The Reading section gives you about thirty minutes and about fifty items. That is much faster than the old test, and the items are shorter, so the skill being…
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2.1
The Reading section and its clock
About 30 minutes, about 50 items. That is much faster than the old test, and the items are
shorter — so the skill being tested is not endurance 耐力 any more. It is speed with accuracy.
Three kinds of task appear: Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life and Read an Academic
Passage. The first two are new in 2026.
The section is adaptive, so the passages you see depend on how you are doing. Do not try to
read the difficulty of the test as a sign of how you are performing.
You cannot go back to a section once you have left it. Answer every item as you meet it.
⚠ There is no penalty 扣分 for a wrong answer. An item left blank scores exactly what a wrong answer
scores: nothing. Never leave an item empty.
A short paragraph in which the second half of some words is missing; you type the missing letters to complete each word.
This is a test of grammar and vocabulary 词汇, not of finding information. You are not
hunting through a passage; you are asking "what word belongs here?"
Use the sentence around the gap. The word class 词性 is usually decided before the meaning is:
after the you need a noun, after very an adjective, after infinitive to a base verb (but
look forward to reading: when to is a preposition, an -ing form follows).
Spelling counts. A word with a letter missing is a wrong word.
Read the completed sentence back to yourself. If it does not sound like English, it is not.
Emails, notices 通知, timetables, advertisements and other short practical texts.
The question often asks what the reader should DO — or what has changed, or what is not
allowed.
Practical texts hide their key information in small places: a date, a room number, a word like
except, unless, only, from Monday. Those small words often carry the answer, so never
skim past them.
Watch the register 语域. An email from a tutor is polite and indirect, so read the
strength of each phrase: "It would be helpful if you could…" is usually a real request, while
"you may wish to…" is usually a suggestion you are free to ignore. Decide from the whole message
whether the action is required or optional.
⚠ A daily-life text is short, so students read it too fast and answer from memory of a similar
text. Read the one in front of you.
Worked example: required or optional?
Dear students, the chemistry lab will close at 5 p.m. on Friday instead of 7 p.m. It would be
helpful if you could collect your samples before then. You may wish to label your boxes with
your name. Please note that any samples left in the lab fridge will be thrown away on Monday morning.
What must students do? (A) collect their samples before 5 p.m. on Friday (B) label their
boxes (C) come to the lab on Monday morning (D) empty the fridge
A is right. It would be helpful if you could sounds soft, but the last sentence gives it
a consequence: samples left in the fridge are thrown away on Monday. A polite request with a
consequence is a requirement.
B is the trap. You may wish to is a suggestion, so labelling is optional.
C repeats Monday morning from the text, but that is when samples are thrown away, not
when students come. D is not something students are asked to do.
The small words did the work: instead of 7 p.m. (a change), before then (a deadline).
A passage from the kind of book a first-year university course would set.
Skim 略读 first, thirty seconds, for the shape: what is this about, how many parts has it,
where does the argument turn? Then answer, and scan 扫读 back for each fact.
The topic sentence 主题句 — usually the first sentence of a paragraph — tells you what that
paragraph is for. When a question asks which paragraph contains something, you are matching
against topic sentences, not reading everything again.
A question about a word asks what it means in this passage, not what it means in general.
Answer from the sentence, not from your dictionary memory.
Guess an unknown word from its parts: a prefix 前缀 (un-, re-, over-) and a suffix 后缀
(-tion, -able, -ly) narrow the meaning and fix the word class before you have understood
the root at all.
An inference 推理 question asks what the passage lets you conclude, not what it says. The
right answer is always supported by a line you could point at. If you cannot point at the line,
it is the wrong answer.
Read an unknown word by its parts: the prefix narrows the meaning, the suffix fixes the word class
Worked example: an inference you can point at
Some species of bamboo flower only once every few decades. When they do, almost every plant of
the species flowers at the same time across a whole region, drops a huge quantity of seed, and
then dies. In the months that follow, the number of seed-eating rats in the area often rises
sharply.
