoning
- Find the speaker's opinion.
- Connect the reason to the library.
- Report the weekend action separately.
The speaker thinks the new library is convenient because it is near school. At weekends the speaker often goes to a bookshop downtown to buy magazines. The text does not say the library is closed at weekends.
Look for these in your work
- Matches the reason to the correct place
- Reports the weekend habit
- Does not infer opening hours
Create a three-detail listening note from an original announcement: choose a time, a meeting place and one condition. Then explain which words carry each detail.
Give me a hint
Include one distractor in your script and mark why it is outdated or irrelevant.
Compare my reasoning
- Write two times, one of which is corrected.
- Add a meeting place and a condition.
- Explain why the final answer uses the updated detail.
Example script: «原来九点集合，现在改到九点半，在博物馆东门见。如果下雨，就在大厅等。» Notes: 9:30 (the corrected time), museum east gate (meeting place), lobby only if it rains (condition). The word «现在改到» signals that 9:00 is outdated.
Look for these in your work
- Uses an explicit correction
- Captures place and condition
- Explains the distractor
Hear an original prompt, then review your own response
The spoken clips use browser speech synthesis in Mandarin Chinese when a matching voice is available. Voices, accents and pacing vary; these are not Cambridge recordings. Microphone recordings stay in this page and are not uploaded or graded.
Listening practice
Group 1 · short announcement
A station announcement with a changed time
Transcript unlocks after you check each answer.
Group 2 · factual dialogue
Two students arrange a meeting
Transcript unlocks after you check each answer.
Group 3 · match details
A short description of a visitor
Transcript unlocks after you check each answer.
Group 4 · match speaker to plan
A learner talks about a weekend plan
Transcript unlocks after you check each answer.
Group 5 · opinion in a conversation
A student explains a school club preference
Transcript unlocks after you check each answer.
Listening self-check
After hearing a clip twice, state the context, exact detail, and one reason your selected option fits.
Use about 1 minute to plan your practice response, then speak for about 45 seconds. This practice timer does not reproduce exam preparation rules.
The recording is not transcribed. This optional text and the audio both stay in the open page.
Review your recording
- Identified the speaker and context
- Checked the detail on the second listen
- Rejected an option that contradicts the full sentence
- Used practice audio only; it is not Cambridge audio
Practice only. Original browser speech synthesis is not Cambridge exam audio and may pronounce words differently. This does not reproduce supervised examination conditions, examiner interaction or official marks. Use the current year's instructions from Cambridge and the exam centre.
Common mistakes
- Keeping the first time after hearing a correction
- Confusing a speaker's opinion with a stated fact
- Forgetting the separate answer-sheet transfer time in the 2028 cycle
What can you explain now?
A speaker says «本来想坐地铁，不过现在坐公共汽车». Which transport will they use now?
Compare with the explanation
The bus
«本来……不过现在……» contrasts the original plan with the current one.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
Your review choice appears on Today. Sign in to sync it across devices.
Make it stick
Before leaving paper 1 listening: capture facts, sequence and opinions, explain one idea from memory, answer the checkpoint and name one syllabus detail you still need to practise.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.