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Yamaguchi Prefectural Public High School Entrance Examination - English study materials
Yamaguchi Prefectural Public High School Entrance Examination - English study resources

Yamaguchi Prefectural Public High School Entrance Examination - English: Reading Comprehension of Longer Passages (長文読解)

Yamaguchi Prefectural Public High School Entrance Examination - English · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Reading Comprehension of Longer Passages (長文読解)

The long-passage section carries the most weight in the Yamaguchi English paper. You will meet a narrative or expository passage of roughly 400–600 words followed by four to six questions. It tests detail comprehension, pronoun reference, sentence insertion into a blank, and the writer's main idea or an appropriate title. The passage is not designed to be translated word by word; it is designed to be mapped.

Question types you will see

  • 内容把握: which statement matches the passage.
  • 空所補充: choose the sentence or word that fits a numbered blank.
  • 指示語: what does it, this or such refer to.
  • 主旨・タイトル: the main idea or the best title.
  • 筆者の考え: the writer's opinion, not a character's.

Method

  1. Read the questions first and mark the keywords you are hunting for.
  2. Label each paragraph in three or four words in the margin (problem, example, turning point, conclusion).
  3. When you meet it, they or this, go back to the nearest noun that fits grammatically and in meaning.
  4. Highlight discourse markers: however, therefore, for example, in fact. They show how ideas connect.
  5. Correct choices usually paraphrase the passage; choices that copy the exact wording are often traps.

Worked example

A passage describes a girl who lost a speech contest, practised with a friend, and later wrote: "From that day I realized I had been afraid to ask for help, and that my friends had been waiting for me to ask." Question: What did she learn? Options: (a) Practice makes perfect. (b) She should not depend on others. (c) It is important to ask others for help. (d) Winning is the most important thing. Reasoning: (b) is the opposite of the text; (a) and (d) are general ideas never stated; (c) paraphrases "afraid to ask for help" plus "friends were waiting." Answer: (c).

Traps that cost marks

  • Picking an option that is true in the passage but answers a different question.
  • Ignoring extreme words: always, never, only, all.
  • Confusing what a character thinks with what the writer concludes.
  • Missing a negative in the question stem.