Reading Comprehension: finding the one detail that decides the answer
What the tasks look like
The reading paper gives you several short texts in a row - a notice on a door, an advert, a menu, an email, a timetable, a short information article - each followed by multiple-choice, true/false or matching items. No text is long. The difficulty is precision, not speed.
Concepts you must control
Vocabulary of the everyday domains the exam recycles: housing, food and shopping, transport, health, work, weather and free time. Question words: quem, onde, quando, quanto/a, qual, como, porquê. Connectors: porque, mas, por isso, então, quando, se, antes de, depois de. Time and date expressions, prices, opening hours. Register markers: tu versus você, o senhor / a senhora, and the difference between a friendly note and a formal letter.
Traps that appear again and again
- Word-matching distractors. A wrong option repeats words from the text but changes one number, name, day or place.
- Missed negation. não é permitido, deixou de haver, já não reverse the meaning.
- Exception words. exceto, só, apenas, salvo decide the item.
- False friends. atual = current, not actual; polvo = octopus; propina = tuition fee.
Worked example
Text on a museum door: “Não é permitido o acesso de animais, exceto cães-guia.” Item: Posso entrar com o meu cão-guia? Two options are offered: “Não, os animais não podem entrar” and “Sim, os cães-guia podem entrar.” The second is right, because exceto means except.
Rule of thumb
Read the question first, then hunt for the sentence that carries the answer. The correct option paraphrases that sentence; the trap copies its words and alters one detail.