As an integral part of almost all B2 and C2 English language examinations, reading comprehension presents a challenge for students. Though most young people today have more opportunity to read English language texts and come into contact with a wider scope of vocabulary through the use of social media, such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, this is not enough to provide them with the skills needed to tackle the reading section of any English language exam. These skills must be taught, and though as teachers we often complain that we don’t have the necessary hours to teach all test-taking skills, there is no other way around the problem. Without the guidance needed, students cannot sit down and learn how to prepare for this section, as they can sit down and learn vocabulary on their own.
Basic Instructions
If the candidate is familiar with what a given question is asking, this person will be better equipped to apply the correct reading tactic. Below are six categories of questions you will come across on most reading comprehension sections.
- Main Idea
The candidate is asked to find the central theme of the passage or to judge the importance of the theme. Such questions are usually worded:
- The author’s main purpose in the reading is to …
- The main idea of the passage is that …
- Which of the following statements expresses the main idea of the passage?
Not everything we read in a passage is of equal importance, so we must be able to judge and sift through the less important details – draw conclusions, make inferences, and focus on the main idea.
Scan the paragraph in search of the main idea.
Example Paragraph
Medical and hospital care is provided as a public service some degree by most countries. Public medical service may be limited to hospitalization of patients with certain ailments such as mental disease and chronic illness. Comprehensive health services may be provided for certain population groups, as in Canada and the United States, where the federal governments provide such care for Indians and Eskimos. Many countries have compulsory sickness insurance; some combine the socialization of hospitals with sickness insurance covering general medical care, as in Denmark. Full-scale socialization of health services exists in a few countries, including the U.K. and New Zealand.
The main idea of the paragraph is:
- ………. Minorities have better medical care than other population groups.
- ………. The majority of countries treat mental patients as having a chronic illness.
- ………. Most countries provide some sort of health insurance.
- ………. Federal governments have full scale socialization.
- Drawing Inferences
Here, the candidate’s ability to read between the lines and go beyond what the author states explicitly is tested. The examinee must see what is implied by the statements being read. Such questions may be worded:
- What advice do you think the author …
- From the author’s point of view …
- It can be inferred from the reading that …
- The author implies that …
- The passage suggests that …
Answering Inference Questions
Example Paragraph
The issue of slavery was a blemish on the morality of America almost from the very start of the country’s establishment. It was ironic and hypocritical that the Americans were demanding freedom from oppression and independence from England, while at the same time they allowed slavery. By the 1860’s, the Southern way of life and the Southern economy were completely dependent on slavery. One could not separate slave labor and the plantation system. The latter could not function without the former. Slavery was so firmly entrenched in the Southern economy that without it, the South would collapse.
What can be inferred about the plantation system?
- It was a moral issue.
- It made Americans demanding.
- It was the backbone of Southern economy.
- It caused the Southern economy to collapse.
- Answering Specific Detail Questions
Questions related directly to what the author explicitly states and may be worded as such:
- According to the passage, …
- Which of the following statements is best supported by the reading?
- These are usually - How, Why, Where, When, What, Who questions
*In some cases, specific detail type questions may be worded one way in the passage while using synonymous vocabulary in the answer choices.
Example Paragraph
One of medicine’s fundamental beliefs about pregnancy and the development of the human fetus, has been challenged. Until recently, it was thought that the fetus was a parasite capable of extracting all the nutrients it needed from the mother. It is now realized that adequate nutrition during the entire course of the pregnancy is necessary for proper fetal development. In early pregnancy, certain changes occur in the mother’s gastrointestinal tract, resulting in more efficient absorption of specific nutrients, such as iron and calcium. Furthermore, the maternal blood supply increases, so that nutrients can be transported via the uterine and placental blood systems. If the mother is undernourished, this “lifeline” to the fetus will be inadequately developed. Finally, fat is accumulated within the body to store the energy necessary for lactation (milk production). This preparation for lactation is so important that if the mother is inadequately nourished, it will take place even at the expense of fetal growth. It is a logical developmental occurrence, since in the natural world, no infant can survive without successful breastfeeding, and thus fetal growth is less of a priority.
*Strategy: In order to find specific details in the passage, spot the key words in the question and the scan the reading to find them or their synonyms.
