Reading comprehension of unseen passages
Reading comprehension of unseen passages
This domain tests independent reading. You will meet a short Arabic passage you have not studied and must answer factual, inferential and vocabulary questions. The passage may be narrative, descriptive or informative, so the method matters more than memorised content.
Core rules
- Skim first for the topic and situation, then scan for names, places, times and numbers.
- Underline question words: من, ماذا, أين, متى, لماذا, كيف, كم.
- Match the question tense and pronoun to the passage. A past-tense question needs a past-tense answer.
- For inference, use clues but do not invent details.
- For vocabulary, replace the word with a likely meaning and test it in the sentence.
- Write answers in your own short sentence unless the question asks for a direct quotation.
Worked example
Passage: استيقظ سامي مبكراً وذهب إلى المكتبة لقراءة كتاب عن الفضاء. عاد إلى البيت بعد الظهر وهو مسرور. Question: لماذا ذهب سامي إلى المكتبة؟ Answer: لقراءة كتاب عن الفضاء. Reasoning: لماذا asks for reason; لـ before قراءة marks purpose; the phrase عن الفضاء belongs to the book. The time بعد الظهر answers a different question and should not be included.
Traps
- Copying a whole sentence when the question asks for one reason.
- Confusing the time of return with the time of going.
- Missing a negative such as لم or ليس.
- Attaching a pronoun to the wrong person.
- Adding outside knowledge not present in the passage.