Tip 1 for “Newspaper headlines” questions?

Split the headline into two halves around '…' or a comma: the first half is usually the event or cause, the second the result or reaction. The right option must explain both halves.

Tip 2 for “Newspaper headlines” questions?

Words in quotation marks ‘ ’ are usually metaphors or mimetic words – read them figuratively: 금값 (very expensive), 불티 (selling fast), 껑충/훌쩍 (sharp rise), 뚝 (sharp fall), 주춤 (stalling), 울상 (glum), 함박웃음 (delighted), 꽁꽁 (frozen, depressed), 몸살 (overloaded).

Tip 3 for “Newspaper headlines” questions?

The most common trap: options that take the metaphor literally (금값 → gold, 거북이걸음 → a tortoise, 첩첩산중 → many mountains, 숙제 → homework). Eliminate them first.

Tip 4 for “Newspaper headlines” questions?

Second trap: reversed direction (up ↔ down) or reversed cause and effect between the two halves. Recheck the direction of each half.

TOPIK II · Reading · Questions 25–27 · Level 4–5

Newspaper headlines

신문 기사 제목 이해하기

TOPIK II Reading Q25–27: read a compressed newspaper headline (particles and endings dropped, Sino-Korean words, metaphors, mimetic words) and choose the sentence that best explains it.

Test tips

Split the headline into two halves around '…' or a comma: the first half is usually the event or cause, the second the result or reaction. The right option must explain both halves.
Words in quotation marks ‘ ’ are usually metaphors or mimetic words – read them figuratively: 금값 (very expensive), 불티 (selling fast), 껑충/훌쩍 (sharp rise), 뚝 (sharp fall), 주춤 (stalling), 울상 (glum), 함박웃음 (delighted), 꽁꽁 (frozen, depressed), 몸살 (overloaded).
The most common trap: options that take the metaphor literally (금값 → gold, 거북이걸음 → a tortoise, 첩첩산중 → many mountains, 숙제 → homework). Eliminate them first.
Second trap: reversed direction (up ↔ down) or reversed cause and effect between the two halves. Recheck the direction of each half.
Learn frequent Sino-Korean headline words: 급증, 속출, 동결, 회복세, 지지부진, 천차만별, 우후죽순, 반토막, 활로, 사상 최대, 역대 최다, 비상.
Time budget: about 1 minute per item – headlines are short, so don’t linger; if one word is unknown, use the rest of the headline and the options to infer it.

Signal words and patterns

When you see these in a question, they point to the answer or to a trap.

급증
껑충
뚝
주춤
울상
함박웃음
동결
지지부진
우후죽순
첩첩산중

Worked examples

장마 끝나자 ‘열대야’ 기승… 잠 못 이루는 밤 이어져

Translation

Rainy season ends and ‘tropical nights’ rage… sleepless nights continue

다음은 신문 기사의 제목입니다. 가장 잘 설명한 것을 고르십시오.

Explanation

Step 1: split the headline into chunks. '장마 끝나자' = as soon as the rainy season ended (-자: as soon as); '열대야 기승' = tropical nights (nights above 25°C) are raging; '잠 못 이루는 밤 이어져' = sleepless nights continue. Step 2: put it together – after the rainy season, nights stay hot, making it hard to sleep, and this keeps going → option 4. Step 3: option 1 is wrong because the rainy season has 'ended'. Option 2 reverses the meaning: tropical nights are raging, not over. Option 3 gets the cause wrong – people can’t sleep because of the heat (열대야), not the rain.

Words in this question · sign in to save words

장마
열대야
기승
이루다
이어지다

Practise now

27 questions in the bank

5 questions per round, each checked immediately with the explanation, translation and key words.