What can be inferred about the rats? (A) They eat only bamboo seed. (B) The sudden supply of
seed helps more of them survive and breed. (C) They cause the bamboo to flower. (D) They live
mainly in bamboo forests.
B is right, and you can point at the line: a huge quantity of seed is followed by the
number of seed-eating rats … rises sharply. The passage never says "because", but it puts the
food first and the rise second. That order is the support.
A goes too far: seed-eating does not mean only bamboo seed. Words like only, always
and never in an option are a reason to check the text twice.
C turns cause and result round: the flowering comes first.
D may be true in the real world, but no line in the passage says it. An inference must come
from the passage, not from what you already know.
Translating while reading. Turning each sentence into Chinese in your head takes much longer
than reading it. At about 30 minutes for 50 items there is no room for it. This is
not a habit you can drop on test day; it takes weeks of reading without a dictionary to lose.
Subvocalising 默读出声 — saying each word silently. It caps your reading speed at your
speaking speed, which is far slower than the silent reading the test rewards.
Hunting for a word from the question. The test writes questions in different words on
purpose. A synonym 同义词 in the passage is the normal case, not a trick.
Perfectionism on one item. Every item is worth the same. Two minutes spent rescuing one hard
item can cost you several easy ones later.
Practise with a timer from the first day. Reading well and reading fast are two different
skills, and only one of them is trained by reading slowly.
Read one academic page and one practical text every day — a science article and an email, a
history page and a noticeboard. The section now asks for both.
Build vocabulary from the Academic Word List, but learn each word in a sentence. A word you
have only met on a flashcard is a word you will not recognise inside a line of prose.
After every practice set, write down why each wrong answer was wrong: did you misread the
question, miss a word, run out of time, or not know the vocabulary? Four different problems need
four different fixes, and only your own list tells you which one you have.
endurance: The ability to keep working accurately through a long test.
penalty: A loss of marks for breaking a task rule.
notice: A short public message, often posted for students.
skim: To read quickly for the general idea, not for every word.
inference: A conclusion drawn from clues when the text does not say it directly.
subvocalise: Silent speech-like activity during reading, which need not move the lips and need not slow every reader.
A library notice says that books are due on Friday unless your receipt gives an earlier date.
A student returns a book on Friday without checking the receipt.
The student may have met the deadline, but has not used all the information.
Reading means joining details and conditions, not recognising a familiar word.
This supplement adds original worked practice to the preserved Reading notes.
It covers Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life and Read an Academic Passage.
All passages, questions and answers below are newly written teaching examples.
They are not official ETS items, rated test forms or a complete adaptive test.
Their lengths and practice clocks are classroom choices.
Try each set before reading its answers. Keep the text visible while you work.
The official Reading description says the needed information is in the text.
You do not need specialist knowledge of the topic to answer these questions.
An answer must fit the particular text, even if another answer sounds possible in real life.
Complete words using letters, grammar and meaning together
In Complete the Words, parts of words are missing from a short text.
Use the supplied letters and the surrounding sentence together.
Grammar suggests possible forms; meaning and spelling narrow the choice further.
In this practice, each underscore represents one missing letter. Write the whole completed word in your notebook.
In a live task, follow its own entry instructions; our notation does not copy its interface.
Original text A: comparing paths
Students mea_____ (1) the temperature of two campus paths at the same ti__ (2).
One path lay under trees; the other was expo___ (3) to direct sunlight.
Their results sho___ (4) that the shaded path was coo___ (5) at every reading.
However, they cou__ (6) not con_____ (7) that shade was the only cause.
The study did not con____ (8) wind speed or surface material.
They pla____ (9) to repe__ (10) the measurements with these differences checked.
Explained completions
Measured. The students took temperature readings. “Measured” fits the past events and begins with mea.
Time. “At the same time” makes the comparison meaningful. “Times” needs an extra letter and changes the form.
