Reading: signs, messages, opinions and articles
Move from short public texts to longer messages while tracking evidence and inference.
Section R3 · Reading · events, ideas, opinions and attitudes
Exam scope and assessment notes
This is an original mapped starter, not the recommended full course of about 130 guided learning hours. All Japanese examples, translations, grammar explanations, kanji groupings, listening scripts and pronunciation aids require review by a qualified Japanese-language teacher before publication is described as complete. Browser speech is supplemental, not Cambridge audio. Speaking rehearsal and writing feedback are formative and do not reproduce a live examiner or award official marks. The linked vocabulary workbook has not been reconciled word by word.
Before you begin
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
Which approach gives the most reliable Japanese response?
What you will learn
- Find key information and select relevant details in written Japanese.
- Understand factual texts, opinions, events and occasional meaning from context.
Match the question to the text
A sign or notice may answer a practical question with only a few words. Identify its purpose, then match the relevant time, location, instruction or restriction.
For a longer email, message, blog or article, separate who did something, when it happened and why. Support short answers with the text.
Use context with care
An unfamiliar word may be inferred from contrast, example or result. Context suggests a best fit; it may not provide an exact definition.
Paper 2 has five question groups: picture matching, notices/signs, short-text multiple choice and short-answer tasks on longer texts.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
What makes an inference about an unfamiliar word reasonable?
Worked example
Read 「店は火曜日に休みです。水曜日は午前十時から開いています。」 Which day is it closed, and when does it open Wednesday?
Show the worked solution
- Scan for opening and closing words.
- Match each day to its statement.
- Keep the opening time with Wednesday.
Answer The shop is closed Tuesday and opens at ten on Wednesday morning.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
A notice says 「図書館は午後五時に閉まります。返却箱は入口の右にあります。」 What time does the library close, and where is the return box?
Give me a hint
Find one time and one location.
Compare my reasoning
- Locate 閉まります and its time.
- Locate 返却箱.
- Use 入口の右 for its position.
The library closes at 5 p.m.; the return box is to the right of the entrance.
Look for these in your work
- Finds the time
- Finds the location
- Keeps facts separate
Read 「新しい自転車は少し高かったですが、駅まで十分で行けるので買いました。」 Why did the writer buy it despite the price?
Give me a hint
Use ので to find the stated reason.
Compare my reasoning
- Identify the contrast 高かったですが.
- Find the reason after ので.
- Do not add an unstated reason.
The writer bought it because it gets them to the station in ten minutes. It was a little expensive.
Look for these in your work
- Understands contrast
- Identifies reason
- Avoids unsupported detail
An article says a learner joined a club to practise photography and later helped organise an exhibition. Why did they first join?
Give me a hint
Track the sequence and select the earlier motivation.
Compare my reasoning
- Find the initial action.
- Find its stated reason.
- Do not substitute a later activity.
The learner first joined to practise photography. Helping with the exhibition happened later.
Look for these in your work
- Tracks chronology
- Selects stated reason
- Rejects a later distractor
Common mistakes
- Selecting an irrelevant nearby date
- Treating an inference as certain
- Answering beyond the text
What can you explain now?
What makes an inference about an unfamiliar word reasonable?
Compare with the explanation
A clue in the surrounding context
The interpretation should fit the whole passage.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
Your review choice appears on Today. Sign in to sync it across devices.
Make it stick
Explain one idea from memory, answer the checkpoint, and name a Japanese form or reading that needs checking.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.