100 Reading Questions for the TOEFL® Test (PDF included)
Looking for some TOEFL Reading practice?
Look no further.
Below you will find 100 free to download TOEFL Reading practice questions, organized based on question type.
But first, how many reading questions are on the TOEFL?
Since August 2019, in the TOEFL Reading Section, you can expect 20 questions that you’ll need to answer in 36 minutes.
There are 10 different question types:
- Vocabulary Questions
- Rhetorical Purpose Questions
- Inference Questions
- Sentence Simplification Questions
- Insert Text Questions
- Factual Information Questions
- Negative Factual Information Questions
- Reference Questions
- Fill in a Table Questions
- Organization Questions
Get some TOEFL Reading Practice free online, right here on our site.
If you prefer a good ole PDF to test and practice your reading skills, here is a TOEFL reading practice PDF available for free download – 100 Practice Questions for the TOEFL Reading Section
- Easy and free to download.
- Open from any device.
- No Internet connection needed.
How do I practice reading for the TOEFL?
What you need to know about the TOEFL Reading
The TOEFL Reading exercises cover a number of academic topics with passage difficulty varying between an 8th grade level, which implies an appropriate text for a 14-year old American junior high school student, and a 14th grade level, which implies an appropriate text for a 20-year-old American college sophomore.
How many reading passages are on the TOEFL?
In the TOEFL iBT Reading section you have 36 minutes to:
- Read three academic texts, totaling around 2100 words
- Understand how to answer 10 different types of questions
- Answer 20 questions in total
And, unfortunately, the TOEFL Reading practice materials available online are either out-of-date or unreliable.
These are just a few of the reasons why we have designed our own TOEFL Reading Practice Questions with answers that you can access for free right here.
Here’s just one example:
Human Anatomy
Human anatomy is the scientific study of the body’s structures. Some of these structures are very small and can only be observed and analyzed with the assistance of a microscope.Other larger structures can readily be seen, manipulated, measured, and weighed. The word “anatomy” comes from a Greek root that means “to cut apart.” Human anatomy was first studied by observing the exterior of the body and observing the wounds of soldiers and other injuries. Later, physicians were allowed to dissect bodies of the dead to augment their knowledge. When a body is dissected, its structures are cut apart in order to observe their physical attributes and their relationships to one another. Dissection is still used in medical schools, anatomy courses, and in pathology labs.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 8.5
1. The word augment is closest in meaning to
- Prove
- Increase
- Validate
- Spread
1. B (vocabulary)
B is correct because increase is closest in meaning to augment. Spread is similar in that it means to make something larger, but spread implies that something grows outward, while augment, in this situation, implies an increase.
But wait…
Do you notice something strange about this TOEFL Reading exercise?
It’s short! Usually, a TOEFL iBT Reading passage is 700 words, but this is just 100 words.
And there’s only one question after the passage (usually there are 10).
This unique approach to practicing the TOEFL Reading section is designed to help you improve your reading skills and speed. But if you want to know how to use these TOEFL Reading practice questions with answers to improve your reading score, here are five easy steps to follow.
The latest update for the TOEFL iBT test came on July 26, 2023. You can expect 20 questions that you will need to answer in 36 minutes. 10 TOEFL Reading questions per passage. You will have 18 minutes to complete each passage. You have 36 minutes to complete the TOEFL Reading section. You will read two academics, totaling around 1400 words.
TOEFL Reading Practice Step 1:
Practice with short passages
If you’re like most students, then you want to practice in a way that looks exactly like the test. You want to read a 700-word passage and answer 14 TOEFL reading questions in less than 20 minutes.
Practicing for the test and replicating the conditions will help you prepare for the format of the TOEFL, but it will not help you increase your reading comprehension or English fluency.
Improvement comes when you reflect on your answers and identify why you did something wrong.
Practice alone is not enough to help you improve, you must also reflect.
When you do a single reading passage and answer 14 questions about it, you are reflecting on the entire experience, a 20-minute reading exercise, instead of a single question. When you use these short reading passages, you get more immediate feedback on your responses. This, in turn, will help you quickly identify the question types and TOEFL reading topics you struggle with.
Besides providing you with more specific and immediate feedback, here are a few more benefits of using short passages to practice:
- More exposure to various topics
- Study in short intervals of less than five minutes
- Learn more vocabulary in less time
- Build your reading skills
- Master question and answer strategy
Once you dive in and start to answer the questions you will find these short passages to be the exact answer you have been looking for to help you improve your TOEFL Reading skills.
