The HSK 2 reading section is 25 questions in 25 minutes, worth 100 of the 300 marks on the paper. Below: how it is split, one question from each part with the answer explained, and graded stories to read at this level.
Question counts, the part split and the timing come from the official 3.0 exam structure for HSK 2 (published by CTI in December 2025, in force from July 2026). Where the printed instructions have been transcribed, they are quoted above unchanged.
From HSK 2 Mock Test Paper 10, printed the way the exam prints them. Pick an answer to check it; the key and the explanation open underneath.
看句子，选出对应的图片。
wǒ qī zǐ jīn tiān qù shāng chǎng mǎi le yì tiáo hóng sè de kù zǐ。我妻子今天去商场买了一条红色的裤子。
Pick an answer to check it
The wife is buying red pants at a shopping mall, so it matches picture B, where a woman is holding red pants. In C, she is drinking milk tea in a restaurant and there are no pants; the other pictures are not in a shopping mall either.
我妻子今天去商场买了一条红色的裤子。
选词填空。
nǐ wèi shén me bù chū qù wán？ （） jīn tiān xià yǔ le。女：你为什么不出去玩？ 男：（ ）今天下雨了。
Pick an answer to check it
The question uses 「为什么」 (“why”), and the answer uses 「因为」 (“because”) to give the reason, so choose B. A 「经常」 (“often”) talks about frequency; C 「帮忙」 (“help”) describes doing something; D 「已经」 (“already”) indicates completion; E and F do not work at the beginning of the sentence.
因为今天下雨了。
给下列句子选择合适的回答。
duì bù qǐ， lù shang gōng jiāo chē tài duō le， wǒ lái wǎn le。对不起，路上公交车太多了，我来晚了。
Pick an answer to check it
The other person says they are sorry for arriving late. A replies, “没关系，考试还没开始” (“It’s all right; the exam hasn’t started yet”), which is appropriate. B says they are going to the pharmacy, C asks whether it is far, D says they don’t know, and F asks where something is. None of these responses fits.
A：没关系，考试还没开始。
阅读句子，选出正确答案。
zhè jiā fàn guǎn suī rán hěn hǎo chī， dàn shì lí wǒ jiā hěn yuǎn， wǒ men dǎ chē qù ba。 ★ zhè jiā fàn guǎn：这家饭馆虽然很好吃，但是离我家很远，我们打车去吧。 ★ 这家饭馆：
Pick an answer to check it
The original text says “离我家很远” (“It is very far from my home”), so A is correct. B is wrong because the original text says it is very tasty. The original text does not say that it is inside a shopping mall, so C is wrong.
这家饭馆虽然很好吃，但是离我家很远。
Longer reading, written inside the HSK 2 word list. Every chapter is free to read in full, with its word list and questions.
Each of the 10 HSK 2 mock papers opens up to three reading questions free, with answers and explanations. The whole section — 25 questions in 25 minutes — runs on the clock in the timed mock.