TOEFL 2026 · Reading · Practice
How do I practise TOEFL reading for the 2026 test?
Practise the three task types separately, then together under a timer. Complete the Words is 30 of the section's 50 items and has one right answer per blank, so drill it in 3-4 minute passages — free and ungated right here. Read in Daily Life rewards reading the question first and scanning a short everyday text. Read an Academic Passage rewards reading for structure and going back to the text for every answer. Review every wrong answer, and treat the first module seriously: it decides which second module you get.
Reading is about 27-30 minutes and 50 items across three task types, scored on the 1-6 scale. It is multistage adaptive: a router module of about 18-21 minutes, then either a lower or an upper module of about 9. Some items are non-scored, used to calibrate future tests. What that means for practice is that the task types need different techniques — scanning a notice is not reading an academic argument — and that accuracy early in the section is worth more than a fast finish.
What it demands: Ten words have their second half removed and you type the missing letters. The first sentence stays intact. It tests vocabulary, grammar awareness (tense, agreement, word form), word formation and context across sentences at once.
How to practise it: Timed passages at 3-4 minutes each, then review which grammar or context clue gave each word away. It has exactly one right answer per blank, so you can drill and mark it without anyone else — which is what the drill on this page does.
What it demands: Notices, emails, schedules, advertisements, memos. You locate specific details, work out the purpose of the text and make practical inferences. It rewards fast functional scanning, not deep interpretation.
How to practise it: Read the question first, then scan. Use headers, bold text and bullet points — they are the fastest route to an answer. If one question is taking more than about two minutes, you are overreading.
What it demands: A university-level passage — biology, geology, history, archaeology, anthropology, environmental science — with main idea, detail, vocabulary-in-context, inference, purpose and structure questions.
How to practise it: Read for structure first — the topic sentence of each paragraph — then go back to the specific part of the passage for each question instead of answering from memory. No outside knowledge is needed: base every answer on what the text says.
Item counts and timings from the April 2026 ETS blueprint, as summarised in the TOEFL 2026 test structure guide. Timing is approximate.
Start here. Each blank is the second half of one known word, so a browser page can mark it honestly — and this one does, with no account, no email and nothing sent to a server. 6 passages, 54 blanks, beginner to advanced.
Type the missing letters to restore each word.
Weather describes the conditions of the atmosphere at a specific time and place. Temper and humi are two impor factors that scien measure every d. These measure help forecas predict sto and other eve.
These are LingoLeap's own practice passages, already published on our practice and exercises pages. They are shorter than the real task — 34-42 words with 8-10 blanks, against 70-100 words and exactly 10 — but keep its structure: the first sentence is intact and the blanks are spread across the rest. If JavaScript is off, every passage and answer is written out below.
The texts are short and nonacademic — 15 to 150 words of notice, email, schedule, advertisement, web page, memo or community announcement — and the questions ask for a detail, the purpose of the text, or a practical inference. Shorter does not mean easier: the skill is different — fast functional scanning, attention to formatting, practical inference — and students who only practise academic reading can find it surprisingly tricky.
What practice has to build is targeted scanning. Read the question before the text; use headers, bold type and bullet points to jump to the right place; and watch for texts that list several dates, names or options, where the wrong answer is the neighbouring detail. If a single question is taking you more than about two minutes, that is the signal you are overreading.
Work through the guided Daily Life passages first, then the harder exercises, with the scanning strategies alongside.
About 200 words of university-level expository prose — biology, geology, history, archaeology, anthropology, environmental science — followed by main idea, detail, vocabulary-in-context, inference, purpose and structure questions. It is the most demanding reading task and the one closest to the old TOEFL, although the passage is far shorter than it used to be.
Practise reading for structure rather than for recall. Take the topic sentence of each paragraph on the first pass, so you have a map; then, for each question, go back to the part of the passage it points at. The passage is always on screen, and the wrong answers are built from plausible details for readers working from memory. Leave outside knowledge out of it — no specialist background is needed, and the questions test what the passage says, not what you already know about the topic.
Start with the guided academic passages, move to the timed exercises, and keep the question types guide open until every format is familiar.
1. Master each task type separately first
Before any full-section practice, give each task its own sessions: Complete the Words until restoring words from context feels natural, Daily Life until you scan documents rather than read them, Academic Passages until every question type is familiar.
2. Then practise under a timer, every time
Untimed practice feels very different from the test. Complete the Words runs at about 3-4 minutes a passage; move quickly through it and Daily Life so the Academic Passage gets the time it needs.
