Compiled under the sponsorship of the China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOTCFL) and in consultation with the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) Guidelines, the New Practical Chinese Reader (NPCR) series is designed to help native English speakers easily learn Chinese. Based on the time-tested Practical Chinese Reader (PCR), the revised and updated NPCR combines the grammatical strengths of the old PCR with contemporary material and more emphasis on learning to use Chinese in everyday conversation.