Reading Comprehension (Longer Passages and Dialogue)
Longer passages and dialogue (長文読解・対話文) carry the heaviest reading load. You meet a narrative or expository passage of several paragraphs, sometimes followed by a dialogue. Questions ask for the main idea, a detail, an inference, a pronoun reference, or the order of events.
Reading plan
Read the first paragraph and the first sentence of each later paragraph to map the structure. Then read the questions and return to the relevant part. In dialogue, track who says what and why; questions often ask why A said something or what B meant.
Worked example
Passage: a student volunteers at a shelter and feels nervous at first. After a child thanks her, she decides to continue. Question: Why did the student decide to continue volunteering? Options: (a) She wanted to practice English. (b) She was moved by the child's thanks. (c) Her teacher asked her to. (d) She had free time. Reasoning: the text says 「The words made her want to come back.」 「The words」 refers to the child's thanks. Option (b) paraphrases that cause. Free time (d) may be mentioned, but it is a condition, not the reason. Answer: (b).
Inference and reference
For 「What does it refer to?」, find the nearest earlier noun that fits the verb. For main idea, ask what changed from beginning to end. For order questions, use sequence markers: first, then, after that, finally.
Traps that cost marks
- Choosing a true detail that does not answer the question.
- Missing a contrast: 「She wanted to help, but she was too shy.」 The obstacle is shyness, not lack of desire.
- Confusing speakers in a dialogue; label them A and B and note their positions.
- Over-inferring: the answer must be supported by the text, not by your own opinion.