- What is required for lactation?
- increased blood supply
- iron and calcium
- fat storage
- a well-nourished placenta
Notice that to answer this item, the term “fat is accumulated” must be rephrased to “fat storage”.
- What is the “lifeline” mentioned in the passage?
- the gastrointestinal tract
- breastfeeding
- accumulated fat
- uterine and placental blood systems
The referents “this lifeline” refer back to the previous reference to the uterine and placental blood systems.
- Guessing the Meanings of Words from Context
Questions testing your ability to determine the meaning of unknown words from the context may start as such:
- As used in the reading, the word/phrase … is closest in meaning to …
- The author uses the word/phrase … to mean …
- The word … is used to …
Rephrasing is very closely related to guessing vocabulary from context.
Example
The shad is the largest American member of the herring family. Usually 18 to 24 inches long, it spends most of its life in the ocean. Like salmon, shad ascend freshwater streams to spawn.
A student may not know the meaning of the word “shad”, but there are contextual clues such as the words, herring, ocean, salmon, streams,and spawnwhich, even if they are not all familiar vocabulary items, help the reader make the assumption that shad is a type of fish.
This is one strategy of guessing vocabulary from context and exploiting contextual clues that the student must learn to use.
- Attitude / Mood / Tone
Questions which ask the reader to guess or determine the author’s frame of mind are worded:
- The author’s tone in the passage …
- What would best describe how the author feels about …
- The author seems to believe that ...
Example Paragraph
The first invasion of Britain was in the year 55 BC by Julius Caesar, but his legions were soon withdrawn. It was not until a century later, in AD 43, that the Emperor Claudius conquered the island. The Romans occupied Britain until the year 410. The wilder Celtic tribes retreated fighting to the hills – the Picts to Scotland, and the Gauls to Ireland. But the Britons in Southern England, did not escape Roman rule. In AD 150, the Roman Emperor Hadrian wanted to protect his holding from the Picts, so he had a wall built. From that time to the middle of the fourth century, Hadrian’s wall served as the Northern boundary of Britain. The great age of Roman rule in Britain dates from the building of this wall. Houses and Roman baths even had glass for windows as well as a kind of central heating. British exports from farms, mines, and looms increased. The Emperor Costantine founded Costantinople and became the first Emperor of Rome, making Christianity the official religion of Britain. Then, in 367, Northern Celts and other invaders stormed Hadrian’s wall and over-ran England. Roman power was crumbling. Wild Germanic tribes pressed South by the hordes Asia, whose nomads had been cut off from Eastern pasture lands by the great walls of China, were almost at the gates of Rome itself. Rome was obliged to give up its British provinces, and most of the Roman colonists followed the legions home.
The author seems to believe that …
- Christianity was damaging to the Celts.
- Costantine was the destruction of the Roman Empire.
- the Romans brought a civilizing era to Britain.
- the Roman occupation of Britain, was damaging to Britain.
- Identifying Reference Words
It is important to recognize reference words and be able to identify what they refer to. This understanding of reference words also helps to understand how the parts of a sentence and paragraph come together. It shows the cohesion and coherence between sentences, and finally, from sentence to paragraph. This helps the candidates to better understand the reading passage.
Identify the Referents I
In the strict sense, alchemy is the pseudo-science which concerns attempts to transform base metals, such as lead or copper, into silver and gold. At all times, however, such attempts have involved purely chemical procedures, and the pseudo-science has, for most of its existence, been closely connected with the development of chemistry itself. In fact, for many centuries the history of alchemy is the history of chemistry.
What do the reference of the words refer to?
such attempts _________________
its _____________________________
Identify the Referents II
A decay of Latin scholarship in England had set in before the Danish invasions, and these accelerated it. To further his own studies and to raise the level of learning in his country by providing vernacular translations of some books which may be most necessary for all men to know “After first obtaining help from Mercia, the western part of which had suffered little devastation,” Alfred went abroad.
these __________________________
it ______________________________
his ______________________________
his ______________________________
which ___________________________
In conclusion, some English language tests may choose to test spelling and grammar items in the reading questions of the passages. These require no special skills other than having the necessary linguistic capacity, so I don’t find it necessary to deal with such items from the reading section. I have chosen to deal with the most commonly occurring type of items.
