Reading: notices, emails, schedules and menus
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| schedule/ˈʃedjuːl/ | An arrangement showing when activities or events are expected to take place. |
| scan/skæn/ | To look quickly through a text for particular information. |
| context/ˈkɒntekst/ | context |
Thursday or Friday?
- A notice says: "Volunteers set up the hall on Thursday. The show is on Friday at 6." The question asks what happens on Thursday.
- Everyday texts are full of times, names and places. The skill is matching the right detail to the question.
What the Reading section contains
- 42 questions in 50 minutes: about 70 seconds per question, including reading time.
- It starts with everyday (non-academic) texts: notices, emails, schedules 时间表, menus, posters. Later come stories and academic passages.
Reading has 42 questions in 50 minutes. About how many seconds is that per question? (Nearest whole number.)
Difficulty 2/5 · 140 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
50 × 60 = 3,000 seconds; 3,000 ÷ 42 ≈ 71 seconds, including reading time.
Read the question, then scan
- Read the question first and pick its key word: a time, a name, a place, a price.
- Then scan 扫读 the text for that word and read the sentences around it carefully before you choose.
Notice: "The book sale opens at 10 a.m. Teachers may enter at 9:30 to choose books early." Question: When can students enter? → 10 a.m. The 9:30 time is for teachers.
Email: "The bus leaves at 8:00 sharp. Please be at the front gate by 7:45 so we can check names." When should students arrive?
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
The bus leaves at 8:00, but students must be at the gate by 7:45.
Tables, schedules and menus
- In a schedule, read across the row and down the column. Check headings like Day, Room, Cost.
- Look for small notes below a table (* Saturday only, Closed on holidays). Questions love them.
| Club | Day | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Chess | Monday | 12 |
| Drama | Wednesday | Hall* |
| Robotics | Friday | Lab 2 |
* Drama meets in Room 12 when the hall is used for exams.
Look at the club table. Where does Drama meet during exam week?
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
The note under the table says Drama moves to Room 12 when the hall is used for exams.
From the table: Robotics meets on ____.
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
Read across the Robotics row to the Day column.
Who, what and when
- Everyday texts have several people and times. Keep them apart: who does what, and when.
- A wrong option often takes a real detail from the text and gives it to the wrong person or day.
Thursday or Friday?
Answer questions about times, people and actions without mixing them up
Notice: "Volunteers set up the hall on Thursday. Parents arrive at 5:30 on Friday; the show begins at 6." What will volunteers do on Thursday?
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
Setting up the hall on Thursday means preparing it. The show and parents belong to Friday.
Words in context
- "In line 3, the word offer is closest in meaning to ___." The question asks what the word means in this text: the context 上下文.
- Put each option into the sentence. Keep the one that keeps the meaning: The café will offer two new soups → provide, not suggest.
"Visitors to this year's fair can watch a robot draw portraits in under a minute." In this sentence, watch is closest in meaning to:
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
Here watch means see something happen. Look after is another meaning of watch (watch a baby), but it does not fit this sentence.
Common mistakes
- Answering from your own experience (school trips usually leave at 8) instead of the text.
- Missing an exception: except, only, not, a footnote with *.
- Choosing the first word meaning you know instead of the meaning in the sentence.
If a notice does not give a time, you should choose the time that schools usually use.
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
Answer only from the text. If the text gives no time, an option with a time is probably wrong.
Recap
- Question first, then scan for its key word; read around it.
- Match each detail to its person and time; check notes and exceptions.
- Word questions: test each option in the sentence.
Put the steps for an everyday-text question in order.
Difficulty 3/5 · 200 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
Question first saves time; reading around the key word avoids traps.
Official sources
- Checked on 15 November 2026: Reading Comprehension sample questions (ETS) and the Test Taker Handbook (ETS, PDF). The texts here are original.