TOEFL Reading Practice Test 1 (2026 Format)
TOEFL iBT Reading in the January 2026 format: Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life and Read an Academic Passage, in two modules. 40 questions.
How this practice matches real TOEFL iBT use
In the real test, Reading is adaptive: the second module gets easier or harder depending on how you do in the first. These practice tests use two fixed modules. Results show a rough 1–6 band.
How to use this practice set
1. Attempt seriously
Use realistic timing, avoid random guessing, and finish the set as one focused session.
2. Review by skill gap
Separate vocabulary gaps, concentration errors, weak task strategy, and careless mistakes instead of looking only at score.
3. Repeat with purpose
After review, move to the next related TOEFL iBT section or repeat weak-question types until your accuracy becomes stable.
Reading (2026 format)
Before you start
- Questions
- 40
- Time
- 30 minutes
- Parts
- 8
- The timer starts when you press Start. When it reaches zero, your answers are submitted automatically.
- Use the numbered navigator to move between questions, and flag any you want to come back to.
- For typed answers, keep within the word limit. Answers over the limit are marked wrong, as in the real test.
- You can submit early. Your score, the correct answers and explanations appear straight away.
TOEFL Reading Practice Test 1 (2026 Format): all 40 questions with answers
Prefer to work through the test on paper? Answer the questions, then open “Show answer” to check.
Fill in the missing letters in the paragraph.
Paper money was first used in China more than a thousand years ago. Merchants wh_ traded over long dist_____ found that carrying hea__ coins was diff_____ and dang_____. Instead, th__ began to le___ their coins with a tru____ agent a__ receive a paper no__ in return. Later, the government took control of printing these notes.
Q1.wh_
Show answer
Answer: who
The complete word is "who".
Q2.dist_____
Show answer
Answer: distances
The complete word is "distances".
Q3.hea__
Show answer
Answer: heavy
The complete word is "heavy".
Q4.diff_____
Show answer
Answer: difficult
The complete word is "difficult".
Q5.dang_____
Show answer
Answer: dangerous
The complete word is "dangerous".
Q6.th__
Show answer
Answer: they
The complete word is "they".
Q7.le___
Show answer
Answer: leave
The complete word is "leave".
Q8.tru____
Show answer
Answer: trusted
The complete word is "trusted".
Q9.a__
Show answer
Answer: and
The complete word is "and".
Q10.no__
Show answer
Answer: note
The complete word is "note".
M1 · Daily Life 1: Notice: Hartley Hall laundry room
The laundry room on the ground floor of Hartley Hall will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday next week while new washing machines are installed. During this time, residents may use the laundry room in Brook Hall, which is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Please bring your student card, as the door is locked.
The new machines will accept payment by card or through the campus app. Coins will no longer be accepted.
Choose the best answer.
Q11.What is the main purpose of the notice?
- A.To announce new laundry opening hours
- B.To ask residents to pay for repairs
- C.To explain how to use the campus app
- D.To tell residents about a temporary closure and an alternative
Show answer
Answer: D. To tell residents about a temporary closure and an alternative
The notice explains that the laundry room will close for two days and that Brook Hall can be used instead.
Q12.What do residents need to use the Brook Hall laundry room?
- A.Their student card
- B.Coins
- C.Permission from staff
- D.The campus app
Show answer
Answer: A. Their student card
'Please bring your student card, as the door is locked.'
Q13.What is true about the new machines?
- A.They will be installed in Brook Hall.
- B.They will not accept coins.
- C.They will be free to use.
- D.They will be available 24 hours a day.
Show answer
Answer: B. They will not accept coins.
'Coins will no longer be accepted.'
M1 · Daily Life 2: Message from Jordan
Hi Sam, thanks for agreeing to cover my shift at the library on Saturday. It starts at 10, not 9 as I said earlier. Sorry! You'll mostly be at the front desk checking books in and out. If anyone asks about printing, the printer on the second floor is broken, so send them to the computer lab. I'll do your Thursday evening shift in return. Jordan
Choose the best answer.
Q14.What is Jordan correcting?
- A.The start time of the shift
- B.The location of the shift
- C.The day of the shift
- D.The tasks during the shift
Show answer
Answer: A. The start time of the shift
'It starts at 10, not 9 as I said earlier.'