Exposed. “Was exposed to” describes the path receiving sunlight. Exposing does not fit the three missing letters or this passive structure.
Showed. The results showed a pattern in the completed study. “Shown” does not form a complete verb after “results” here.
Cooler. The sentence compares the two paths, so the comparative form fits. “Coolest” needs more letters and suggests a different comparison.
Could. The phrase “could not conclude” gives a limit on the students' claim. The supplied cou and two missing letters fit could.
Conclude. After could not, use the base form. The students cannot reach this stronger claim from their evidence.
Control. Wind and surface material were not kept comparable. The base form follows did not; controlled would add an incorrect ending.
Planned. The students made a future plan after their first study. Planned has double n; planed is a different word and does not fit this meaning.
Repeat. They intend to take the measurements again. Repeat fits the supplied letters, length and meaning after to.
Read the completed text once more. The pattern and its limit should both make sense.
A correctly spelled word can still be wrong if it changes the sentence's meaning.
Original text B: a study collection
The college library created a dig____ (11) collection of local photographs.
Students can sea___ (12) it by street name or year.
Each image has a short des________ (13), but some dates remain uncer____ (14).
The library asks users to provide evi_____ (15) before suggesting a new date.
This helps staff cor____ (16) the information without treating every guess as a fact.
11.Digital. A searchable electronic collection is digital; dig plus four letters fits.
12.Search. “Search it by street name or year” explains how users find images.
13.Description. A short written description accompanies an image. Des plus eight letters fits description.
14.Uncertain. Some dates are not established. Uncer plus four letters fits uncertain (the printed letters uncer already rule out unchecked).
15.Evidence. Users must support a proposed change. Evi plus five letters fits evidence.
16.Correct. Staff can fix the information after checking the evidence. Cor plus four letters fits correct. (A three-letter ending after rev would have allowed both revise and review; a good gap allows only one word.)
The second text connects the words: uncertain dates need evidence before correction.
Do not select each word as if it appeared alone on a vocabulary card.
Check a grammar shortcut against the actual sentence
The original notes offer quick word-class hints. Use them as starting points, not fixed laws.
An article 冠词 such as the can come before an adjective as well as directly before a noun.
“The quiet room” contains an adjective between the and room.
“The carefully prepared report” adds an adverb before the adjective.
To can mark an infinitive 不定式: “They plan to repeat the study.”
It can also be a preposition 介词: “They walked to the library.”
In “They look forward to reading the report,” reading fits the whole expression.
Do not turn every word after to into a base verb.
A word family 词族 contains related forms, such as describe, description and descriptive.
“Each image has a short ___” needs a thing that the image has: description.
“A ___ note accompanies each image” could use descriptive.
The supplied letters, word length and sentence must all fit.
Prefixes can suggest meaning: uncertain means not certain, and repeat involves doing something again.
But a word part alone does not prove the answer.
A familiar ending can occur in words with different jobs.
Verify the whole sentence and preserve the spelling of the actual word.
Read a daily-life email for purpose and conditions
Original email
Subject: Wednesday workshop
Hello everyone,
The workshop still starts at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
We have moved from Room 18 to Room 21 because the projector in Room 18 is being repaired.
Please bring a printed draft unless you uploaded your final draft before noon on Tuesday.
If you uploaded it after noon, bring a printed copy too.
You may wish to bring a notebook for your own notes, but this is optional.
Mina, workshop organiser
Questions 17–19
17. What is the main purpose of this email?
A Announce a new workshop day. B Explain a room change and what participants should bring.
C Cancel the workshop. D Ask participants to repair a projector.
18. Jia uploaded a final draft at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. What should Jia bring?
A Only a notebook. B Nothing because any upload removes the requirement.
C A printed draft. D A replacement projector.
19. What does the email say about a notebook?
A Everyone must bring one. B It is optional for personal notes.
C It replaces the printed draft. D It must be uploaded before noon.
