Basic Matura in English: Understanding Written Texts
Get the maximum number of points from reading comprehension. Effective strategies and examples.
How to pass reading in the English matura?
Understanding written texts in the basic matura in English is one of the key parts of the exam that can determine your final result. It verifies the ability to find specific information, determine the main idea of the text, and recognize logical relationships. Below we discuss each type of task and provide reliable strategies for solving them.
1. Task: Matching headings to paragraphs
Task description: The task involves matching the given headings to the appropriate paragraphs of a short text. A characteristic feature of this task in the matura is that there is always one additional heading provided that does not fit any of the fragments. This is intended to make the task more difficult and to test precise reading comprehension.
Method of implementation (Strategy)
- First read the entire text quickly (so-called skimming) to understand its general meaning and main theme.
- Identify and underline keywords in each of the paragraphs.
- Read the list of headings. Note that headings rarely use the same words as the text – look for synonyms and paraphrases.
- Match headings to paragraphs. Make sure that the heading reflects the main idea of the entire paragraph, not just one sentence contained within.
- Apply the elimination principle. Cross out headings that you are 100% sure about.
Example with solution
Read the paragraphs below (1-2) and match them with the appropriate headings (A-C). One heading has been provided additionally.
1. New York is famous for its yellow taxis, towering skyscrapers, and busy streets. Millions of people visit the city every year to see Times Square and the Statue of Liberty. It’s a place that never sleeps.
2. Central Park offers a completely different experience. Right in the middle of the noisy city, you can find quiet paths, green grass, and small lakes. People come here to read a book, have a picnic, or simply escape the urban rush.
Headings:
A. A perfect place for a quiet break.
B. The best restaurants in the city.
C. A popular and energetic tourist destination.
Click to see the solution and explanation
Solution: 1 – C, 2 – A.
Explanation:
Paragraph 1: The words „millions of people visit”, „never sleeps” indicate the popularity and energy of the place, which perfectly fits the header C („popular and energetic”).
Paragraph 2: The text talks about „quiet paths”, „escape the urban rush”, which is synonymous with escape and rest from header A („quiet break”).
Header B is a distraction – the text does not mention food and restaurants.
2. Task: Gaps in the text (Choosing missing sentences)
Task description: In this exam task, you read a text from which several sentences have been removed. Below the text is a list of sentences from which you need to choose those that logically and grammatically fill the gaps. Additional sentences (distractors) also appear here. The task tests the coherence and logic of the text.
Method of implementation (Strategy)
- Read the text, ignoring the gaps, to catch the thread (the so-called gist).
- Pay great attention to words before and after the gap.
- Look for „logical connectors” (e.g. however, therefore, but) and „demonstrative pronouns” (e.g. this, these, it, they, he, she). If the sentence before the gap talks about „two cars”, the sentence in the gap may start with „They were…”.
- Insert the sentence and read the entire fragment (before, during, and after the gap) to assess fluency.
Example with solution
Read the text from which one sentence has been removed. Choose the missing sentence (A-C).
Tom decided to bake a cake for his mother’s birthday. He bought all the necessary ingredients like flour, sugar, and eggs. [ 1 ] However, despite this problem, the cake turned out to be delicious and his mother was thrilled.
Missing sentences:
A. He realized he forgot to buy chocolate.
B. He gave her a beautiful gift card.
C. He has always been a great chef.
Click to see the solution and explanation
Solution: 1 – A.
Explanation: The sentence after the gap starts with the words „However, despite this problem…” (However, despite this problem…). This means that the sentence in the gap must describe some problem. Sentence A („He realized he forgot to buy chocolate”) is the only problem on the list. Sentence B and C do not logically fit the word „problem”.
3. Task: Multiple Choice
Task description: This is a classic test task (A, B, C, D) based on a longer text. Questions may concern specific details, the main idea of the paragraph, or the author’s intention.
Method of implementation (Strategy)
- Start by reading the question itself, without reading the answers (A, B, C, D), to avoid being misled.
- Questions are usually arranged chronologically. Look for the answers to the first question in the first part of the text, the second in the next one, etc.
- Find the part of the text that the question refers to and read it carefully.
- Only now read options A, B, C, D and choose the one that best reflects the meaning of the text fragment. Be careful with options that contain words directly from the text but change their context!
Example with solution
Read the text and answer the question by choosing the correct answer (A-C).
Last weekend, Mark and his friends went camping in the mountains. They planned to go hiking early in the morning, but heavy rain forced them to stay in their tents playing board games all day. Luckily, the next day was sunny and they finally reached the peak.
Question: What did Mark and his friends do on the first day of their trip?
A. They climbed to the peak in the rain.
B. They stayed inside because of the weather.
C. They went hiking early in the morning.
Click to see the solution and explanation
Solution: B.
Explanation: The text says: „…heavy rain forced them to stay in their tents playing board games all day.” This means that they stayed in the tent (inside) because of the rain (weather).
Trick A: they reached the peak, but only on the second day.
Trick C: they planned to go in the morning, but the rain prevented them from doing so.
General tips to facilitate understanding of texts in English
- Don’t panic when you don’t know a word: You don’t need to know every word to solve the task correctly. Try to guess the meaning from the context of the whole sentence.
- Pay attention to negations: Words like never, rarely, hardly, without completely change the meaning of the sentence. They are often the key to rejecting the wrong answer.
- Watch out for synonyms: Exam creators rarely copy words from the text into the questions. Look for paraphrases. If the text has „inexpensive”, in the correct answer you will probably find „cheap” or „low price”.
- Manage your time: Understanding written text is just one part of the paper. Don’t spend 20 minutes on one difficult question – move on and come back to it at the end.
