Question

alice read 5 more pages today than she did yesterday. today she read 42 pages. how many pages did alice read yesterday

Answer 1

She started off with 42 today, and we're counting down, which means we subtract as we go.
She read 5 pages more, meaning:
Previous + 5 = 42
To figure out how many she read yesterday, subtract 5 from 42.
42-5=37
She read 37 pages yesterday.

Answer 2

Number of pages she read yesterday + 5 = 42
42 - 5 = number of pages she read yesterday
42 - 5 = 37
Alice read 37 pages yesterday.