eng6-R3· Reading· ~15 min

Reading: Great Ideas & Technology

Read a magazine article and a review about inventions and technology.

When you read a short text for an exam, first look at the title to guess what it is about. Then read the text quickly to get the main idea — do not stop at new words. After that, read the questions and go back to the text to find the answers. For vocabulary questions, look at the words around the unknown word to guess its meaning.

Key terms

main idea — what the text is mostly about
detail — a small, specific piece of information in the text
inference — a guess you make using clues from the text
skim — to read quickly to get the main idea
scan — to look quickly for specific information
context — the words and sentences around an unknown word
Types of Reading Questions
Question TypeWhat It TestsExample Question Word
Main IdeaWhat the text is mostly aboutmainly, mostly, main idea
DetailA specific fact from the textwho, what, where, when, how many
InferenceA guess based on clues in the textinfer, probably, refer to
VocabularyThe meaning of a word in contextmeans, meaning of the word

Four kinds of reading questions used in this lesson

✎How to Answer a Main Idea Question
  1. 1Step 1: Skim the text. Read the first and last sentences. Do not stop at new words.
  2. 2Step 2: Ask yourself: what is this text mostly about? Say it in one short sentence.
  3. 3Step 3: Look at the choices. Cross out answers that are too narrow (only one small part) or too broad (more than the text says).
🚫Common mistake

A common mistake is choosing an answer just because it uses the same words as the text. Wrong answers often repeat words from the text but say something different. Always check the meaning, not just the words.

⚠️Caution

Do not use your own knowledge to answer the question. Every answer must come from the text. If you think you know the topic, be extra careful — the text may say something different.

💡Note

When you see a new word, do not stop reading. Try to understand the sentence without it. Then, after you finish, go back and guess the meaning from the words around it.

Rules

  1. 1Read the title first to understand the topic.
  2. 2Skim the text quickly before you read the questions.
  3. 3Underline key words in the question to know what to look for.
  4. 4Go back to the text to find the answer — do not guess from memory.
  5. 5For vocabulary questions, use the sentences around the word to help you.

Practice

4 easy · 4 medium · 4 hard

10 random questions per test

EasyMediumHardMixed