eng9-R1· Reading· ~15 min

Reading: People & Everyday Life

Read short texts about how people live, work and spend their days.

Reading comprehension questions test your ability to understand short texts about everyday topics. Start by reading the passage once for the general idea, then look at the questions before reading again. For main-idea questions, ask yourself what the whole text is about—not just one part. For detail questions, find the exact sentence in the passage that contains the answer. When you see an unfamiliar word, use the sentences around it to guess the meaning before checking the choices.

Key terms

main idea — The central point or message of a text—what the whole passage is mostly about.
detail — A specific piece of information that is directly stated in the text.
inference — A conclusion you reach by thinking about clues in the text; the answer is not stated directly.
vocabulary in context — Understanding a word's meaning by looking at the words and sentences around it.
skim — To read a text quickly to get the general idea without focusing on every word.
scan — To read quickly to find a specific piece of information, such as a name, number or date.
Question Types and Reading Strategies
Question TypeWhat to Do
Main IdeaRead the first and last sentences carefully. Ask: what is the text mostly about?
DetailFind the exact sentence in the text that contains the answer. Do not rely on memory.
Inference / ReferenceLook for clues. The answer is not stated directly—think about what the text suggests.
Vocabulary in ContextRead the whole sentence with the word. Guess the meaning from context before looking at the choices.

Four common question types and the best strategy for each one.

✎How to Find the Main Idea
  1. 1Step 1: Read the whole passage once without stopping to check unknown words.
  2. 2Step 2: Ask yourself: 'What is this text mostly about?' Answer in one short sentence.
  3. 3Step 3: Look at the first and last sentences—they often contain the main idea.
  4. 4Step 4: Check each answer choice. Three choices are usually too narrow, too broad, or not mentioned at all.
🚫Common mistake

Don't choose an answer just because it uses words from the passage. Distractors often repeat words from the text but say something different.

⚠️Caution

If you don't know a word, don't panic. Read the whole sentence—the words around it can help you guess the meaning.

💡Note

For inference questions, the answer is never directly stated. You need to 'read between the lines' and make a logical conclusion.

Rules

  1. 1Read the questions first, then read the passage to find the answers.
  2. 2For main-idea questions, do not choose an answer that is too specific or too general—it must cover the whole text.
  3. 3For detail questions, locate the exact sentence in the passage that matches the correct answer.
  4. 4For vocabulary questions, use the surrounding sentences to guess the word's meaning before looking at the choices.
  5. 5Eliminate clearly wrong answers one by one—removing even one or two choices improves your chances.
  6. 6If you are stuck between two choices, go back to the passage and find evidence for each one.

Practice

4 easy · 4 medium · 4 hard

10 random questions per test

EasyMediumHardMixed