A sign on a library door says: "The second-floor study rooms are reserved for groups of three or more. If you are studying alone or with one other person, please use the open tables on the first floor." Who may use a second-floor study room?
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About this test
This free TOEFL practice test has 15 reading and vocabulary questions, written by the StudyPDF team in the style of the reading tasks ETS describes for the TOEFL iBT: words in context, everyday notices and messages, and short academic passages. You will meet multiple choice, select all that apply and fill in the blank. Answer all 15 questions, then check your score and read the explanation for every question. It covers reading and vocabulary only, not listening, speaking or writing.
All 15 questions at a glance
Prefer to read before you play? Every question in the sampler is listed below. Answers and explanations stay collapsed until you open them.
1.A sign on a library door says: "The second-floor study rooms are reserved for groups of three or more. If you are studying alone or with one other person, please use the open tables on the first floor." Who may use a second-floor study room?
- A. A student who is studying alone
- B. Two friends who want to talk quietly
- C. Four classmates working on a project
- D. A visitor who wants to read in silence
Answer: C. Four classmates working on a project
The sign sets one condition for the second-floor rooms: a group of three or more. Four classmates meet it. Someone alone and two friends are both told to use the first-floor tables, and the sign says nothing about silence or visitors. In a notice, look for the rule and the number before you read the choices.
2.Complete the sentence.
The lecture was so _____ that many students struggled to follow the argument, so the professor offered to _____ the main points at the start of the next class.
Options for blank 1: dense, brief, familiar
Options for blank 2: clarify, complicate, postpone
Answer: dense, clarify
The students struggled, so the lecture must have been hard to follow. Dense means packed with difficult material. A brief or familiar lecture would not cause trouble. In the second gap the professor is helping, and clarify means to make something clearer. Complicate does the opposite, and postpone would not help students follow the points. Read both gaps together, because the second choice has to fit the first.
3.Read the passage: "Planners once treated street trees as decoration. Recent studies show that they cool pavements in summer, absorb rainwater and soften traffic noise. As a result, many cities now budget for trees the way they budget for roads and drains." What is the main idea of the passage?
- A. Cities spend more on roads than on trees.
- B. Cities now see street trees as useful infrastructure, not just decoration.
- C. Rainwater is the biggest problem that cities face.
- D. Traffic noise is lower in cities that plant trees.
Answer: B. Cities now see street trees as useful infrastructure, not just decoration.
The passage moves from the old view, trees as decoration, to the new one, trees as something cities pay for like roads and drains. The correct choice covers that whole movement. The other choices take a detail or invent a claim: the passage never compares spending, never calls rainwater the biggest problem, and says trees soften noise, not that noise is lower in every city that plants them.
4.Read the sentence: "The committee's decision was not arbitrary; it followed a set of criteria that had been published months earlier." What does the word "arbitrary" mean here?
- A. Unfair to the people involved
- B. Delayed for a long time
- C. Kept secret from the public
- D. Based on whim, not on a rule or reason
Answer: D. Based on whim, not on a rule or reason
The second half of the sentence gives the contrast: the decision followed published criteria. So arbitrary must mean the opposite, a choice made on a whim and not by a rule. A decision can be fair or unfair without being arbitrary, and the sentence says the criteria were public, which rules out secret. When a sentence has a semicolon or a word like not, the contrast is often the clue to the word.
5.Read the email: "The Thursday lab is moved from 2:00 to 4:00 because the equipment room is being cleaned. Please bring your safety goggles. If you cannot come at the new time, email Dr. Reyes by Wednesday at noon to arrange a make-up session. If the new time works for you, you do not need to reply." Which statements are true?
Select all that apply.
- A. The lab now starts at 4:00.
- B. A student who cannot attend should email Dr. Reyes by Wednesday at noon.
- C. Safety goggles are optional.
- D. Every student must reply to confirm the new time.
- E. The lab was moved because the equipment room is being cleaned.
Answer: A. The lab now starts at 4:00., B. A student who cannot attend should email Dr. Reyes by Wednesday at noon., E. The lab was moved because the equipment room is being cleaned.
Three details are stated directly: the new start time, the Wednesday noon deadline for anyone who cannot come, and the reason for the move. The email says to bring goggles, so they are not optional, and it says students for whom the new time works do not need to reply. On a select-all question, check each choice against the text one at a time and do not stop after the first match.
6.Read the passage: "The first prototype of the solar oven reached a high temperature, but the engineers were still disappointed. They had hoped it could cook a full meal in under an hour, and it needed nearly two." What can be inferred from the passage?
- A. The oven cooked food more slowly than the engineers wanted.
- B. The oven never got hot enough to cook food.
- C. The engineers stopped working on the oven.
- D. The oven was cheaper than the engineers expected.
Answer: A. The oven cooked food more slowly than the engineers wanted.
The engineers hoped for under an hour and got nearly two, so the oven was slower than they wanted. That is what the text supports. The oven did get hot and did cook the meal, so the second choice is wrong, and nothing in the passage mentions stopping the project or the cost. An inference stays close to the text: it is a small step from what is written, not a guess about what happens next.
7.Complete the sentence.
