A few of the reading texts on JFT-Basic are not sentences at all. They are a bus timetable, a shift rota, a price list for a gym, or a table comparing three flats.
These are information-search items, and the worst thing you can do with them is read them. You search them. The question tells you what you are searching for, and the table only needs to be read where the question points.
Three steps, every time
- Read the question first, and underline the conditions in your head. “Which bus can you take to arrive before 9:00 on a Saturday?” has two conditions: before 9:00, and Saturday.
- Find the row or column for the first condition. Ignore everything else.
- Check the second condition, then the notes. The small print under the table changes the answer more often than you would expect.
The notes are the part people skip, and they are where the question is usually hiding.
Timetables
An original example of the kind of table you might meet:
| 行き先 | 平日 | 土曜日 | 日曜・祝日 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 駅前 | 7:10 / 7:40 / 8:10 | 7:40 / 8:40 | 8:40 |
| 市役所 | 7:25 / 8:25 | 8:25 | 運休 |
※ 年末年始（12月29日〜1月3日）は、日曜日の時間で運行します。
A question might ask what time the first bus to the city hall leaves on a Sunday. The answer is that there is none - 運休 means the service does not run. And on 1 January, even a Wednesday follows the Sunday timetable, because of the note.
Words that matter here: 平日 (weekdays), 祝日 (public holidays), 運休 (not running), 始発 and 終電 (first and last train), 〜行き (bound for).
Shift rotas
Rotas are tables of people against days. The question is usually one of:
- Who works on a particular day?
- Which day does a particular person work?
- Who can swap with whom?
Read across for a person and down for a day, and never both at once. Watch for 早番 (early shift), 遅番 (late shift) and 休み, and check whether the rota covers this week or next week. A text that says 来週のシフト is not about the day in the question if the question says 今週.
If the rota comes with a message, the message usually changes the table: “木曜日は、リンさんとアジズさんが交代しました”. The question will ask about Thursday.
Price lists and comparisons
Price lists add arithmetic. An original example:
| 一回 | 一か月 | |
|---|---|---|
| おとな | 500円 | 4,000円 |
| 子ども（中学生まで） | 200円 | 1,500円 |
※ 夜7時からは、一回の料金が100円安くなります。
“How much does an adult pay to come once at 8 p.m.?” The table says 500円. The note makes it 400円. The note is the question.
Words that decide price questions:
- 税込 / 税抜 - including / excluding tax
- 〜割引 and 〜引き - discount (2割引 is 20% off; 100円引き is 100 yen off)
- 半額 - half price
- 無料 - free
- 〜以上 / 〜以下 - or more / or less (both include the number itself)
- 〜まで - up to and including
That last pair catches people. 中学生まで includes junior high school students. 3人以上 includes three.
Comparisons
Some tables compare options: three flats, three phone plans, three part-time jobs. The question asks which one meets a set of conditions.
Eliminate, do not choose. Take the first condition and cross out every option that fails it. Then the second. By the third condition there is usually one left. Trying to judge which option is “best” overall wastes time, because the exam only cares about the conditions it named.
Two questions per table
In the real test, as in our mocks, each reading text carries two questions. The second is often about a different part of the table, so do not assume you have finished with it after the first.
Read both questions before you start searching. Sometimes you can answer both in a single pass.
Where to practise
Mock exam 8 (transport and clinic) is set around timetables and appointments. Mock exam 9 (city hall, bank and housing) is the world of fees, deadlines and comparisons. Mock exam 4 (restaurant) is the world of menus and price lists. Every set has its own table or price list in the reading section.
After each one, the answer guides - such as the mock exam 9 answers - show which note or condition decided each item. For the wider reading section, see how to read a Japanese notice and scanning for answers.