How the Reading Comprehension test works
Each screen holds one passage and one question. TestGorilla’s sample passages run from one paragraph to several, on topics as varied as supermarket layouts, a company ethics policy, the market for mobile home parks and English loanwords, so expect general reading as well as workplace text.
The questions take a few set forms: what the passage implies, what it refers to, or which statement is true according to it. Each has four options. TestGorilla also lists vocabulary in context and the author’s purpose among the skills involved.
One 13-minute clock covers the whole test. TestGorilla does not publish the number of questions.
How to answer a passage question
Work out what kind of answer you need before you read closely:
- Read the question line first, so you know whether you are after the main point or an inference.
- Main point: the right option covers the whole passage, not one detail from it.
- Inference: the right option follows from the passage without adding anything. If it needs an extra fact, it is wrong.
- Cross out options that contradict the passage first, then those that go beyond it with words like all, always or should.
Worked example
Passage: When the company moved its customer helpline from phone to online chat, the average wait for a reply fell from eleven minutes to two. Managers expected complaints to fall too. Instead they rose slightly over the next six months, and most mentioned answers that were too short or did not solve the problem. The company has since added an option to request a phone call back for complex queries.
What does the passage imply? (a) Customers care only about how quickly they get a reply. (b) A faster reply alone did not make customers happier. (c) The chat service should be replaced by the phone helpline. (d) Complaints rose because replies took longer.
The answer is (b): waits fell, complaints did not, and the complaints were about the quality of answers. That same fact contradicts (a), (d) gets the wait times backwards, and (c) goes further than the passage, which describes adding a call-back option, not dropping chat.
Tips for the real Reading Comprehension test
- With one question per passage, reading is most of the time. Skim for the structure first: what changed, what was expected, what happened.
- Pace by the clock, not by feel: read the counter on the first screen and divide 13 minutes by it.
- Be wary of options that reuse the passage’s exact words but change the meaning. A fair paraphrase is often the right answer.
- If a passage defeats you, guess and move on. A skip scores the same as a wrong answer.
- If you are not fluent in the language of the test, ask for 20% extra time at setup. The employer is told you asked.
Practise Reading Comprehension on CogniPrep
Ours has 12 passages in 13 minutes, half asking for the main point and half for an inference, with four options and one question each. The count of 12 is ours, because TestGorilla does not publish one. Passages mix workplace memos and notices with short general articles, from our bank of 48. One question per screen, no going back and a skip marked wrong, then a raw percentage, a percentile against CogniPrep players and feedback by question type.