Reading comprehension - Olvasott szöveg értése
What the reading paper tests
The reading component (Olvasott szöveg értése) checks whether you can process authentic-style English texts and answer questions from evidence. It is not a vocabulary test: answers must be supported by the text. Typical tasks include true/false, multiple choice, short answer, matching headings or information to paragraphs, and gap-fill summaries. At emelt szint the texts are longer and the questions rely more on inference and paraphrase.
Core rules
- Read the instructions and the questions before the text so you know what to look for.
- Answer with evidence: underline the phrase that justifies your choice.
- Expect paraphrase: the correct option rarely repeats the text's wording.
- Distinguish fact from inference; if a statement is only 'possible', it is not 'true' unless the task allows inference.
Worked example
Text line: 'The museum is free on the first Sunday of every month.' Question: 'Visitors can enter the museum without paying every Sunday.' Answer: False. Reasoning: 'free' matches 'without paying', but the time expression is restricted to 'the first Sunday'. The distractor is lexical overlap plus a widened quantifier ('every Sunday'). Checking the time phrase decides it.
Traps that cost marks
- Choosing an option because it contains a word from the text.
- Missing negatives and restrictors: not, only, unless, except, at least.
- Writing full sentences in short-answer tasks when a phrase is enough, then making grammar errors.
- Leaving a blank instead of a guessed answer; there is no negative marking.
- Spending too long on one item and losing the final matching task.