These questions ask you to find "information that meets specific conditions" in practical English, such as web pages, advertisements, notices, and emails. Rather than reading the entire text, you need the skill to pick out only the necessary information.
Basic Rules
Typical information-search questions:
- "Which one meets the following conditions?" (choose an option that meets multiple conditions at the same time)
- "Which is the cheapest/fastest option?" (compare several materials)
- "Which program can this person participate in?" (check restrictions such as age, dates, and budget)
Steps for solving:
① Read the question first and write down the conditions being asked about (for example: budget, schedule, and target age)
② Check the headings, subheadings, and tables in the material first to understand where each type of information is located
③ Apply the conditions to the material one at a time and eliminate options that do not meet them
④ The correct answer is the only option that meets all conditions
Traps to watch for:
- The most common mistake is meeting only one condition and overlooking the others
- Exceptions to the conditions may be written in numbers, dates, or notes (such as ※ marks) in the material
Question: "Which workshop is held on Saturday and costs no more than 3000 yen?"
→ The two conditions are "costs no more than 3000 yen" and "is held on Saturday." Look only at the price and date columns in the table and find the row that meets both conditions. If you look only at the price and fail to check the date, you will choose the wrong answer.
Points to Note
① Always write the conditions in your notes (you may overlook one if you process them only in your head). Organize them by category, such as "budget," "schedule," and "target."
② In tables or lists, it is faster to check the column headings first and then look for the relevant row.
③ Notes such as "※Except when ..." are often the key to distinguishing the correct answer. Do not skip them.
④ When a question requires combining multiple materials (such as an email and a web page), be careful not to make a decision based on only one of them.
- Write the conditions in the question in your notes first (budget, schedule, target, and so on)
- Check headings and table columns first to identify where the necessary information is located
- Apply the conditions one at a time and eliminate options
- Do not overlook notes (※) or the need to combine multiple materials
Practice
- When a question has the three conditions "budget, schedule, and target age," give one way to avoid overlooking a condition.
- When reading a table, which is faster: reading the text from the beginning or using the table? Answer with a reason.
- Explain in Japanese why exception information written in a note (※) can be the key to the correct answer.