Researchers expected the new fertilizer to raise yields; _____, crop output in the test fields stayed almost unchanged, which _____ their hypothesis.
Options for blank 1: however, therefore, moreover
Options for blank 2: challenged, confirmed, repeated
Answer: however, challenged
The first clause says what researchers expected and the second says what happened, and the two do not match. However signals that kind of contrast, while therefore signals a result and moreover adds more of the same. Because the output stayed the same when an increase was expected, the result challenged the hypothesis. It did not confirm it, and repeated does not make sense with a hypothesis.
8.Read the passage: "Early telephone operators connected calls by hand. In one small town, the operator knew every resident and would sometimes say, 'She's not home, she's at the church,' instead of connecting the call. Automatic exchanges ended that kind of service, but they let the network grow far beyond what any single operator could manage." Why does the author mention the operator who told callers where a resident was?
- A. To show that the operator made many mistakes
- B. To illustrate the personal service that automation replaced
- C. To argue that small towns had the best telephone networks
- D. To explain how callers were connected by hand
Answer: B. To illustrate the personal service that automation replaced
The example is followed by the words that kind of service, which points back to the operator's personal knowledge of the town. The next clause says automation ended it, so the example shows what was lost. It does not show mistakes, and it does not explain the mechanics of connecting calls, which the first sentence only states. The author also never ranks towns. For a purpose question, read the sentence right after the example.
9.Read the sentence: "Fresh water is scarce in the region, so farmers share wells." Which of the following are close in meaning to "scarce"? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
- A. In short supply
- B. Plentiful
- C. Limited
- D. Abundant
- E. Overflowing
Answer: A. In short supply, C. Limited
Scarce describes something there is not enough of, and the farmers sharing wells confirms it. In short supply and limited both fit. Plentiful, abundant and overflowing all mean the opposite. In a synonym question that has several correct choices, decide the meaning from the sentence first, then sort the choices into same meaning and opposite meaning.
10.Read the passage: "Coral reefs cover less than one percent of the ocean floor, yet they shelter about a quarter of marine species. Rising water temperatures make corals expel the algae that live in their tissue and give them their color, a process called bleaching. Bleached coral is not dead, but it is starving, and it can recover if temperatures drop soon enough." According to the passage, which statements are true?
Select all that apply.
- A. Reefs shelter a share of marine species much larger than the area they cover.
- B. Bleaching happens when corals expel the algae that live in them.
- C. Bleached coral is always dead.
- D. Bleached coral can recover if temperatures drop soon enough.
- E. Corals keep their color when the algae leave.
Answer: A. Reefs shelter a share of marine species much larger than the area they cover., B. Bleaching happens when corals expel the algae that live in them., D. Bleached coral can recover if temperatures drop soon enough.
The first sentence contrasts a small area with a large share of species, the second defines bleaching, and the last says bleached coral is not dead and can recover. The passage says the algae give corals their color, so the color does not stay when they leave. Questions that begin with according to the passage want what the text says, not what you know about reefs.
11.Which sentence best fits the gap in this notice? "Starting Monday, bicycles must be parked in the racks behind the gym. ____ Bikes left near the main doors will be moved to the racks by staff."
- A. This rule keeps the entrances clear for people with strollers and wheelchairs.
- B. Gym memberships cost less for students.
- C. Bicycles became popular in the 1800s.
- D. The racks were painted last year.
Answer: A. This rule keeps the entrances clear for people with strollers and wheelchairs.
The sentence before the gap states a rule and the sentence after it describes how the rule is enforced near the main doors. The correct choice explains why the rule exists and connects to the doors. The other choices are on topic in a loose way, bikes or the gym, but none of them connects the rule to the enforcement. A sentence that fits has to link what comes before and after it.
12.Read the passage: "Few historians doubt that the library was founded before 1500, yet no founding document has survived. Most of the evidence comes from letters written in the following decades that mention the library by name." On what do historians base their dating of the library?
- A. A founding document kept in the library
- B. Letters from later decades that mention the library
- C. The age of the library building
- D. Records kept by the library's first visitors
Answer: B. Letters from later decades that mention the library
The passage says no founding document survived, which rules out the first choice, and that most of the evidence comes from letters written afterward that name the library. It says nothing about the building or about visitors' records. A detail question has a direct answer in the text, and one clause such as yet no document has survived can remove a tempting choice.
13.Complete the sentence.
The new parking policy will _____ on the first day of the semester, so check the updated rules before then.
Options for blank 1: take effect, take place, take over
Answer: take effect
A rule or policy takes effect, which means it begins to apply. Take place is used for events such as a meeting or a festival, and take over means to assume control. Phrases like this are learned as units, so when you study vocabulary, write down the whole phrase and not just the single word.
14.Read the message: "Hi Sam, the number 12 bus is running late because of road work on Elm Street, so I'm going to walk to the library instead. I'll meet you at the front desk at 3:30. If you get there first, grab a table by the windows." What can be inferred about the writer's original plan?
