Sign vs. Announcement
Goethe A1 Lesen, Part 2: you read a short notice at a train station: "Liebe Fahrgäste, der Aufzug ist heute außer Betrieb. Bitte benutzen Sie die Treppe. Wir bitten um Verständnis." Question 4 asks: "Der Aufzug funktioniert heute nicht." You must decide: richtig or falsch. You know "Aufzug" means elevator and "außer Betrieb" looks unfamiliar. You also see a second sign nearby: "Treppe: Gleis 1–5." You have about 8 minutes left for 5 more items.
1. How do you decide richtig/falsch without knowing "außer Betrieb" exactly?
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Use the surrounding logic. The notice says "Bitte benutzen Sie die Treppe" (please use the stairs). If the elevator worked, telling people to use the stairs would be pointless. So "außer Betrieb" must mean out of service → the statement "funktioniert heute nicht" is richtig. At A1 you are not expected to know every word; the instruction sentence carries the meaning. Do not leave it blank - a reasoned guess beats no answer.
2. The second sign says "Treppe: Gleis 1–5." Does this change your answer to Question 4?
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No. That sign only tells you the stairs lead to platforms 1–5. It neither confirms nor contradicts the elevator status. It is a distractor placed to make you doubt. The decisive evidence is the first notice's instruction to use the stairs. Answer stays richtig.
3. You have 8 minutes for 5 items. How should you allocate time, and what is the trap?
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Roughly 1–1.5 minutes per item, leaving a buffer. The trap is over-reading: trying to translate every word of a notice you mostly understand. Read the statement first, then scan the text for the one sentence that decides it. If an item resists after ~90 seconds, mark your best guess and move on; return only if time remains. A1 Lesen rewards coverage, not perfection on one item.