What it tests
Careful reading: finding the main idea, locating details, understanding a word from its context and drawing conclusions the text supports.
In the exam: part I, 10 tasks.
Step by step
- Read the questions first, so you know what to look for.
- Skim the whole text once for its topic and the author's purpose.
- For each question find the exact place in the text (line numbers help) and read the sentence before and after it.
- Choose the option that says the same thing in other words — not the one that copies the most words.
- For “main idea” questions pick the option that covers the whole text, not one paragraph.
Watch out for
- An option that is true in real life but not stated in the text.
- An option that repeats words from the text but changes the meaning (“always” instead of “often”, wrong date or person).
- A detail that is correct but too narrow for a “main idea” question.
Example
Text: “It took 800 men seven years to build the bridge.” — The bridge was built in: a) one year b) seven years c) 800 days
b) The text says “seven years”; 800 is the number of men, not days.