Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension in KMAT uses passages drawn from business, economics, science and social issues. Questions ask for the main idea, stated detail, inference, tone and vocabulary in context. The passage is the only authority: outside knowledge, however accurate, cannot justify an answer.
Core rules and concepts
- Identify the thesis in the first or last paragraph, then track each paragraph's function: evidence, counterargument, example or conclusion.
- Distinguish stated detail from inference. An inference must follow necessarily from the text, not merely seem plausible.
- Correct options stay within the passage's scope; extreme words such as always, never and only are usually wrong.
- Tone words are precise: critical, cautious, neutral, optimistic, sceptical.
- For vocabulary in context, substitute each option into the sentence and check whether the meaning survives.
Worked example
Passage: Cities often widen congested roads to reduce delays. Yet after a new lane opens, drivers who previously avoided the route or travelled at other times join the flow. Measured traffic can return to earlier levels within months. The benefit is real but temporary unless road capacity is paired with alternatives such as reliable buses and congestion pricing.
Question: The passage most strongly suggests that road widening...
Answer: can be offset by new demand unless accompanied by demand-management measures. The word yet signals the counterpoint, and unless makes the condition explicit. An option saying widening never works is too extreme; an option saying widening reduces congestion permanently contradicts the passage.
Traps that cost marks
The biggest trap is choosing a true statement that the passage does not support. Another is confusing the author's view with a view the author quotes and criticises. Do not treat an example as the main idea, and do not let one familiar keyword override the overall argument.