TOEFL Reading Practice Step 2:
Don’t forget to review the structure
These short TOEFL Reading samples are just like the TOEFL, only shorter. It’s still important for you, however, to get a clear understanding of exactly what to expect from the TOEFL Reading section on test day.
Here are some of the most important points:
- Read three academic passages of 700 words
- Take 18 minutes per passage, 36 minutes in total
- Answer 10 questions per passage
There is no way to predict what kind of passages you will receive in your TOEFL test, but here are some of the more popular TOEFL reading topics:
| ✔Biology | ✔Ecology |
| ✔History | ✔Astronomy |
| ✔Geology | ✔Education |
| ✔Psychology | ✔Art |
| ✔Environmental Science | ✔Archaeology |
Learn exactly what to expect on test day. Download your free complete TOEFL Test
Now, you might be confused by all of the question types in the TOEFL Reading practice test PDF…
…and you’re not alone!
There are ten reading question types and some have strange names like rhetorical purpose and pronoun referent questions.
But don’t worry.
In the chart below, all of the question types have been laid out and separated based on frequency, common lexical structure, and the time it should take you to answer each.
The Reading Section Question Types |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question Type | Frequency | Time to Answer | Question Value | Question Phrasing |
| 1. Vocabulary | 2-4 | 60 seconds | 1 | “The word _________ in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to…" |
| 2. Factual Information (Detail) | 3-6 | 90 seconds | 1 | “According to paragraph 4, what….” “Which of the following…” “It is stated in paragraph 4 that…” |
| 3. Negative Factual Information (Negative Detail) | 2-4 | 120 seconds | 1 | “All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 3 EXCEPT…” “Which of the following is NOT mentioned....” |
| 4. Inference | 2-4 | 90 seconds | 1 | “What can be inferred from paragraph 5 about…” “Paragraph 5 implies that…” “Paragraph 5 suggests…” |
| 5. Rhetorical Purpose (Author’s Purpose) | 2-4 | 90 seconds | 1 | “In paragraph 6, the author discusses ________ in order to…” “Why does the author mention…” |
| 6. Sentence Simplification (Paraphrasing) | 2-3 | 120 seconds | 1 | “Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in paragraph 4?” |
| 7. Insert Text (Sentence Insertion) | 2-3 | 120 seconds | 1 | “In paragraph 2 there is a missing sentence. Where would the sentence best fit?” |
| 8. Reference (Pronoun Referent) | 0-1 | 60 seconds | 1 | “The word _________ in paragraph 1 refers to…” |
| 9. Prose Summary (Summary) | 1-2 | 150 seconds | 1 | “An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage." |
| 10. Fill In A Table (Organization) | 0-1 | 150 seconds | 2-3 | “Complete the table below to summarize information about _________ in the passage. Match the appropriate statements to _________” |
TOEFL Reading Practice Step 3:
Practice with a timer
If you have done some TOEFL Reading practice tests already, then you know that time management is an issue for the reading section. Few people can read the entire passage and answer all of the questions in a given passage in less than 18 minutes.
It takes skill to read a question, understand the meaning, identify the key words, and find that information in the passage in less than two minutes. Even if you understand the question and know where to look, it may still be challenging to identify which information is essential to help you answer the question.
When you work through these short passages, you can answer based on question type. Each passage will be followed by a single and predictable question.
But I can’t emphasize this enough…
…be sure to challenge yourself by setting a timer. And keep in mind that some TOEFL questions take longer than others.
For example, in the case of vocabulary questions, give yourself only 60 seconds to answer. However, if you are working on detail questions, set the timer for 90 seconds. (refer to the chart above for each question type’s timing)
Human Anatomy
Human anatomy is the scientific study of the body’s structures. Some of these structures are very small and can only be observed and analyzed with the assistance of a microscope. Other larger structures can readily be seen, manipulated, measured, and weighed. The word “anatomy” comes from a Greek root that means “to cut apart.” Human anatomy was first studied by observing the exterior of the body and observing the wounds of soldiers and other injuries. Later, physicians were allowed to dissect bodies of the dead to augment their knowledge. When a body is dissected, its structures are cut apart in order to observe their physical attributes and their relationships to one another. Dissection is still used in medical schools, anatomy courses, and in pathology labs.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 8.5
