Medical Chinese Test (MCT) Study Notes · Vocabulary & Sample Exam

Exam Overview

Everything you need to know about the MCT exam — structure, timing, and a section-by-section strategy guide.

1,468

Total vocabulary terms

101

Sample exam questions

~125

Minutes for the full test

Sections: Listening · Reading · Writing

50 + 50

Listening & Reading questions

Writing task — medical record

📌 Exam Format: Listening (~35 min, 50 questions) → Reading (50 min, 50 questions) → Writing (30 min, 1 question). ~125 minutes total, including 5 minutes for candidate info and 5 minutes to transfer listening answers to the answer sheet.

💡 Listening Strategy: Part 1 is true/false — listen for negation words and numbers that flip the meaning. Parts 2–3 are short dialogues — the question is usually about symptoms, department, or next step. Part 4 passages repeat key facts twice; the second mention often carries the answer.

💡 Reading Strategy: Part 1 cloze tests near-synonyms — check collocation, not just meaning. Part 2 rewards spotting one detail that contradicts the passage. Part 3 uses real documents (lab reports, certificates, prescriptions) — scan the table first. Part 4 long passages: read the question before the passage.

💡 Writing Strategy: Master the 门诊病历记录 format — 主诉 (chief complaint) → 现病史 (history of present illness) → 既往史 (past history) → 体检 (exam) → 辅助检查结果 (test results) → 初步诊断 (diagnosis) → 治疗意见 (treatment plan). Pull each field directly from the dialogue.

Section Breakdown

听力 · Part 1

True / False (Q1–10)

Short clinical statements
Judge against the audio script
Watch for negation & timing words

听力 · Part 2–3

Dialogues (Q11–30)

Two-line doctor/patient exchanges
Symptoms, tests, departments
Choose from 4 options

听力 · Part 4

Short Passages (Q31–50)

7 grouped mini-passages
2–3 questions per passage
Diagnosis, treatment, advice

阅读 · Part 1–2

Cloze & Matching (Q51–70)

Fill-in-the-blank word choice
Single-passage true statement
Medical vocabulary in context

阅读 · Part 3–4

Documents & Long Passages (Q71–100)

Real lab reports & prescriptions
Death certificates, referrals
5 long passages, 4 Qs each

写作 · Q101

Medical Record Writing

Convert a dialogue into a 病历
7 required fields, formal register
Reference answer included

Tone 1 ā Tone 2 á Tone 3 ǎ Tone 4 à Neutral

Showing 1468 of 1468 words MCT · 医学汉语词汇大纲

#	词语 Word	拼音 Pinyin	词性 POS	English Meaning	例句 Example

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Exam Tips by Section

Strategy notes built directly from the patterns in this sample exam — what the distractors actually do, and where to look first.

听力 Listening

Part 1 · 判断对错 (Q1–10)

True / False

False statements usually flip one concrete detail from the script — a date (下个月 vs 本月30号), a department (神经内科 vs 消化内科), a meal timing (饭前 vs 饭后), or a status (早产 vs 足月).
Everything else in the sentence matches the audio almost word-for-word — don't let the 90% overlap convince you it's true.
Listen especially hard for negation (不/别/没) and numbers (dates, dosage, frequency) — that's where this sample flips meaning most often.

Part 2–3 · 对话 (Q11–30)

Short Dialogues

The question almost always asks for one of: symptom, body part, department, or the next action (护士接下来要做什么？).
Options are single words/phrases from the same category (four departments, four symptoms) — you're matching, not reasoning.
The answer is usually stated directly by the patient or nurse in the first line — the second line often just reacts ("好的，谢谢").

Part 4 · 短文 (Q31–50)

Short Passages, 2–3 Qs Each

Each passage covers one patient/case and is asked about from 2–3 angles: what test was done, what was diagnosed, what to do next.
Read the questions before listening if you can — they tell you which of the 2–3 facts to listen for.
Watch for cause chains (肝功能出问题 → 毒素排不出 → 尿毒症) — a question may ask about the cause, not just the diagnosis name.

阅读 Reading

Part 1 · 完形填空 (Q51–60)

Cloze / Near-Synonym Choice

All four options are usually the same part of speech and close in meaning — the test is collocation, not vocabulary recognition (取出 vs 产生 vs 接受 vs 使用 for "extracting" sperm/eggs).
Connector blanks (另外/尽管/于是/因此) test logic between sentences — read the sentence before and after the blank.
Three passages, three blanks each — don't spend more than ~30 seconds per blank; if unsure, pick the most neutral/common option.

Part 2 · 一致性判断 (Q61–70)

Statement Matching

Three of the four options usually negate, reverse, or exaggerate a detail from the passage (e.g. "老人容易便秘" — one option flips it to "久坐不会便秘").
The correct option is often a quiet paraphrase, not a dramatic restatement — be suspicious of the option that sounds most "interesting."
These passages are short (2–3 sentences) — reread the whole thing rather than skimming for keywords.

Part 3 · 文档阅读 (Q71–80)

Real Documents & Tables

This sample uses a 甲功五项检验报告单 (lab report), a 死亡医学证明 (death certificate), and a 门诊处方笺 (prescription) — scan the table headers and labels before reading the questions.
On lab reports, check the ↑/↓ indicator column first — one question in this set specifically asks which value is normal (no arrow), not abnormal.
On the death certificate, distinguish the direct cause of death (I.a) from underlying/contributing conditions (I.b, I.c, II) — questions test that hierarchy.
On the prescription, watch for the route of administration (口服 vs 局部涂擦) and window/counter numbers — these are common wrong-answer traps.

Part 4 · 长文阅读 (Q81–100)

Long Passages, 4 Qs Each

Five passages here cover stress-related neurasthenia, psychological trauma/PTSD, glomerulonephritis (肾小球肾炎), pregnancy morning sickness (早孕反应), and breast hyperplasia (乳腺增生症) — all follow a cause → symptoms → diagnosis/advice → current-status arc.
Expect one question per passage on cause, one on symptoms/diagnosis, and one on the person's current state (recovered? still suffering? normal variation?) — read the last question first to know what "current status" detail to track.
These passages often state that a symptom is optional ("不是每个人都会有早孕反应，这也属正常") — don't assume every listed symptom is universal.

写作 Writing

Q101 · 病历记录

Medical Record Writing

The dialogue gives you every field in order — pull 主诉 from the patient's opening complaint, 现病史 from the timeline/details that follow, and 既往史 from anything described as a past or recurring issue.
体检 and 辅助检查结果 come from the doctor's physical exam comments and the test the doctor orders (in this sample, an X-ray of the lumbar spine and pelvis) — don't confuse the exam finding with the test result.
初步诊断 is the doctor's stated diagnosis in their own words, condensed into a clinical term (here: 腰椎间盘突出伴坐骨神经痛). 治疗意见 is whatever concrete plan they give (frequency, department, lifestyle advice).
Keep the register formal and third-person, even though the source is a spoken dialogue — write "患者" not "他/她" or "我".