TOEFL Reading Practice Test 3 (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 3 (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.
Volcanoes form where molten rock reaches the surface of the Earth. Most vol______ are found al___ the edges of tecto___ plates, wh___ the Earth's cr___ is wea____. When press___ builds u_, gas and mag__ can esc___ violently. Scientists monitor active volcanoes to warn nearby communities.
Q1.vol______
Show answer
Answer: volcanoes
The complete word is "volcanoes".
Q2.al___
Show answer
Answer: along
The complete word is "along".
Q3.tecto___
Show answer
Answer: tectonic
The complete word is "tectonic".
Q4.wh___
Show answer
Answer: where
The complete word is "where".
Q5.cr___
Show answer
Answer: crust
The complete word is "crust".
Q6.wea____
Show answer
Answer: weakest
The complete word is "weakest".
Q7.press___
Show answer
Answer: pressure
The complete word is "pressure".
Q8.u_
Show answer
Answer: up
The complete word is "up".
Q9.mag__
Show answer
Answer: magma
The complete word is "magma".
Q10.esc___
Show answer
Answer: escape
The complete word is "escape".
M1 · Daily Life 1: Campus Gym: New Booking System
From September 1, all gym sessions must be booked through the university app, up to 48 hours in advance. Each session lasts 90 minutes.
Students who book a session but do not attend three times in one month will not be able to make bookings for two weeks. Walk-in visits are still possible between 6 and 8 a.m., when the gym is usually quiet.
Choose the best answer.
Q11.How far in advance can gym sessions be booked?
- A.Up to one week
- B.Up to 48 hours
- C.Up to 90 minutes
- D.Only on the same day
Show answer
Answer: B. Up to 48 hours
Sessions 'must be booked through the university app, up to 48 hours in advance'.
Q12.What happens to students who miss three booked sessions in a month?
- A.They pay a fine.
- B.They lose their membership.
- C.They cannot make bookings for two weeks.
- D.They must attend a training session.
Show answer
Answer: C. They cannot make bookings for two weeks.
They 'will not be able to make bookings for two weeks'.
Q13.When can students use the gym without booking?
- A.At weekends only
- B.After 8 p.m.
- C.Never
- D.Between 6 and 8 a.m.
Show answer
Answer: D. Between 6 and 8 a.m.
'Walk-in visits are still possible between 6 and 8 a.m.'
M1 · Daily Life 2: Message from Maya
Hi Priya, the landlord emailed to say a plumber is coming on Wednesday between 1 and 3 to fix the kitchen tap. One of us needs to be home to let him in. I have a lab then. Could you be there? If not, I'll ask the landlord to change the time. Also, the electricity bill came: it's $84, so $42 each. Maya
Choose the best answer.
Q14.Why is Maya writing to Priya?
- A.To complain about the landlord
- B.To invite her to a lab
- C.To ask her to be home for the plumber
- D.To ask her to fix the tap
Show answer
Answer: C. To ask her to be home for the plumber
'One of us needs to be home to let him in ... Could you be there?'
Q15.How much does Priya owe for electricity?
- A.$84
- B.$21
- C.Nothing
- D.$42
Show answer
Answer: D. $42
'it's $84, so $42 each'.
M1 · Academic Passage: Measuring Time
For most of history, people measured time using the sun. Sundials, which use the shadow cast by a pointer, were used in ancient Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. Their obvious weakness was that they did not work at night or on cloudy days, so people also used water clocks, which measured time by the steady flow of water from one container to another.
Mechanical clocks appeared in European towns in the late thirteenth century. Early versions were inaccurate, often gaining or losing fifteen minutes a day, and many had no minute hand at all. Accuracy improved dramatically in 1656, when the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens built the first pendulum clock, which kept time to within about a minute a day.
Precise timekeeping became essential for navigation at sea. To calculate their longitude, sailors needed to know the exact time at their home port while far from land. In the eighteenth century, the English clockmaker John Harrison built a series of marine clocks accurate enough to solve this problem, despite the movement of ships and changes in temperature.
Choose the best answer.
Q16.What was the main weakness of sundials?
- A.They were too expensive.
- B.They had no minute hand.
- C.They did not work at night or on cloudy days.
- D.They needed water.
Show answer
Answer: C. They did not work at night or on cloudy days.
'they did not work at night or on cloudy days'.
Q17.How did water clocks measure time?
- A.By the position of the stars
- B.By a swinging pendulum
- C.By the sun's shadow
- D.By the flow of water from one container to another
Show answer
Answer: D. By the flow of water from one container to another
They 'measured time by the steady flow of water from one container to another'.
Q18.What did Huygens's pendulum clock improve?
- A.Its accuracy
- B.Its size
- C.Its price
- D.Its appearance
Show answer
Answer: A. Its accuracy
'Accuracy improved dramatically ... within about a minute a day.'
Q19.Why did sailors need accurate clocks?
- A.To know when to eat
- B.To calculate their longitude
- C.To measure the depth of the sea
- D.To predict the weather
Show answer
Answer: B. To calculate their longitude
'To calculate their longitude, sailors needed to know the exact time at their home port.'
Q20.The word "essential" in the passage is closest in meaning to
- A.expensive
- B.popular
- C.necessary
- D.difficult
Show answer
Answer: C. necessary
Precise timekeeping became essential, that is necessary, because navigation depended on it.
