7.4 Reading Strategy: Skim, Locate, Infer

BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test BJTビジネス日本語能力テスト

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1 Introduction & Exam Overview

1.1 About the BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test 1.2 Test Structure, Scoring, and Levels (J5–J1+) 1.3 How to Use This Study Guide

2 Keigo Foundation: The Honorific System

2.1 The Three Keigo Categories: Sonkeigo, Kenjougo, Teineigo 2.2 Sonkeigo (Respectful Language) — Forms and Use 2.3 Kenjougo (Humble Language) — Forms and Use 2.4 Teineigo (Polite Language) and Business Set Phrases

3 Business Vocabulary and Grammar

3.1 Core Business Vocabulary: 役職, 部署, 会社生活 3.2 Honorific Prefixes お/ご, Counters, and Suffixes 3.3 Key Grammar Patterns for Business (～てまで, ～による, ～かねる, ～次第, ～際) 3.4 Fixed Business Expressions and Email Formulae (頭語, 結語, クッション言葉)

4 Part 1: Listening Comprehension (聴解)

4.1 場面把握問題: Photo Scene Comprehension 4.2 発言聴解問題: Keigo Greetings and Replies 4.3 総合聴解問題: Workplace Dialogues and Meetings 4.4 Listening for Numbers, Dates, and Decisions — Traps and Strategies

5 Part 2: Listening & Reading Comprehension (聴読解)

5.1 状況把握問題: Situation Comprehension (Photo + Audio) 5.2 資料聴読解問題: Graphs, Charts, and Tables 5.3 資料聴読解問題: Schedules, Advertisements, and Quotations 5.4 総合聴読解問題: Long Document/Audio Pairs and Time Management

6 Part 3 Reading: Vocabulary, Grammar, and Expressions

6.1 語彙・文法: Vocabulary in Context 6.2 語彙・文法: Grammar in Business Sentences 6.3 表現読解: Choosing the Right Honorific Form 6.4 表現読解: Business Set Phrases in Writing

7 Part 3 Reading: Comprehensive Reading

7.1 総合読解: Business Emails 7.2 総合読解: Internal Notices, Memos, and Meeting Minutes 7.3 総合読解: Reports and News Articles 7.4 Reading Strategy: Skim, Locate, Infer

8 Test-Day Strategy and Final Review

8.1 CBT Test-Day Logistics, ID, and NDA 8.2 Pacing Across the Three Parts 8.3 Common Traps and Distractor Patterns 8.4 Three-Month Study Plan and Final Review

7.4 Reading Strategy: Skim, Locate, Infer

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

Every Part 3 総合読解 question fits a three-step drill: Skim (10 sec) → Locate (15 sec) → Infer (10 sec), with a 15-second buffer inside the 60-second per-question budget.

Skim captures 件名 / 見出し, the first sentence of each paragraph, and the last sentence of the document.

Locate reads the question first, then scans for the keyword (date, name, action verb, concept) and reads only the sentence(s) containing it.

Inference signals include 筆者の主張 markers (べきだ, と考える), 結論 markers (したがって, そのため, ゆえに), and 対比 markers (しかし, だが, 一方).

Common inference traps include transition-but-ignore, example-not-main-point, first-paragraph-not-conclusion, and opinion-when-fact-asked swaps.

Last updated: July 2026

7.4 Reading Strategy: Skim, Locate, Infer

Every Part 3 question can be answered with the same three-step drill. The goal is to fit each question within 45 seconds, leaving a 15-second buffer for hard ones within the 60-second per-question budget (Part 3 is 30 minutes for ~30 questions).

Step 1: Skim (10 seconds)

Capture three things from the document's skeleton:

件名 / 見出し — topic
First sentence of each paragraph — structure
Last sentence of the document — author's stance

You should walk away from the skim knowing: (a) what the document is about, (b) what type it is (email, notice, minutes, report, article), and (c) the author's stance (request, refusal, neutral, opinion).

Train with a timer: skim a 400-character email in 10 seconds. If you spend more than 15 seconds on the skim, you are reading the body, not skimming.

