Reading: Analysing Texts and Locating Evidence
What the reading task really tests
Reading in Chinese Second Language asks you to understand main ideas, supporting details, purpose and tone across notices, advertisements, letters, articles and dialogues. You must decode meaning from context when you meet unfamiliar characters, using radicals, word compounds and sentence logic. Recognise text-type conventions: 通知 opens with time and place; 广告 uses persuasive adjectives; personal letters use greetings and closing formulas. Scan for the question's keyword first, then read the surrounding sentence carefully.
Traps to watch for
Questions often test inference, not copying: the text says 他一句话也没说就走了, and the question asks how he felt (生气/失望). Watch for scope words (都, 只, 大部分, 有些) that change the truth of a statement. A common trap is a true statement that does not answer the question asked. Also be careful with time sequence (先…然后…最后) and cause–effect (因为…所以, 由于). In true/false/not-given items, do not mark true unless the text clearly supports it.
Rule of thumb
Read the questions first to set a purpose, then read the passage once for gist and again for evidence. Underline the exact phrase that justifies each answer. If a word is unknown, cover it and ask what the sentence needs logically.
Worked example
Text: 这家书店只卖中文书，周末也不开门。 Question: 周末可以买英文书吗? The words 只 (only) and 也不开门 (also closed) each independently make the answer 不可以. Two scope markers, one clear conclusion.