Listening
Reading: Locating Evidence and Resisting Plausible Distractors
What the section tests
Five formats: short passages (content comprehension), medium passages, long passages (主張理解 - the author's claim), integrated comprehension (two texts compared), and information retrieval (notices, ads, schedules). Each rewards locating evidence, not general understanding.
Track these signals: connectives (しかし = turning point, つまり／要するに = restatement, たとえば = example, rarely the answer), 指示語 (これ／それ／そこ pointing one or two sentences back), and modality (〜だろう／〜べきだ／〜のではないか marks opinion; 〜とは限らない softens a claim). Separate the author's view from quoted views introduced by 〜という人もいる.
Traps
The commonest trap is an option that is true in the passage but does not answer the question asked. Others: extreme wording (必ず、絶対、すべて、決して) the text never supports; options that reuse vocabulary while reversing a relation (cause↔effect, positive↔negative); and options drawn from the wrong paragraph. In 情報検索, distractors satisfy several conditions (料金、曜日、対象) but break one - usually 要予約 or 会員限定.
Worked example
For a 主張理解 question, do not read every sentence equally. Scan the final paragraph for つまり／このように／〜べきだ／〜のではないか, underline that sentence, then choose the option that paraphrases it. Rule of thumb: if you cannot point to the sentence that proves an option, do not choose it - mark it and move on. Budget about one minute per short question, and leave the retrieval task until last if time is short, since it needs careful condition-matching rather than deep reading.
Listening: Speech Acts, Late Corrections, and Paraphrase
What the section tests
Five task types: 課題理解 (what the speaker will do next), ポイント理解 (a printed question answered from detail), 概要理解 (the overall point, with no printed question, so notes are essential), 発話表現 (choose the right utterance for a pictured situation), and 即時応答 (one short line, then three replies, with no options printed).
The audio paraphrases the printed words, so train on 言い換え: 休む↔欠席する, すぐ↔早速, 混む↔込む. Learn the contracted forms 〜ちゃう (てしまう), 〜とく (ておく), 〜なきゃ (なければならない), 〜って (と), because they hide the grammar being tested.
Traps
The first plausible option is usually abandoned; the decision comes late, often after でも／けど／あ、やっぱり／いや、そうじゃなくて. Numbers and times are revised mid-track. Sound pairs (きって／きて, しゅっちょう／しゅちょう, びょういん／びよういん) punish half-hearing. In 発話表現, a reply that fits the content but not the relationship (上司／店員／友人) is wrong - politeness decides. In 即時応答, answering the literal words instead of the function fails.
Worked example
Audio: 「悪いけど、この資料、明日の朝までにコピーしておいてくれない？」 A reply such as 「はい、何部必要ですか」 works; 「いいえ、結構です」 answers a different function. Rule of thumb: identify the speech act first (依頼・誘い・断り・お礼), then choose a response that matches that act in the right register. While listening, write down only verbs, numbers, times, and who does what.