HSK 4 Reading Practice 提高

What HSK 4 covers

HSK 4 works with a cumulative vocabulary of 1200 words — 600 new ones on top of HSK 3, roughly CEFR B2. It covers opinions, work culture, technology, city life, travel and light social commentary. The grammar that defines the level is abstract connectives such as 不但…而且…, 无论…都…, 尽管, plus the first four-character idioms (成语) in ordinary use.

The 55 readings on this page are written for exactly that boundary. Every one is original — no textbook passages — and stays inside the HSK 4 word list; anything above the level is listed in the vocabulary panel under the text. Each is 6-9 sentences that argue a point rather than just narrate, with pinyin over every character, tap-to-translate, audio you can slow down, a three-question comprehension check and a short grammar note.

A routine that works: read once without looking anything up, then tap the words you missed, then listen and read along a second time. Five minutes a day beats an hour on Sunday.

What an HSK 4 text looks like here

Across the 55 readings on this page the typical text runs 8 sentences and 195 characters, about 24 characters per sentence. At HSK 3 the same figures are 7 sentences, 133 characters and 18 characters per sentence, so the step up is mostly in how much each sentence carries, not in how many there are.

Grammar you will meet in these readings

The patterns below turn up most often across the HSK 4 texts. Each reading explains its own patterns under the text; the full list with example sentences is on the HSK 4 grammar page.

• 一……就…… — As soon as... then...5 readings"As soon as A happens, B happens." The action after 一 immediately triggers the action after 就, as in 我们一见面就笑了.
• 不仅……而且……5 readings"Not only A, but also B" — the 而且 part adds something further and often more important, as in 不仅是美丽的风景，而且是那种让人慢下来的生活.
• 不是……而是…… — not …, but rather …5 readings"Not A, but B" corrects a wrong idea and replaces it with the right one: 最好吃的不是锅里的东西，而是坐在你旁边的人。
• 越……越…… — the more…, the more…5 readings"The more A, the more B." Two 越 link a condition and its result: 越忙压力越大。 The related 越来越 means "more and more over time": 生活越来越快。
• 只要……就…… — As long as... then...4 readings"As long as A, then B." 只要 introduces a sufficient condition, and 就 marks the result: 只要用手机选好菜，饭就送到了门口。
• 一边……一边……3 readings"Doing A while doing B" describes two actions happening at the same time: 你可以一边看主播试用产品，一边提问。
• 不但……而且…… — not only… but also…3 readings不但 introduces the first fact and 而且 adds a second, stronger one about the same subject: 他不但记得每个人的名字，而且知道谁家白天没有人。
• 却3 readings却 means "yet / however" and sits after the subject, inside the second clause, to mark a contrast: 城市给了我新的生活，故乡却留着我最老的记忆。 Unlike 但是, it cannot start the clause before the subject.

What the comprehension questions look like

Every HSK 4 reading ends with three questions in English about what the text actually said — not vocabulary drills. Here is the first one from At the Gym:

More HSK 4 comprehension questions with answers →

Practice questions: every reading ends with a three-question comprehension check. A sample of them, with answers, is on the HSK 4 reading comprehension questions page. How this level compares with the others: HSK 1-6 side by side.

HSK 4 readings by topic

The same 55 readings, grouped by what they are about.

HSK 4 questions