TOEFL Reading Practice for the 2026 Format

The updated TOEFL iBT Reading section combines word completion, practical messages and academic passages. ETS lists 50 items and approximately 30 minutes of base time; the adaptive test can vary in item count and timing.

Reading is adaptive: your performance in the first stage affects the second. The original practice questions below cover all three task types and include solutions.

Complete the Words: Practice with Answers

Fill only the missing letters. Each underscore represents one letter in this exercise.

University libraries sometimes lend equipment for course projects. Stud____ can bor___ cameras for fi___ research. Staff ke__ a record of each item and check it when it is ret_____. This makes it easier to spot dam___ and arrange a rep___ before the next booking. The on____ catalogue also lists sp___ batteries for the equip____.

Answers and clues

Meaning alone is not enough: the answer must also fit the grammar and the visible letters. In “is ret_____”, the passive construction needs “returned”, not “return”. If the word is familiar but the ending is wrong, record a grammar or spelling error rather than treating it as a vocabulary gap.

Read in Daily Life: Notice and Questions

Library notice: The second-floor study rooms will be closed on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. while the lights are replaced. Existing bookings during this period have been moved to the first-floor seminar rooms. Students do not need to book again. The quiet reading area on the ground floor will remain open.

1. What is the main purpose of the notice?

• A. To cancel all library services for a day
• B. To explain a temporary change to study-room arrangements
• C. To invite students to install new lights
• D. To introduce a permanent room-booking system

Answer: B. The closure affects particular rooms for four hours. A expands it to the entire library; C and D introduce actions not requested.

2. What should a student with a 10 a.m. booking do?

• A. Make a new reservation
• B. Use the assigned first-floor seminar room
• C. Wait until the library opens at 1 p.m.
• D. Cancel the session and request a refund

Answer: B. Existing reservations have already been moved. The instruction not to book again rules out A.

3. Which statement is supported by the notice?

• A. Every floor will be noisy on Tuesday
• B. The ground-floor reading area can still be used
• C. The second floor will close for the whole week
• D. Seminar rooms can never be used for studying

Answer: B. It is stated directly. The other choices add unsupported claims about noise, duration or permitted use.

Academic Reading: Passage and Questions

A university replaced the dark surface of one courtyard with pale paving. On sunny afternoons, the new surface stayed cooler than the original paving in a nearby courtyard. Researchers linked the difference partly to the pale material reflecting more sunlight. However, the courtyards also differed in tree cover, so the measurements could not show how much cooling came from the paving alone. The team plans to compare small test areas with identical shade before recommending the material for the whole campus.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

• A. A finding that needs further testing before a wider recommendation
• B. A rule requiring every university to use pale paving
• C. A method for removing all trees from a campus
• D. A failed attempt to measure courtyard temperatures

Answer: A. The passage presents a cooling observation, a limitation and a follow-up comparison. It does not say that the measurements failed.

2. Why does the author mention tree cover?

• A. To explain why pale paving reflects no sunlight
• B. To identify another factor that could affect temperature
• C. To argue that shade makes all measurements useless
• D. To show that the two courtyards were identical

Answer: B. Different shade conditions prevent the researchers from isolating the paving's effect.

3. What does identical mean in this passage?

• A. Newly planted
• B. Completely absent
• C. The same
• D. Difficult to measure

Answer: C. The team wants the shade conditions to be the same in the test areas.

4. Which conclusion goes beyond the evidence?

• A. The new surface was cooler on the measured afternoons
• B. The researchers plan another comparison
• C. Tree cover differed between the courtyards
• D. Pale paving will reduce temperatures on every campus

Answer: D. One comparison with a known confounding factor cannot establish a result for every campus. The other three choices match the passage.

TOEFL Reading Practice Papers

Cahokia and The Creators of Grammar each have 10 questions. These longer passages follow the pre-2026 format. Use them for academic reading alongside the current word-completion and everyday-text tasks.

Cahokia: History and Archaeology

The passage explains how Cahokia grew through trade, religious activity and migration, then considers possible reasons for its decline. Its questions include details, vocabulary, inference, the author's purpose, sentence insertion and a summary.

Two questions ask for information that is not mentioned. Another asks why the author discusses defensive structures. These need different approaches: the first requires checking which detail is absent, while the second asks what the detail contributes to the argument. The summary question asks for three major ideas, not three facts that happen to be true.

The Creators of Grammar: Language Development

This passage discusses how grammar develops, using pidgins, creoles and sign language in Nicaragua. A pidgin is a simplified form of communication used between groups without a shared language; the passage contrasts it with the more developed grammar of a creole.

Three questions focus on vocabulary, including the meaning of a phrase in context. Others ask about an example's purpose, an inference, sentence placement, paraphrasing and facts that are not stated. The final-paragraph question needs particular care: an idea described as possible should not become a proven fact in your answer.

History and language development are examples of the academic subjects in TOEFL Reading topics. You do not need prior knowledge of either subject; use the explanation and evidence in the passage.

For a current-format paper, ETS TOEFL iBT Practice Test 1 covers all three Reading tasks and includes solutions. Use it to practise the task mix before taking a timed computer-based test.

How to Review Your Reading Answers

After checking an answer, identify the exact word or sentence that decides it. In the library notice, “do not need to book again” rules out a new reservation. In the courtyard passage, different tree cover limits the conclusion.

Keep correct guesses separate from answers you can explain. Then retry the question without seeing its key. Recognising the answer letter is not the same as understanding why the alternatives fail.

Timed Practice and Reading Scores

During Reading, you can use Next and Back within the same module. Once you begin Module 2, you cannot return to Module 1. Finish the first-module review before moving on.

A ten-question worksheet is useful for accuracy checks, but it should not become a makeshift 30-minute full test. For timing practice, use a current-format test that includes the full task mix and module structure.

Reading scores now use a 1–6 scale in half-point steps. A result such as 8/10 means 80% accuracy on that drill; it does not automatically equal a Reading band of 5. The 0–120 number supplied during the transition is a comparable overall score, not a current Reading-section score.