2. Which of the following is true about human anatomy?
- The word “anatomy” is derived from a French root that means “cut”
- The observation of soldiers’ wounds were originally used to study human anatomy
- Human and animal bodies were dissected in labs to understand human anatomy
- The smaller structures of the human body need to be observed with a telescope
2. B (detail)
B is correct because the other 3 options are all untrue – they each contain at least a word that changes its original meaning. The passage states “Human anatomy was first studied by observing the exterior of the body and observing the wounds of soldiers…”. While the words “human anatomy” are mentioned a few times, the answer can be found by searching for other keywords like “soldiers’” and “wounds”.
This TOEFL reading practice example is challenging, but, over time, you will get used to the time restrictions and it will get easier. You will start to improve the speed and accuracy of your answers, which will improve your performance on complete TOEFL iBT Reading practice passages.
Lean more about the how to manage your time better for the Reading section of the TOEFL test.
TOEFL Reading Practice Step 4:
Review your answers
Think of your favorite professional athlete.
Now imagine the incredible amount of work they endured to become one of the best at their sport.
Of course they practiced, but, more importantly, they watched the game film.
After the game, most professional athletes sit in a room and watch their performance. In American football, players spend dozens of hours every week watching their games because they understand that improvement comes through the study of what went wrong in the past.
Improvement comes through the study of past performance.
Your TOEFL test is a performance of your English ability. Use the information you get from practicing your reading comprehension skills to understand your personal strengths and weaknesses. After you know what your problem is – for example, you have trouble answering inference questions – map out a course of action that will help you improve.
Most students only practice. Sure, everyone checks their answers, but only for a score, not to gain a deeper understanding of why they were wrong and how they can improve in the future.
Here are some questions to ask yourself after you have answered a question wrong:
- Did I misread the passage or the question?
- Was there difficult vocabulary that I didn’t understand? Is this word part of the Academic Word List?
- Is there a particular question type I struggle to answer? What’s the answer and how do I fix it?
- What can I do to ensure I don’t make the same mistake again?
In the ELT world (English Language Teaching), this is referred to as reflective practice. It’s popular in many other fields, like medicine and management, but it has also become an important component of improving teacher performance.
Failing to review your answers is just one of many mistakes students make when preparing for the reading section of the TOEFL. You can check out the five most common TOEFL Reading mistakes and how to avoid them below.
TOEFL Reading Practice Step 5:
Improve your vocabulary
Now at this point you:
1. Understand why these short reading passages are so helpful
2. Reviewed the overall structure of the TOEFL Reading section
3. Know how important it is to set a timer and develop your time management skills
4. Are ready to not only practice the questions, but review the answers
It’s now time to work on the most critical component of your TOEFL Reading score: your vocabulary.
How can I improve my reading comprehension for the TOEFL?
Simply put, if you don’t understand the words, you can’t understand the passage.
If you are not getting the score you want in the reading section, then you must invest the necessary time and energy into studying vocabulary. Now, there are thousands of words in the English language, so it’s hard to know which are important.
There are a lot of vocabulary lists, but this is the only one you need for the TOEFL Reading, download The Ultimate Vocabulary List for the TOEFL – free PDF
Originally developed in 2001 by Averil Coxhead, a distinguished linguist and researcher, she found that there were certain words that consistently show up throughout academic texts, regardless of the topic.
Unlike other TOEFL vocabulary lists, this one has been academically researched and verified by working professionals in the English Language Teaching Community.
If you know these 570 words, it will have a dramatic impact on your TOEFL Reading score.
Read more about our ultimate vocabulary list for the TOEFL test.
Conclusion
So, how can you improve your reading skills for the TOEFL?
- Practice with short passages
- Review the structure
- Use a timer
- Review your answers
- Improve your vocabulary
Enough talking…
You’re here to practice! These are an excerpt from our Practice Pack for the TOEFLReading: 500 Questions and Answers.
Nearly unlimited TOEFL practice specifically designed to build your skills.
But if you are just ready to sink your teeth into some free online reading practice: Here are the first 100 Reading Practice Questions (free download).
Did we miss anything? Any more advice you would like to add about the TOEFL Reading?
Let us know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading!
94 Comments
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Thanks for finally talking about >TOEFL Reading Practice:
PDF Test + 100 Free Questions – TST Prep <Loved it!
