Reading: Skimming, Scanning and Justifying
What the section really tests
Reading tasks in this course use authentic-style texts - notices, emails, articles, advertisements, blogs. You must skim for overall meaning, scan for specific details, and infer attitude or purpose. Core concepts: Textsorte (text type and its conventions), Hauptaussage (main idea), Detailinformation, and Meinung vs Tatsache.
Traps that cost marks
- Word-matching without meaning. A question option may reuse a word from the text while stating the opposite. Always check the surrounding clause.
- Scope errors. A text may say viele Schüler, but an option says alle Schüler. Watch quantifiers: alle, viele, einige, wenige, kaum jemand.
- Modal particles and tone. doch, ja, wohl, eigentlich change attitude subtly. „Das ist ja toll“ can be sincere or sarcastic depending on context.
- Justification tasks. When asked to quote evidence, choose the shortest phrase that proves the point, and copy spelling exactly, including umlauts.
- False friends: bekommen (to receive, not become), Gift (poison), eventuell (possibly).
Rule of thumb: locate, then check the sentence before and after
Find the keyword, then read one sentence either side. German places the decisive information in the main clause, with qualifications in subordinate clauses introduced by weil, obwohl, wenn, dass.
Worked example
Text: „Obwohl der Kurs erst um neun beginnt, kommen die meisten Teilnehmer schon um Viertel vor neun, weil sie vorher noch einen Kaffee trinken wollen.“ Question: Warum kommen die Teilnehmer früh? A careless reader answers weil der Kurs um neun beginnt. The correct answer is weil sie vorher Kaffee trinken wollen - the obwohl clause is background, the weil clause is the reason.