Reading: notices, emails, schedules and menus
Đã giới thiệu| English | Ý nghĩa |
|---|---|
| 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.)
Độ khó 2/5 · 140 xu + phần thưởng nhỏ khi hoàn thành lần đầu tiên hôm nay
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?
Độ khó 1/5 · 100 xu + phần thưởng nhỏ khi hoàn thành lần đầu tiên hôm nay
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?
Độ khó 1/5 · 100 xu + phần thưởng nhỏ khi hoàn thành lần đầu tiên hôm nay
The note under the table says Drama moves to Room 12 when the hall is used for exams.
From the table: Robotics meets on ____.
Độ khó 1/5 · 100 xu + phần thưởng nhỏ khi hoàn thành lần đầu tiên hôm nay
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?
Độ khó 1/5 · 100 xu + phần thưởng nhỏ khi hoàn thành lần đầu tiên hôm nay
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:
Độ khó 1/5 · 100 xu + phần thưởng nhỏ khi hoàn thành lần đầu tiên hôm nay
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.
Độ khó 1/5 · 100 xu + phần thưởng nhỏ khi hoàn thành lần đầu tiên hôm nay
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.
Độ khó 3/5 · 200 xu + phần thưởng nhỏ khi hoàn thành lần đầu tiên hôm nay
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.