Reading: Main Idea, Inference, and Elimination
What is tested
MET reading passages range from short notices and advertisements to longer articles. Questions target main idea, specific detail, inference, vocabulary in context, reference (what does this or they point to), and text organization (what comes next, what is the writer's purpose, which heading fits).
Two speeds
Skim first - read the first and last sentence of each paragraph to build a map of the argument - then scan for the lines a question points to. For main-idea questions, ask what the whole passage is for, not what one paragraph says.
Traps to watch
- True but irrelevant: a statement that is accurate yet does not answer the question asked.
- Absolute language: always, never, all, the only rarely matches a hedged academic text.
- Word-matching bait: an option that echoes the passage's vocabulary while distorting the meaning.
- Missed negation in the stem: EXCEPT, NOT, least likely.
- Reference slips: they may refer to the researchers, not the results.
Rule of thumb
Answer the question in your own words before looking at the options, then choose the option closest to your phrasing. Eliminate two options firmly; between the remaining two, the safer choice is the more cautious one.
Worked example. Passage line: "The scheme was popular with residents, though take-up among local businesses remained low." Question: What does the writer suggest about the scheme? Option A: Businesses rejected it. Option B: Residents supported it but business participation was weak. B matches the passage's contrast; A overstates "low take-up" as outright rejection.