Q15.What will Jordan do for Sam?
- A.Fix the printer
- B.Work Sam's Thursday evening shift
- C.Pay Sam for the shift
- D.Show Sam the computer lab
Show answer
Answer: B. Work Sam's Thursday evening shift
'I'll do your Thursday evening shift in return.'
M1 · Academic Passage: Why Some Birds Migrate at Night
Many songbirds that fly thousands of kilometres each year make their journeys at night. Scientists have proposed several explanations for this behaviour. One is that the air is generally cooler and calmer after sunset, which helps birds avoid overheating and saves energy during long flights. Another is that flying at night reduces the risk of being caught by hawks and other predators that hunt by day.
Night travel may also free up the daylight hours for feeding. Migrating birds need to refuel frequently, and by flying in darkness and landing at dawn, they can spend the whole day searching for insects and seeds.
Navigation at night presents its own challenges. Research suggests that many species use the stars, learning the pattern of the night sky around the North Star when they are young. Birds also appear to sense the Earth's magnetic field, which provides directional information even when clouds hide the stars. However, artificial light from cities can confuse migrating birds, drawing them off course and into collisions with buildings. Some cities now ask owners of tall buildings to switch off unnecessary lights during peak migration periods.
Choose the best answer.
Q16.The word "refuel" in the passage is closest in meaning to
- A.eat again
- B.rest
- C.change direction
- D.fly higher
Show answer
Answer: A. eat again
Birds 'need to refuel frequently' by 'searching for insects and seeds', so refuel means eat again to restore energy.
Q17.According to the passage, why might flying at night save energy?
- A.The stars guide the birds.
- B.The air is cooler and calmer.
- C.Fewer birds are flying.
- D.Birds fly in larger groups.
Show answer
Answer: B. The air is cooler and calmer.
'the air is generally cooler and calmer after sunset, which helps birds avoid overheating and saves energy'.
Q18.What is one advantage of landing at dawn?
- A.Birds avoid cold mornings.
- B.Predators are asleep.
- C.Birds can feed throughout the day.
- D.Birds can see the stars.
Show answer
Answer: C. Birds can feed throughout the day.
Landing at dawn means 'they can spend the whole day searching for insects and seeds'.
Q19.What can birds use for direction when clouds cover the stars?
- A.City lights
- B.The position of the moon
- C.The shape of the coastline
- D.The Earth's magnetic field
Show answer
Answer: D. The Earth's magnetic field
The magnetic field 'provides directional information even when clouds hide the stars'.
Q20.Why do some cities ask building owners to switch off lights?
- A.To help birds stay on course and avoid collisions
- B.To save electricity
- C.To make the stars visible to people
- D.Because of new building laws
Show answer
Answer: A. To help birds stay on course and avoid collisions
Artificial light draws birds 'off course and into collisions with buildings'.
Fill in the missing letters in the paragraph.
Glaciers are large masses of ice that move slowly across the land. They fo__ where more snow fa___ in winter th__ melts during sum___. Over many ye___, the snow is pres___ into dense i__, which beg___ to flow down____ under its own wei___. Today, many glaciers are shrinking as global temperatures rise.
Q21.fo__
Show answer
Answer: form
The complete word is "form".
Q22.fa___
Show answer
Answer: falls
The complete word is "falls".
Q23.th__
Show answer
Answer: than
The complete word is "than".
Q24.sum___
Show answer
Answer: summer
The complete word is "summer".
Q25.ye___
Show answer
Answer: years
The complete word is "years".
Q26.pres___
Show answer
Answer: pressed
The complete word is "pressed".
Q27.i__
Show answer
Answer: ice
The complete word is "ice".
Q28.beg___
Show answer
Answer: begins
The complete word is "begins".
Q29.down____
Show answer
Answer: downhill
The complete word is "downhill".
Q30.wei___
Show answer
Answer: weight
The complete word is "weight".
M2 · Daily Life 1: Email: Registration for spring courses
From: Student Services. Registration for spring courses opens on November 3 at 9 a.m. for final-year students and on November 5 for all other students. Popular courses fill quickly, so we recommend choosing two backup options before registration opens.