- A. To meet Sam at a table by the windows
- B. To walk to the library with Sam
- C. To cancel the meeting because of road work
- D. To take the number 12 bus to the library
Answer: D. To take the number 12 bus to the library
The writer says the bus is late and so they will walk instead, which means the first plan was to ride the bus. The table by the windows is a suggestion for Sam, and the meeting is not cancelled, since the writer proposes a time and a place. Words like instead and so often show that a plan changed, and the inference is what the plan was before.
15.Which choice best expresses the essential information in this sentence? "Although the museum's collection grew steadily through donations, it lacked the funds to display most of it, so much of the art stayed in storage."
- A. Donations grew the collection, but a lack of funds kept most of it out of view.
- B. Donations stopped because the museum lacked funds.
- C. The museum chose to keep its art in storage to protect it.
- D. The museum spent its funds on displaying donated art.
Answer: A. Donations grew the collection, but a lack of funds kept most of it out of view.
The sentence has two linked facts: the collection grew through donations, and without funds most of it was not shown. The correct choice keeps both and the contrast between them. The second choice reverses the cause, the third invents a reason the text never gives, and the fourth says the opposite of lacked the funds. When you shorten a sentence, keep every key fact and keep the relationship between them.
What the TOEFL iBT Reading section tests and what this page practices
The TOEFL iBT is the English-proficiency test that many universities ask international applicants to take. ETS changed the test in January 2026, so older books and videos may describe a different format. This page was last checked against ETS's own pages in October 2026, and it does not repeat question counts, timings or the score scale, because those are the details that move. Confirm them with ETS before you plan your pacing.
According to ETS, the Reading section measures how well you read and understand English in everyday campus life and in academic settings. It uses three task types. Complete the Words asks you to finish partly missing words in a short text, which tests vocabulary and meaning from context. Read in Daily Life uses short texts such as notices and messages, with questions on main ideas, key details and implied meaning. Read an Academic Passage uses a short passage like one from a university course, with questions on main ideas, supporting details and important vocabulary. ETS also says that all the information you need is in the text and that you do not need prior knowledge of the topic.
These 15 questions practice the same skills with texts we wrote ourselves. They do not reproduce ETS items. Because they need no audio and no microphone, they cover reading and vocabulary only. For listening, speaking and writing, use the sample test that ETS publishes, which includes questions from all four sections.
How to use this sampler and what to practice first
Take all 15 questions in one sitting without a dictionary, then read the explanation for every question, including the ones you got right. A miss usually points at a skill. If you missed the vocabulary question and the fill-in-the-blank question, work on guessing meaning from the words around a new word, not on memorizing those two words.
For questions about a text, find the sentence that answers the question before you look at the choices. Wrong choices are often true in the real world but not stated in the text, or they use a word from the text in a different meaning. When a question asks about a word, put each choice into the sentence in place of the original and see which one keeps the meaning. When a question asks what can be inferred, pick the choice the text supports without needing outside knowledge.
For the weeks before your test, read a short English text every day, such as a news article, a university web page or a notice, and write down the words you had to guess. Come back to them two days later and check whether you still know them. Short, spaced reviews of 10 or 15 words are easier to keep up than one long list.
How StudyPDF builds full practice tests from your own study material
Fifteen questions can show you which reading skill is weakest. They cannot get you ready on their own, and a generic set does not know which words or topics you keep missing.
StudyPDF works from your material instead. Upload your TOEFL prep book, a vocabulary list you made, an article you want to understand better or your own notes. Then press New material, pick a practice test or flashcards, choose those files as the sources and set how long it should be. You get questions written from those exact pages, and every explanation cites where the answer comes from. Run it again after you review, or narrow it to one thing, such as academic vocabulary.
Bo is the tutor for the rest. Ask why an answer is right, or ask for the meaning of a word in the sentence you found it in, and Bo explains it from your own pages.
You do not have to upload anything to start. Name a topic instead, for example words about the environment or reading a short academic passage, and you get practice questions on it. Starting is free.
Written by the StudyPDF team. Last updated August 19, 2026.
Good to know
Is this TOEFL practice test really free?
Yes. All 15 questions, the score screen and every explanation are free to play in your browser, and there is no paywall on this page.
Does this practice test cover the whole TOEFL?
No. It covers reading and vocabulary only, because listening needs audio, and speaking and writing need a person or a program to judge your answers. ETS publishes a sample test with questions from all four sections. ETS changed the TOEFL iBT in January 2026, so confirm the current format, timing and scoring on ETS's own site before you plan your study.
Are these real TOEFL questions, and are you affiliated with ETS?
No. The StudyPDF team wrote all 15 questions, texts and explanations to practice the reading skills ETS describes. None comes from ETS, from a test prep company or from recalled test items. StudyPDF is not affiliated with ETS, and TOEFL and TOEFL iBT are registered trademarks of ETS. Use ETS's official materials to see what the real test looks like.
Can I get more TOEFL reading practice from my own study material?
Yes. Upload your TOEFL prep book, a vocabulary list, an article or your own notes to StudyPDF, and Bo builds full-length practice tests and flashcards from those exact pages, with explanations that cite where each answer came from. If you only have a paper book, name a topic instead, for example academic vocabulary about science, and Bo writes a test from that.
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