Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension tests your ability to understand notices, emails, advertisements, forms, articles and short literary texts in German. The paper asks for gist, specific detail, sequencing, opinion, inference and recognition of text type and register.
Core rules and concepts
- Skim first: title, headings, layout, sender, recipient and date. A German email's greeting and closing signal whether it is formal or informal.
- Scan for question keywords and German synonyms, not exact copies. For example, geöffnet matches offen; preiswert matches günstig.
- Use articles and cases to identify who does what: der, die, das, den, dem. Case markers often resolve ambiguous sentences.
- Connectors show logic: deshalb, trotzdem, obwohl, sondern, sowohl ... als auch. They determine relationships between ideas.
- In advertisements, check conditions: nur, ab, außer, ermäßigt, zuzüglich.
Worked example
Text: „Der Kurs findet nicht am Montag, sondern am Dienstag statt. Er beginnt um 18 Uhr, dauert aber nur 45 Minuten.“ Question: When does the course start and how long does it last? Reasoning: nicht ... sondern corrects Monday to Tuesday; beginnt um 18 Uhr = 6 p.m.; dauert nur 45 Minuten = 45 minutes. The word aber signals contrast but does not change the start time. Answer: Tuesday at 18:00 for 45 minutes.
Traps that cost marks
- Translating every word and running out of time.
- Choosing an option because it contains a word from the text, not because it answers the question.
- Ignoring nicht or kein: a text may say nicht für Kinder while an option says for children.
- Missing text-type conventions: a formal letter uses Sie; a personal email uses du.