Fill in the missing letters in the paragraph.
Honey never really spoils if it is stored correctly. Archaeologists ha__ found pots of hon__ in ancient Egyp____ tombs that we__ still ed____. Honey cont____ very lit___ water, a__ it is sli_____ acidic, wh___ prevents bacteria from growing. This is why honey has been used to preserve food for centuries.
Q21.ha__
Show answer
Answer: have
The complete word is "have".
Q22.hon__
Show answer
Answer: honey
The complete word is "honey".
Q23.Egyp____
Show answer
Answer: Egyptian
The complete word is "Egyptian".
Q24.we__
Show answer
Answer: were
The complete word is "were".
Q25.ed____
Show answer
Answer: edible
The complete word is "edible".
Q26.cont____
Show answer
Answer: contains
The complete word is "contains".
Q27.lit___
Show answer
Answer: little
The complete word is "little".
Q28.a__
Show answer
Answer: and
The complete word is "and".
Q29.sli_____
Show answer
Answer: slightly
The complete word is "slightly".
Q30.wh___
Show answer
Answer: which
The complete word is "which".
M2 · Daily Life 1: Notice: Water Shut-Off in Block C
Water to all apartments in Block C will be turned off on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. while pipes are replaced. Please store some water for drinking and cooking beforehand. Bottled water will be available free of charge at the building office.
If the work finishes early, the water will be turned back on and residents will be notified by text message. Questions should be directed to the maintenance office, not the front desk.
Choose the best answer.
Q31.Why will the water be turned off?
- A.The building is being painted.
- B.There is a water shortage.
- C.The tanks are being cleaned.
- D.Pipes are being replaced.
Show answer
Answer: D. Pipes are being replaced.
'while pipes are replaced'.
Q32.What will residents be offered?
- A.Free bottled water
- B.A reduction in rent
- C.A hotel room
- D.Free meals
Show answer
Answer: A. Free bottled water
'Bottled water will be available free of charge at the building office.'
Q33.Who should residents contact with questions?
- A.The front desk
- B.The maintenance office
- C.Their neighbours
- D.The water company
Show answer
Answer: B. The maintenance office
'Questions should be directed to the maintenance office, not the front desk.'
M2 · Daily Life 2: Campus Film Night
This Friday at 7 p.m. in the Student Union, we're showing an award-winning documentary about ocean exploration. Entry is free for students with ID; guests pay $5. Seats are limited to 120, so arrive early. Popcorn will be sold at the door, and all money raised goes to the marine conservation club.
Choose the best answer.
Q34.How much do guests who are not students pay?
- A.$5
- B.Nothing
- C.$12
- D.$120
Show answer
Answer: A. $5
'Entry is free for students with ID; guests pay $5.'
Q35.Where does the money from popcorn sales go?
- A.The Student Union
- B.The marine conservation club
- C.The film makers
- D.A local cinema
Show answer
Answer: B. The marine conservation club
'all money raised goes to the marine conservation club'.
M2 · Academic Passage: Why Languages Disappear
Linguists estimate that around 7,000 languages are spoken in the world today, but many are in danger. Roughly 40 per cent have fewer than 1,000 speakers, and some experts predict that half of the world's languages could disappear by the end of this century.
Languages rarely vanish suddenly. More often, a community gradually shifts to a more widely spoken, dominant language, usually because it offers better access to education, jobs and government services. Parents may choose to speak the dominant language with their children, hoping to give them more opportunities, and within a few generations no young people speak the original language fluently.
Revival is possible but difficult. One well-known example is Hebrew, which was used mainly for religious and written purposes for centuries before becoming an everyday spoken language again in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. More recently, communities have used immersion schools, in which children are taught entirely in the endangered language, and have recorded elderly speakers to create dictionaries and online courses.
Choose the best answer.
Q36.About what share of the world's languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers?
- A.10 per cent
- B.50 per cent
- C.70 per cent
- D.40 per cent
Show answer
Answer: D. 40 per cent
'Roughly 40 per cent have fewer than 1,000 speakers.'
Q37.Why do communities usually shift to another language?
- A.It offers better access to education, jobs and services.
- B.It is easier to learn.
- C.Governments ban the original language.
- D.The original language has no written form.
Show answer
Answer: A. It offers better access to education, jobs and services.
'because it offers better access to education, jobs and government services'.
Q38.The word "dominant" in the passage is closest in meaning to
- A.oldest
- B.most widely used and powerful
- C.most beautiful
- D.hardest to learn
Show answer
Answer: B. most widely used and powerful
The dominant language is the more widely spoken, more powerful one in the community.
Q39.Why does the author mention Hebrew?
- A.As an example of a language that disappeared
- B.To show that religious languages are endangered
- C.As an example of a successful revival
- D.To compare it with English
Show answer
Answer: C. As an example of a successful revival
Hebrew became 'an everyday spoken language again'.
Q40.What happens in an immersion school?
- A.Children learn several languages at once.
- B.Adults record dictionaries.
- C.Lessons are given online only.
- D.Children are taught entirely in the endangered language.
Show answer
Answer: D. Children are taught entirely in the endangered language.
'children are taught entirely in the endangered language'.