Reading: Main Idea vs Supporting Detail in a 380-Character Passage
In a timed HSC Japanese mock, a candidate has 12 minutes left and two unanswered items. Reading Question 3 presents a 380-character passage about Meera, a Class 11 student who helps clean a local shrine on Sunday morning. The key sentence is 「わたしは、きれいになったからうれしいというより、おじいさんが『ありがとう』と言ってくれたことがうれしかった。」 The question asks 「筆者が最も言いたいことは何か。」 The four options are: A Meera enjoyed cleaning the shrine; B Meera was glad because an old man thanked her; C Meera wants to clean the shrine again next year; D Meera was surprised that the shrine was dirty. The candidate remembers the word 「きれい」 and selects A. The invigilator warns that 10 minutes remain. The candidate must decide whether to change the answer, and the mark scheme awards 2 marks for the main idea and 0 for a supporting detail. The candidate cannot ask the teacher for help.
1. Which option is correct, and which single phrase in the passage decides it? Explain in 3–4 sentences.
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Correct option: B. The decisive phrase is 「～というより」, which corrects or re-ranks the preceding idea. The speaker first mentions that the shrine became clean, then says that being thanked by the old man was what actually made her happy. The clause after 「というより」 therefore carries the main emphasis. A is a literal detail: cleaning did make the shrine clean, but the passage explicitly downgrades that as the reason for happiness. C adds a future intention not stated. D adds surprise not stated. In a main-idea item, the correct option must match the clause that follows the contrast marker, not the first content word.
2. Explain why option A is attractive to a candidate who reads quickly, and what reading habit prevents that error.
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Option A is tempting because 「きれい」 is visually repeated and matches the idea of cleaning the shrine. A quick reader treats the first clause as the topic and stops there. The habit that prevents this is reading through contrast markers such as 「～というより」「～ではなく」「むしろ」 and asking: which clause does the writer want me to keep? Here the first clause is conceded, not asserted as the main point. Underline the marker and the clause after it before looking at the options.
3. With 10 minutes left, outline a 90-second check for this item.
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90-second check: (1) re-read only the key sentence, circling 「というより」; (2) state the main idea in English: she was happy because of the old man's thanks; (3) match that statement to B; (4) reject A as a conceded detail, and C and D as absent from the text; (5) transfer B and move on. Do not reread the whole 380-character passage; the item is a main-idea item, not a detail scan.