Step 2: Locate (15 seconds)

After the skim, read the question. Identify the keyword in the question (date, name, action verb, concept) and scan the document for that keyword. Read only the sentence(s) containing the keyword — not the surrounding paragraphs.

Question type Keyword to scan for
期限 / 締切 date expressions (月日, までに) and action verbs (提出, 送付, 返信)
理由恐縮ですが, ため, なぜなら, その理由は
決定 / 決議ことになりました, 決定しました, 採決の結果
主題 / 目的件名, リード文
数値 numbers, %, 金額, 表

Train to locate a keyword in 5 seconds. If you spend more than 10 seconds, you are reading instead of scanning.

Step 3: Infer (10 seconds)

If the answer requires inference (not direct fact), look for these signals:

Signal type Markers What they mean
筆者の主張べきだ, はずだ, と考える, と言える, に違いない, に過ぎない Author's opinion
結論したがって, そのため, ゆえに, このように, このように考えると Conclusion
対比しかし, だが, 一方, 逆に, それに対して Contrast — the answer often follows
例示例えば, 〜として, 〜ように Example — usually not the main point
強調こそ, さえ, すら, も, 〜こそ〜だ Emphasis — the answer is here

The most common inference question asks for the 筆者の主張, which is usually found after a しかし or in the final paragraph marked by 筆者は〜と考える.

Time Budget

Part 3 is 30 minutes for approximately 30 questions. That gives you 60 seconds per question, but you should aim for 45 seconds per question on easy/medium ones to bank 15 seconds for the hard ones. Within each 45-second slice:

Skim: 10 seconds
Locate: 15 seconds
Infer (when needed): 10 seconds
Verify and lock: 10 seconds
Trap Patterns

Transition-but-ignore trap : An option quotes text before しかし when the conclusion is after しかし.

Example-not-main-point trap : An option picks an example when the question asks for the main point.

First-paragraph-not-conclusion trap : An option picks the first paragraph's topic when the conclusion is in the last paragraph.

Opinion-when-fact-asked trap : An option picks an opinion when the question asks for a fact.

Combined Worked Example

You receive a 4-paragraph business email from a supplier. Question: 何が添付されていますか.

Skim (10 sec) — 件名 says 「お見積りとご案内」. Tone is report/notice hybrid.

Locate (15 sec) — keyword is 添付. Scan the document; the third paragraph contains 「添付ファイルにてお送りします」. Read only that paragraph.

Infer (10 sec) — the question is a fact question, not inference; lock the answer directly from the located sentence.

Total: ~35 seconds. The 25-second buffer rolls into the next hard question.

Reading-Pace Calibration

BJT Part 3 is a reading-pace test as much as a comprehension test. Train with a timer in three increments:

Drill Target How to verify
Skim a 400-character email 10 sec Re-state 件名 + tone in one sentence aloud
Locate a keyword in a 1,000-character article 5 sec Eye lands on the keyword without re-reading
Identify 筆者の主張 in a 4-paragraph article 10 sec Mark the conclusion sentence after しかし / 最後に

If you consistently exceed these targets, you are reading instead of skimming or scanning. The fix is mechanical: force your eyes to skip greeting and signature blocks, jump from 件名 directly to the first sentence of 本文, and only circle back when the question demands a detail you did not capture.

Common Inference Failure Modes

Three failure modes account for most inference errors in Part 3:

Premature locking : Locking an option that matches a keyword without reading the conclusion marker that follows. Always read one extra sentence past the keyword.

Over-reading a quote : Treating a quoted 社長 comment as the article's conclusion. Verify whether the article endorses or merely reports the comment.

Confusing 例示 with 主張 : Locking an example sentence (例えば, 〜として) when the question asks for the main point. Examples support the main point but are not the main point.

Vocabulary for the Workflow

件名, 見出し, リード文, 宛先, 添付, 同封, 别添, ご案内, お詫び, ご報告, お願い, 決定, 提案, 保留, 審議中, 見込み, 予想, 実績, 予定, したがって, そのため, ゆえに, しかし, だが, つまり, すなわち, べきだ, と考える, に違いない, に過ぎない, こそ.