Reading - understanding written Japanese texts (91134)
What the standard asks for
Reading tests comprehension of written Japanese on familiar matters: notices, emails, blogs, letters, advertisements and short articles. You answer in English. Questions ask for specific information (who, when, why, how much) and for inference (purpose, attitude), so you need the gist and the detail, not a complete translation.
Read the text type first
Identify the genre before the content. A notice gives instructions; a blog gives experience and opinion; an email usually contains a request or invitation; a review gives evaluation plus reasons. That expectation narrows where the answer will sit. Then scan for the question's keyword rather than reading every line at equal speed.
Use script and cohesion clues
Level 2 kanji plus okurigana and radicals let you guess safely: 待/持, 図/国, 母/毎 are worth drilling because they are commonly confused. Katakana flags loanwords and foreign names. Follow connectives: しかし and でも (contrast), だから and そのため (result), たとえば (example), つまり (summary), まず and つぎに (sequence). A why-question is usually answered immediately beside から or ので.
Register tells you who does what
Honorifics identify the actor: いらっしゃる (goes, comes, is), おっしゃる (says), めしあがる (eats), ごらんになる (sees), with humble うかがう, いただく, もうしあげる. In letters, 先生 and せんぱい take さま.
Worked example
Text: 「あしたの イベントは あめの ばあい、体育館で おこないます。くつは 上ぐつに かえてください。なお、車で くる 人は 学校の 北がわの もんから 入ってください。」 Question: Where is the event held if it rains, and what must drivers do? Reasoning: あめの ばあい sets the condition, pointing to 体育館; なお introduces a second instruction, pointing to the north gate with 入ってください. The shoe instruction is true but irrelevant to this question. Answer: in the gymnasium, entering by the north gate.
Traps that cost marks
Answering from general knowledge instead of the text; missing ～ないでください versus ～てください; reading ～そうです (hearsay) as fact; misreading dates such as しがつ ようか; ignoring the second half of a two-part question.