Reading comprehension: locating evidence and following links
What the reading section tests
The reading paper assesses literal comprehension, vocabulary in context, pronoun and connector reference, and simple inference across notices, messages, dialogues and short narratives. You need character recognition plus the ability to follow sentence relationships.
Core rules and concepts
- Scan the questions first, then locate the relevant line. Match the question word to the answer type.
- Use radicals and word formation to guess unfamiliar characters: 氵 suggests water, 讠 suggests speech, 心 suggests feeling.
- Follow connectors: 因为…所以 (cause–result), 虽然…但是 (concession), 如果…就 (condition), 先…然后 (sequence).
- Check pronoun reference: 他/她/它, 这/那, 自己 usually point to a nearby noun; confirm number and gender in context.
- Distinguish 的 (possessive/modifier), 地 (adverbial), 得 (complement): 慢慢地走, 跑得快.
- For inference, choose the option supported by the text, not the one that is merely plausible.
Worked example
Passage: “虽然下雨，但是比赛还是照常进行。” Question: 比赛有没有取消？ Reasoning: 虽然…但是 signals contrast; 还是 means “still”; 照常 means “as usual”. The rain is conceded, but the match proceeds. Answer: 没有取消，比赛照常进行. A trap answer “取消了” comes from seeing 下雨 and guessing.
Traps that cost marks
- Matching one shared character and ignoring the whole sentence.
- Treating 了 as a simple past tense in every sentence.
- Missing 不 or 没 before a verb.
- Over-inferring beyond the passage.
- Confusing measure words or quantities in notices.