Reading 44–45 Fill in the Blank and the Main Idea

Reading · Hardest

Guess if you're aiming for Level 3

Items 44–45 are a spot where a fill-in-the-blank item (44) and a main-idea item (45) appear together on one short essay. The passage is typically a literary essay that unpacks an abstract subject — time, relationships, growth, balance — through figurative language. The vocabulary level is high, and reading the figurative expressions literally can actually make things more confusing. For item 44, the blank, contextual logic matters more than grammar knowledge. You first need to judge whether the sentences before and after the blank agree, contrast, emphasize, or soften. In particular, you need practice distinguishing expressions that reverse the flow, like '다만,' '그러나,' '오히려,' from ones that mark degree or time, like '쉴 새 없이,' '마침내.' For item 45, the main idea, you need to find the single message running through the whole passage — literary essays often condense their conclusion into one final sentence. But that sentence, too, is expressed figuratively, so you need to reconstruct the meaning the figure of speech points to, rather than its surface words, to reach the answer. For this type, it is the habit of interpreting figurative language, more than vocabulary, that decides your score. If you practice checking, when reading short essays generally, how the last sentence sums up the preceding figure of speech, you can save a lot of time in the real exam.

Fill in the Blank and the Main Idea

• 담담하다 — Calm, without showing much emotion.
• 관조적이다 — An attitude of stepping back to observe something calmly rather than getting directly involved.
• 성찰하다 — To deeply look back on one's own thoughts and actions.
• 잔잔하다 — Calm and settled, without strong swings in emotion or tone.
• 낙관적이다 — An attitude of brightly expecting that things will go well going forward.
• 긍정적이다 — An attitude of accepting a situation positively and holding on to hope.
• 회의적이다 — An attitude of doubting whether something is really true, without being convinced.
• 반성적이다 — An attitude of looking back on and regretting one's own mistakes or shortcomings.
• 함축적이다 — A quality of holding meaning inside a word or expression without stating it directly.
• 통찰력이 있다 — Having a deep, penetrating eye for seeing into things or phenomena.
• 여운을 남기다 — For emotion or thought to linger long after finishing reading.
• 초연하다 — Composed and unbothered, not tied down by something.

• The logical relationship (agreement, contrast, emphasis, softening) between the sentences before and after the blank
• The real meaning pointed to by a figurative expression
• A topic sentence condensed into the last sentence

• First judge whether the sentences before and after the blank go in the same or opposite direction
• Among the options, choose the expression that fits the logical relationship of the context
• Find the figure of speech running through the whole passage and reconstruct its meaning
• Check how the last sentence sums up the preceding figure of speech to settle on the main idea

• Reading a figure of speech literally and interpreting it as something unrelated
• Choosing an option that is grammatically fine but whose contextual logic runs the wrong way

This section hinges on the ability to interpret figurative language more than on vocabulary. Knowing the pattern where the conclusion is condensed into the last sentence lets you secure item 45 quickly.