Ask and Answer——HSK

[Tommi]

Totally agree with the sound quality today. I usually do really good with tingli, but today the quality was horrible, I had to flat out guess randomly on few questions because of the muffled sounds.

[roddy]

For those of you with comments about something that might be specific to a certain center, you should probably add where you took the test.

[muyongshi]

Hey Tommi where did you take it at?

Mine was in Chengdu but (in regards to Roddy's remark) this wasn't a testing center problem it was a recording problem and I did guess on many questions simply because I couldn't hear! And on the other parts where I just cranked my headphones I almost broke my eardrums (actually maybe I did...haven't heard one thing right since) an even then they clipped (peaked, if you want a technical definition it's when the dB output exceeds the capability of the output...either in the headphones or at the recording source [this is a very simplified def. as there are many more sources of it] and then it results in a distorting or popping sound). Anyway...

Another complaint about Chengdu is they throw you into a non-a/c room and let you "sweat" it out. Very hot!

[roddy]

I think different centers work off different types of recording though - CD, mp3 or tape. Could be wrong, hopefully the much appreciated Jingjing will be along on Monday morning . . .

[muyongshi]

I hear you Roddy I really do....

But I am Sound Engineer, fully trained and qualified. Worked on everything from live performances/recording to studio stuff including Spoken and Music and this was a recording level issue.

When 3 voices in one segement all are out different levels with different compressions, different amounts and types distortion not to mention the way they clip, it is recording level.

Sorry, I'm really not trying to get an argument going here about it or say "Hey look how much I know", I'm just really upset that so many people's scores could be affected by this. In taking it I kind of felt like I was trying to ease-drop on two people three compartments down from me on a noisy train to Beijing. Maybe not the best 比喻 but I think it's interesting.

[roddy]

No worries, sounds like you do know more than me.

[muyongshi]

You alright, roddy, you alright!

[imron]

In taking it I kind of felt like I was trying to ease-drop on two people three compartments down from me on a noisy train to Beijing.

Maybe that's what they were trying to test

[muyongshi]

The thought had crossed my mind....

[Tommi]

Actually my test was in Chengdu too, at Chuanda.

[yonglin]

I took the test at 外国语学院 here in Xi'an, and the recording was just as crappy as you described it. However, we did not have an individual volume control, so we could not choose between getting deaf or not hearing. Hopefully, everyone had the same experience with most people screwing up badly on part 1, so that the raw mark required for each band will be lower...

[muyongshi]

Was this as surprising to you as it was to me? I mean this is an international standardized test!

[yonglin]

No, I was not surprised at all.

I had expected a little tape recorder (the 30 kuai one) at the front of the classroom with terrible echoes, since that seems to be the norm for tingli classes around the country.

[pandaxiongmao]

Maybe a better question to ask - who recently took the HSK at a place that did not use a muffled tape recording?

This past weekend I took the test at 暨南华文大学 in Guangzhou - not only was the tape bad, but the acoustics of the room meant the already muffled sounds echoed off the walls as well. I am also counting on the fact everybody else had difficulties listening to even out the pre-normalised scores.

[muyongshi]

In Chengdu we had (at least I'm pretty sure it was) a digital (mp3) copy and it was broadcast on an FM frequency to wireless headphones.

I was happy it wasn't a tape recorder but I was expecting better at 川大 because my teacher's have used those facilities before.

[yonglin]

http://www.hsk.org.cn/news/关于6月24日HSK（初中等）听力考试补考的通知.htm

ok. 补考 next sunday.

i'm very impressed. has this ever happened before...?!

[muyongshi]

I'm impressed and a little peed off. I don't live in the city where the test is held and now I have spent more money on travel than the test itself. I kind of think I should get a refund. Ha ha, I wish.

Anyway...

[Pravit]

I'm sure the couple with the super-standard accent they use to read everything are pissed they have to record a new tape! Yonglin and I were also wondering how they would normalize the scores...

[muyongshi]

So everybody's pissed off so now the real question is... who should we blame?????

[pandaxiongmao]

I have final exams next week as it is, not to mention the fact that travelling to Guanzhou from Hainan costs more than the HSK in the first place.

I would rather see them send standardised recordings to each test site in the future - same tape player/CD player/mp3 player to get rid of most of the variance in recording quality. By not ensuring the same playback equipment exists at each test site, it calls into question the quality of the 听力 scores at any test site.

Sending out a new recording will not necessarily fix the problems with poor playback equipment at many test sites.