Sure thing! I’m happy to hear you found it helpful.
Hello
I’m going to do my toefl test this Friday, and I need 100 points (at least). The last time (3 months ago) I get 77, but since then I have been practicing.
I think I don’t have too much problem with speaking and writing, but I need to get the best score possible on reading and listening. What do you recommend to me?
Hi Francisco. If you asked a few months ago I would have recommended some of our free practice and this article https://www.eflmagazine.com/how-to-improve-toefl-reading-scores/ – it takes time, but it sounds like you have been practicing so hopefully that is enough. You may also find this video on how to improve your vocabulary helpful as well – https://youtu.be/Xs2rNoZHFAI
Hı Josh,
I decided to take Toefl. However ,I haven’t never practiced before in any reading section.
When I practiced mock-reading test I did 23 of 42 without any knowing your tricks and tips.
Do you think can I accomplish?
By the way I need just 86 point =)
Got it. I just responded to your other comment.
Hi Gokhan. It’s hard to say. It depends on more than just a single test score. We tend to work closely with students 1-1, get to know their strengths and weaknesses, and take multiple mock tests and practice questions before providing a score estimate.
With that score, you would get between 1 16-18 in the TOEFL Reading. If you practice and study for a month, you could increase your score in a given section by up to 4 points, which would give you about a 20 in the Reading.
Again, this is impossible to predict accurately since I don’t know your capabilities, but it’s a rough estimate based on previous experience.
all the advises are very beneficial. Also, the practices, articles, and videos are great.
Thank you Josh
Thank you for your kind words Lina! I’m happy to hear they have helped.
Hey Josh! Do you have any extra tips for summary type questions? That is the only type of question i am having trouble right now!!!
Great question. This is probably the hardest question types for most TOEFL students which is why there’s an article about it here – https://tstprep.com/how-to-answer-toefl-summary-questions-a-step-by-step-guide/ – I hope you find it helpful!
Thanks so much, Josh. I got a question here, do you recommend me looking at the choices of the question before going into the reading?
Hi Tom and great question. I do, but I usually recommend just looking at just one or two of the options. In my experience, if I look at all four options, I tend to forget them and get confused when I am reading the passage. I hope that answers your question.
Thank you so much dear sir for your help and support.
I have one question I hope I’ll get a better response.
The question is that I can’t use newly learned words in speaking and writing.
Hi Ahmed, this is a good question and hard to answer. You will have to experiment, writing sentences and responding to questions with the specific aim of experimenting with new vocabulary. I would strongly recommend working with a teacher or knowledgable friend who can give you feedback on whether you used the new vocabulary correctly or not. Feedback is always best.
Thank you so much Josh. I found your videos and tips very useful and hope to get good scores at my toefl. You are an amazing and generous teacher. Your videos made toefl preparation more interesting with your perfect sense of humour.
Pragya thank you so much for your kind words, they really motivate me to keep pushing forward. Good luck on the exam and let me know if there are any topics we should address in the future.
Josh the reading section was far more difficult than your examples
SID thank you for the feedback. Here is a link to a ten-page document which outlines the steps we took to ensure that the tests are similar to the ones released to the public by ETS – https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dXKct5ziVIkbX01sWqKEaSDPCI5NTfuvCeoaCQ0hWvE/edit?usp=sharing
Hi, dear Josh; thanks for these helpful and useful tips and courses for the TOEFL. I wonder if you can give some tips for categorizing table questions in the reading part which I am weak at solving them.
Hi Kiana, here is a link to an old document I made about organization questions(table questions). https://drive.google.com/file/u/1/d/1qQQfZQjjKNIFFHPBzzS7B0sx-z3whIZ3/view
Be aware that they are rare and you probably won’t see one on the test.
Thank you for all the helpful information and tactics Josh. I’ve been watching your videos and taking notes from it. I used to find studying and preparing for TOEFL very boring and but thanks to your entertaining and useful way of teaching I’m not that scared of it anymore 🙂 Thanks a lot!
Wow, what a compliment Selin and thank you so much for your kind words. It really makes this whole effort worth it. I really do appreciate it 🙂
Hi Mr. Josh
I took the test before and I scored 88. I need to get 100 to be admitted to my favorite school. Mostly, I struggle in the reading section. I scored 19 which is low for 100. I found your reading passages are very helpful and promoting. What other advice can you give me to improve my score?