Explained answers
17.B. The email announces the move to Room 21 and explains the draft requirement.
A changes Wednesday without evidence; C invents a cancellation; D confuses a repair reason with a participant's job.
18.C. One p.m. is after noon, so Jia must bring a printed copy.
The exception applies only to a final draft uploaded before noon.
A and B ignore the condition; D adds a job the email never gives Jia.
19.B. The email explicitly says optional. It offers a useful choice rather than a requirement.
A changes the strength of the message. C and D wrongly transfer the draft instructions to the notebook.
Polite wording can introduce a request, a suggestion or an option.
“You may wish to” does not always mean “you must.”
Read the whole message, including words that state whether an action is required.
Read a notice and a timetable together
Original notice
Study-support desk: from 6 October, afternoon appointments take place in the library annex.
Morning appointments stay in Room 4. Bring your appointment confirmation.
Walk-in questions are welcome from 12:15 to 12:45; booked meetings do not run during that period.
Period
Service
Location
09:00–12:00
Booked meetings
Room 4
12:15–12:45
Walk-in questions
Library annex
14:00–16:00
Booked meetings
Library annex
An annex 附楼 is an extra building or part of a building connected with the main one.
Here, use the stated location; do not invent a map or travel time.
Questions 20–22
20. Where should a student attend a 10 a.m. booked meeting on 7 October?
A Room 4. B Library annex. C Either place. D The notice does not state a location.
21. Which student can use the service at 12:30 without a booking?
A A student attending a booked meeting. B A student with a walk-in question.
C Only a student with an afternoon booking. D Nobody, because the desk is closed.
22. What remains unchanged from the previous arrangement?
A All afternoon appointments. B The location of morning appointments.
C All meetings are now walk-in. D Nobody needs confirmation.
Explained answers
20.A. Ten a.m. belongs to the morning booked period, which stays in Room 4.
B wrongly applies the afternoon change to every meeting. C invents choice; D ignores both notice and timetable.
21.B. The notice and timetable identify a walk-in period at 12:30.
A contradicts the statement about booked meetings; C invents an eligibility rule; D ignores the stated opening.
22.B. “Stay” signals that the morning location has not changed.
A misses the afternoon move; C and D contradict the service type and confirmation instruction.
The prose explains a change; the table helps locate a period quickly.
Join them. A true phrase in one cell is not enough if it belongs to the wrong time.
Read an academic passage as a connected explanation
Original passage: collecting seeds in a city
A town planting group compared two ways of collecting seeds from a local wildflower.
In the first method, volunteers picked seeds from the earliest plants to flower.
In the second, they returned several times and collected from plants flowering at different dates.
The group wanted a collection representing the variation already present in the local population.
The first method was convenient because volunteers could finish in one visit.
However, it risked leaving out plants that flowered later.
The second required more visits, but sampled a wider range of flowering dates.
Researchers explained that neither method creates new variation; collection determines which existing plants are represented.
The trial recorded dates and the plants visited, rather than testing later survival.
Its results therefore support a claim about the breadth of collection, not a claim that one batch grows better.
The group planned a separate growing trial before making that stronger claim.
Convenience remained important, but the group decided to compare it with its sampling aim.
Questions 23–28
23. Which title best expresses the main idea?
A Creating variation by collecting seeds. B How collection choices affect which plants are represented.
C Proving that early flowers always survive longer. D Replacing volunteers with researchers.
24. Why was the first method convenient?
A It created new plant types. B It needed only one visit.
C It sampled all flowering dates. D It tested survival immediately.
25. What does “it” refer to in “However, it risked leaving out plants that flowered later”?
A The first collection method. B The growing trial.
C New variation. D A late-flowering plant.
26. What does “breadth” mean in this passage?
A Physical width of the town. B Depth of a planting hole.
C Range of plants included in the collection. D Number of researchers employed.
27. What can reasonably be inferred about using only the first method?
A It may represent flowering dates less widely than repeated visits do.
