Reading: Science & Innovation
Read popular-science and innovation texts.
To do well on reading tasks, first read the questions to know what to look for. Then skim the passage quickly to get the general meaning — do not stop at unfamiliar words. For main-idea questions, look at the first and last sentences; they often contain the topic and the author's main point. For detail questions, scan back to find the exact line that answers the question. When you see an unfamiliar word, use the surrounding sentences (context clues) to guess its meaning. Always check that your answer is supported by the passage, not by your general knowledge.
Key terms
| Question Type | What It Tests | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Main Idea | The overall message of the passage | Read the first and last sentences carefully. |
| Detail | A specific fact from the passage | Scan the text to find the exact sentence. |
| Inference / Reference | What a pronoun refers to, or a logical conclusion | Read the sentences before and after; look for clues. |
| Vocabulary in Context | The meaning of a word as used in the passage | Use surrounding words and sentences to guess the meaning. |
Match each question to its type and use the right strategy.
- 1Step 1: Read the first sentence: 'Vaccines are one of the most important discoveries in medical history.' This tells you the topic.
- 2Step 2: Read the last sentence: '...vaccines remain our best tool for preventing infectious diseases and saving millions of lives every year.' This tells you the author's main point.
- 3Step 3: Combine them: The main idea is that vaccines are a vital discovery that protects health and saves lives.
- 4Step 4: Eliminate answer choices that are too narrow (only one detail) or too broad (goes beyond the text).
Do not choose an answer just because it sounds true in real life — it must be supported by the passage. A choice that is factually correct but not mentioned in the text is still wrong.
When asked what a pronoun (it, they, this) refers to, look at the noun or phrase just before the pronoun — that is usually the answer.
Watch out for distractors that repeat words from the passage but say the opposite. Always read every choice fully before picking one.
Rules
- 1Read the questions before the passage — this helps you know what information to find.
- 2Skim for the main idea first; do not try to understand every single word.
- 3For detail questions, go back to the exact sentence in the text.
- 4Use context (the words and sentences around an unknown word) to guess meaning.
- 5For inference questions, look for clues in the text — the answer is not stated directly but the text points to it.
- 6Eliminate clearly wrong answers first, then choose the best remaining option.
Practice
4 easy · 4 medium · 4 hard
10 random questions per test