Reading Comprehension: Documents, E-mail, Notices, and Figures
What this section tests
Reading items use authentic-style business documents: internal e-mail, notices, agendas and minutes, invoices, order forms, and simple charts. The tested skill is not literary reading but accurate extraction: who must act, by when, under what condition, and which exception applies. You also need enough command of business keigo to spot an inappropriate expression when asked which reply is correct.
Document structure. In e-mail, the first two lines usually state the purpose and the requested action; details and background follow. In notices, the operative sentence often carries ただし, なお, or 原則として and quietly changes the rule stated above it. Read the conditions before the conclusion, not after.
Precision markers. ～までに is a deadline; ～まで is the end of a period. 先着順 means first come, first served; 定員になり次第 means applications close once the quota is filled. ～を除く removes items from a set. ご遠慮ください is a polite prohibition. Small function words decide the answer.
Figures. Check units and totals: 税込 versus 税抜, 千円 versus 円, single-item price versus order total. Verify whether a discount applies per person or per order.
Traps
- Answering with the general rule while ignoring the ただし exception.
- Reading まで as a deadline.
- Taking a polite formula (「ご検討いただければ幸いです」) as a decision already made.
- Reversing the direction of keigo, or choosing a reply that is polite but does not answer the question asked.
Rule of thumb
Rewrite the task in one line - who does what, by when, except in which case - before looking at the options. Then eliminate any option that violates a single clause, however attractive the rest may be.
Worked example. A notice reads: 「申込書は四月十日までに総務部へ提出。ただし、出張中の社員は帰社後三日以内とする。」 For an employee returning on April 12, the deadline is three days after returning, not April 10; the exception controls.