If a course you need for graduation is full, contact your academic adviser rather than the course instructor; advisers can request a place for you. Students with unpaid library fines will not be able to register until the fines have been paid.
Choose the best answer.
Q31.When can a second-year student begin to register?
- A.November 3 at 9 a.m.
- B.November 5
- C.November 3 in the afternoon
- D.At any time
Show answer
Answer: B. November 5
November 3 is for final-year students; 'November 5 for all other students'.
Q32.What should a student do if a course needed for graduation is full?
- A.Email the course instructor
- B.Choose a backup option
- C.Contact their academic adviser
- D.Wait until November 5
Show answer
Answer: C. Contact their academic adviser
'contact your academic adviser rather than the course instructor'.
Q33.What could prevent a student from registering?
- A.Choosing too many courses
- B.Missing a class
- C.Not choosing backup options
- D.An unpaid library fine
Show answer
Answer: D. An unpaid library fine
'Students with unpaid library fines will not be able to register.'
M2 · Daily Life 2: Sign: Campus Café
Starting Monday, the Campus Café will give a 10% discount to customers who bring their own reusable cup. Hot drinks ordered through the café app before 9 a.m. can be collected from the side counter without queueing. The café will be closed on the public holiday on the 14th.
Choose the best answer.
Q34.How can customers get a discount?
- A.By ordering through the app
- B.By buying before 9 a.m.
- C.By bringing a reusable cup
- D.By visiting on Monday
Show answer
Answer: C. By bringing a reusable cup
'a 10% discount to customers who bring their own reusable cup'.
Q35.What is the advantage of ordering through the app before 9 a.m.?
- A.Lower prices
- B.A free drink
- C.A free reusable cup
- D.Not having to queue
Show answer
Answer: D. Not having to queue
Drinks 'can be collected from the side counter without queueing'.
M2 · Academic Passage: The Origins of Agriculture
For most of human history, people obtained food by hunting animals and gathering wild plants. Around 11,000 years ago, however, communities in a region of the Middle East known as the Fertile Crescent began to cultivate crops such as wheat and barley. Agriculture later developed independently in several other places, including China, where rice was domesticated, and Central America, where maize was grown.
Why did people begin farming? One long-standing theory holds that a warming climate at the end of the last ice age made wild cereals more abundant, encouraging people to settle near them. Over generations, they selected plants with larger seeds that stayed on the stalk rather than scattering, gradually changing the plants' genetics.
Farming had mixed consequences. It supported larger, permanent settlements and eventually cities. Yet skeletons from early farming communities often show signs of poorer health than those of hunter-gatherers, including shorter height and more tooth decay, probably because their diets depended on a small number of starchy crops. Living close together, and near domestic animals, also made it easier for diseases to spread.
Choose the best answer.
Q36.The word "abundant" in the passage is closest in meaning to
- A.valuable
- B.plentiful
- C.dangerous
- D.small
Show answer
Answer: B. plentiful
A warmer climate made wild cereals more abundant, that is, more plentiful, encouraging people to settle near them.
Q37.According to the passage, where was rice domesticated?
- A.The Fertile Crescent
- B.Central America
- C.China
- D.Europe
Show answer
Answer: C. China
'China, where rice was domesticated'.
Q38.What does the passage say about the seeds early farmers selected?
- A.They were smaller.
- B.They scattered easily.
- C.They grew only in cold climates.
- D.They stayed on the plant instead of falling.
Show answer
Answer: D. They stayed on the plant instead of falling.
Farmers chose plants 'with larger seeds that stayed on the stalk rather than scattering'.
Q39.Why did early farmers often have poorer health than hunter-gatherers?
- A.Their diets relied on a few starchy crops.
- B.They worked longer hours.
- C.They lived in colder places.
- D.They ate too much meat.
Show answer
Answer: A. Their diets relied on a few starchy crops.
'probably because their diets depended on a small number of starchy crops'.
Q40.Which statement would the author most likely agree with?
- A.Farming improved life in every way.
- B.Farming brought both benefits and problems.
- C.Hunter-gatherers lived in cities.
- D.Agriculture began in only one place.
Show answer
Answer: B. Farming brought both benefits and problems.
'Farming had mixed consequences': larger settlements, but poorer health and more disease.