B It proves the seeds will never grow. C It changes every plant's flowering date.
D It requires more collection visits than the second method.
28. Why does the writer mention the separate growing trial?
A To prove that collecting is unnecessary. B To show how researchers created new variation.
C To explain why volunteers stopped helping. D To distinguish a future survival test from the completed collection comparison.
Explain the academic answers from evidence
23.B. All three paragraphs connect collection decisions with representation and the limits of the trial.
A contradicts “neither method creates new variation.” C claims survival evidence that was not collected.
D invents a change of workers. A title should cover the explanation, not one familiar word.
24.B. The first method let volunteers finish in one visit.
A wrongly attributes creation of variation to collection. C ignores omitted later plants.
D confuses the completed comparison with the planned growing trial.
25.A. The previous sentence describes the first method as convenient; “however” introduces its drawback.
Follow the connected idea. The other options are not the method that can leave later plants out of collection.
A referent 指代对象 is the person or thing a word such as it refers to.
26.C. Breadth concerns how widely the collection represents flowering dates.
The paragraph contrasts this with survival. A and B choose physical measurements from another context;
D adds staffing information that the passage does not discuss.
27.A. Picking from only the earliest flowers risks omitting later-flowering plants.
That supports a narrower range of dates, even though the sentence does not repeat the option's wording.
B and C are much stronger unsupported claims; D reverses the stated visit pattern.
An inference must connect evidence. It cannot add a result the trial never measured.
28.D. The separate trial would investigate the stronger claim about how seeds grow later.
This marks the boundary of the existing evidence. A, B and C invent purposes or events.
A limitation 局限 states what evidence cannot establish as well as what it can.
Compare which existing plants are included before making a claim about survival.
Notice the passage structure: aim and methods, comparison, then evidence limits and next step.
A paragraph's job matters even when its first sentence is not a complete summary.
“However” marks a drawback; “therefore” connects the measured evidence to a restricted conclusion.
Improve accuracy before making the same task faster
The original notes give fixed reading speeds and broad claims about Chinese learners.
Use your own error record instead. Different learners need different support.
A dictionary check or a brief translation during review can explain a word you missed.
It does not itself prove that you cannot read under test conditions.
For a first practice round, allow four minutes for text A and three for text B.
Allow four minutes for the email and notice together, then five for the academic passage.
These are classroom clocks, not official task limits or a score prediction.
If you finish quickly but choose answers without evidence, review accuracy before reducing the clock.
If you run out of time, identify where time went: decoding words, rereading conditions or comparing options.
During review, write a short evidence phrase beside each answer.
For a missing word, write the complete word and the grammar or meaning that supports it.
Then attempt a fresh text. Faster recall of this worksheet is not proof of transfer to a new passage.
Scored Reading items have a maximum of one raw point in the blueprint.
That does not make a classroom total an exact reported-band conversion.
Unscored items, adaptive routing and scale conversion remain separate issues.
Do not calculate the number of later questions you will lose from one minute spent here.
Follow the real test's navigation and timing instructions when taking it.
Check six decisions on a fresh attempt
Does “the” always require the next word to be a noun?
Does “to” always require the next word to be a base verb?
Why must the collection passage not be used to claim better seed survival?
A notebook is optional in the email. Can polite wording make it compulsory?
Does knowing what a flower usually does replace the passage's evidence?
What should you change after successfully remembering all these answers?
Explained answers
No. An adjective or adverb-plus-adjective can appear before the noun: “the carefully prepared report.”
No. To can be an infinitive marker or a preposition. Check the whole phrase and sentence.
The trial measured collection dates and representation, not later survival. A separate growing trial is planned.
No. Read the explicit optional condition; do not override it with a politeness shortcut.
No. Answer from this passage. Outside knowledge may suggest possibilities the text never establishes.
Attempt new texts and explain their evidence. Change the task to practise the skill beyond this worksheet.
Interactive lessons on this topic
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