Reading Comprehension: Short and Long Passages and Information Retrieval
The Aichi entrance English paper tests reading in three shapes: a shorter practical text (notice, e-mail, poster, schedule), a longer narrative or opinion passage, and a passage tied to a graph or table. Marks hinge less on knowing every word than on locating the sentence that answers each question.
Core rules
- Questions follow the order of the passage. If you have found the evidence for question 3, question 2's answer is above it, not below.
- For 空所補充, read the sentence before and the sentence after. Connectives (but, so, however, for example) tell you whether the missing line adds, contrasts, or gives a reason.
- For pronoun questions, take it/this/they back to the nearest noun that matches in number and meaning.
- In 内容一致, three wrong options are usually: the opposite of the text, true but never stated, or too strong (all, always, never, only).
- In 情報検索 tasks, scan for the keyword in the question (date, price, deadline, place), then read only that line of the table or poster.
- In graph questions, check units and the year being asked about; the answer is usually the reason for the change, which the text states in words.
Worked example
Passage: "Mika started a book club. At first only three students came, but after she put posters in the library, the number grew to twelve." Question: why did Mika put up posters? Option A: to make the club famous. Option B: to get more students to join. Option C: to decorate the library. Answer: B. "At first only three ... but after the posters ... twelve" shows a before-and-after change in the number of members. A is too strong and is not stated. C confuses the place with the purpose.
Traps
- Missing 適切でないもの ("choose the one that does NOT fit") and answering the normal way.
- Choosing an option only because a word from it appears in the passage.
- Answering from general knowledge instead of from the text.