Thanks a lot
Hi there and sorry I didn’t respond sooner. For some reason, I missed this comment. A few months back I wrote an article for EFL Magazine, “How to Improve Your TOEFL Reading Score” – you may find it helpful – https://www.eflmagazine.com/how-to-improve-toefl-reading-scores/
Hi Josh, this is extremely helpful, thanks a lot. I especially like the fact that it is free…lol. I must say that could be a big barrier for those of us who are unable to afford more than the test’s fee. This will be a big help for a lot of students around the world but a lot of students still don’t know about it, perhaps something should be done about that. Cheers!
Hi Lil and thank you for leaving such a nice comment. Of course, I would love to spread the word around more about our site. If you have any ideas, please let me know 🙂
please let me know how to identify key words in detail and inference questions?
Hi Iram;
Here’s a link to an old document I give to private students about detail questions. On page 6 I believe is a section about key words.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ZHtZMt-IhpHRnE1UzbOV7F-13ZI0vloh
I hope you find it helpful.
congratulation …… Your sense of humor and you spontaneity makes you unique.
Ha, thanks for the compliment. Much appreciated 🙂
Thanks a lot I have find your tips very useful.
That’s great news Zuhal! Please spread the word 🙂
You are a great teacher. What you have done is so helpful to a lot of students, therefore, I thank you.
Thank you so much for your kind words Becko. It means A LOT 🙂
I ve just discovered your page and got a few files and looking forward to using it with my sts. Hope we ll enjoy and get more tactics.
Thanks Josh.
Thanks for taking the time to comment Fethi. Hope you find this information helpful!
Hi Mr Josh, I am a student who have done tofel exams twice but failed to reach the university required criteria and mostly i do fail reading and listening sections. Can you please advise me the best way to study and get prepared for another test and hopefully i pass?
Please help me also with the best practising materials as of the above,
I will really appreciate your help.
Many thanks and wait to hearing from you.
Daniel,
Hi Daniel;
Well, the best thing for you to do at this point is to meet with a teacher because clearly, you need some additional help in understanding your strengths, weaknesses and what you need to do to improve. And not only that, you need someone to structure your studies in a way that you can improve over time Here’s a link for you to learn more – https://tstprep.com/toefl-store/toefl-private-lessons/
Besides that, I wrote two articles for EFL Magazine on this issue that you can read:
How to Improve Your TOEFL Reading Scores – https://www.eflmagazine.com/how-to-improve-toefl-reading-scores/
How to Improve Your TOEFL Listening Scores – https://www.eflmagazine.com/how-to-improve-toefl-listening-scores/
Hope that helps.
You are such an amazing teacher. Thanks you in advanced for your advice. I have a problem in writing, Can you help me?
Hi Mohammed and thank you for your kind words. We have a couple of articles about the TOEFL Writing, like this one – https://tstprep.com/ten-awesome-toefl-writing-tips/
And we also have classes for the TOEFL Writing, one is actually starting next week – https://tstprep.com/toefl-store/toefl-writing-group-classes/
If you have any questions about the classes you can send an email to [email protected]
Hope that helps!
This is awesome. I have never found such an elaborated free online practice. It is very unique. Thanks very much for such generosity to help us
Thank you Joyce for your kind words!
And please, spread the word 🙂
We are a new site and can use some attention.
Let me know if there is any other way we can help.
Hello Josh) Thank you for your great work! Can I ask you to resubscribe my email? I am retaking the TOEFL in a month and want to practice with your materials. Thank you)
Hi Alla! Sure thing. I’ll add you now. Thanks for your trust! Let me know if there is any other way I can help.
Thank you for the opportunity to practice before the test day! It’s really helpful!
Thanks for the comment Farida! Let me know if there’s any other way we can help.
I got myself glean to your texts as though it was the exams i was taking. I like your honesty on letting your readers know that, “TOEFL is a difficult one but with constant practice, one can be ready to take the exams with no fear”
Reading and listening with you is never boring, well, to me . You make understanding what information you want to send across way easy to grasp. Nice.
I hope to practice more as advised in other to take my exams in June.
Dora thanks for leaving such a nice comment! I know the TOEFL can be pretty dry, so I try to make the material as engaging as possible for students. And you are right, hard work over time leads to improvement. Thanks again for your support 🙂