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Unit 07
Reading Comprehension
questions 43–62 · question types & tactics
The Biggest Section
Reading comprehension makes up a quarter of YDS: five passages with four questions each. The passages are academic in style — science, history, health, economics, psychology — but you do not need any special knowledge. Everything you need is in the text.
Question Types
| Type | Typical question | Tactic |
|---|---|---|
| Main idea | The passage is mainly about / The main purpose of the passage is… | Choose the option that covers the whole text, not just one sentence. |
| Detail | According to the passage… / It is stated in the passage that… | Find the key word in the text; the answer is a paraphrase of one sentence. |
| Inference | It can be inferred / understood from the passage that… | The answer is not written directly but must be fully supported by the text. |
| Purpose | The author mentions X in order to… | Ask why the sentence is there: to give an example, to contrast, to explain? |
| Vocabulary / reference | The word X is closest in meaning to… / "it" refers to… | Replace the word with each option and read the sentence again. |
Tactics
- Read the question stems before the passage so you know what to look for.
- Expect paraphrase, not copy: the correct option usually says the same thing as the text in different words.
- Be careful with extreme words like always, never, all, only; they are often in wrong options.
- An option can be true but not answer the question. Check that it answers exactly what is asked.
- Time: about 12 minutes per passage (3 minutes per question).