3. Analyse every wrong answer — and every lucky one
After each session, review what you got wrong and what you got right but were unsure of. Know why the right answer is right and why each distractor is wrong.
4. Build vocabulary in context, not from lists
TOEFL vocabulary is academic and formal. Meet words in reading, pay attention to word families and suffixes such as -tion, -ment, -ous and -ive, and watch words with more than one meaning.
5. Finish with full adaptive sections
Once each task is comfortable, sit complete reading sections to build stamina and the switch between task types — and treat the first module as seriously as the last.
Coasting through the first module
Reading is a router followed by a lower or upper module, so your early accuracy decides which second module you get. Every early question matters.
Restoring a word by meaning but in the wrong form
In Complete the Words, check tense, number and part of speech before you commit — 'observe' and 'observations' share a root, and only one of them fits the sentence.
Reading a Daily Life document from start to finish
Read the question first, then scan the text for the section that answers it.
Answering academic passage questions from memory
Go back to the part of the passage the question points at. Wrong answers are built from plausible-sounding details.
Spending too long on one hard question
Past 60-90 seconds, make your best choice and move on. Running out of time on easier questions later costs more.
Practising Complete the Words on material that is not a C-test
Blanks chosen by hand, blanks bunched into one sentence, or whole words deleted train a different skill. Look for an intact first sentence and blanks spread across the rest.
Print six short Complete the Words drills, a library notice with four questions and an academic passage with five questions. The answer key explains each answer. These are independent LingoLeap skill drills, not an official ETS paper, a full adaptive mock test or a TOEFL score predictor. The short word-completion passages train the skill rather than reproduce full-length test tasks.
Download TOEFL Reading practice PDFNo sign-up needed. Suggested study time: 15–20 minutes, then review the explanations. Start without the answer key, underline evidence for each choice and repeat the questions you missed. This timing is a study suggestion.
Starting Monday, the North Library will accept study-room reservations through its online calendar. Groups of two to six students may reserve a room for up to ninety minutes. A reservation ends if nobody checks in at the service desk within fifteen minutes of the start time. Students who need only one seat should use the quiet study floor instead.
The calendar opens seven days before each booking date. Room 3 will be unavailable on Wednesday morning while its projector is replaced. Other rooms will remain open. Food is not permitted in any study room, but drinks in covered containers are allowed. For a group presentation, request a projector when booking; staff cannot guarantee one for requests made on arrival.
What is the main purpose of the notice?
A. To explain new room-booking rules — The notice explains reservations, check-in, equipment and room-use rules. The library remains open.
A group books a room for 10:00 but nobody checks in until 10:20. What happens under the stated rule?
C. The reservation has ended — A reservation ends after fifteen minutes without check-in. At 10:20 the group is five minutes beyond that window.
Why will Room 3 be unavailable on Wednesday morning?
B. Its projector is being replaced — The second paragraph directly gives projector replacement as the reason. No all-day closure is stated.
What should students do if their presentation requires a projector?
A. Request it while booking — The notice tells students to request a projector when booking; requests on arrival are not guaranteed.
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On a summer afternoon, a tree-lined street can feel cooler than a nearby street without trees. Part of this difference comes from shade: leaves intercept sunlight before it reaches pavement. A second process is less visible. Water absorbed by roots moves through the tree and evaporates from leaf surfaces. This evaporation uses energy, helping to cool the surrounding air.
The cooling effect is not identical in every location. A broad canopy may shade more pavement than a narrow one, while a tree with limited access to soil water may release less moisture. Planting a tree in a small opening surrounded by concrete can therefore restrict its cooling potential. Providing enough root space matters alongside selecting the species.
Researchers comparing planting plans also consider time. A newly planted tree usually casts less shade than a mature tree, so replacing large healthy trees with many small ones may not preserve immediate cooling. This does not mean young trees have no value. It means that a plan should account for both present conditions and the years required for new canopies to grow. Protecting existing trees and planting suitable replacements can serve different parts of the same long-term strategy.
What is the passage mainly about?
B. How trees cool streets and what affects that cooling — The passage explains shade and evaporation, then root space, canopy size and the time needed for growth.
According to the first paragraph, how does evaporation contribute to cooling?
C. It uses energy as water leaves leaf surfaces — The passage explicitly states that evaporation uses energy and helps cool surrounding air.
The word 'restrict' in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to:
C. limit — Limited soil-water access can limit, or restrict, the tree's cooling potential.
What can be inferred about replacing one large healthy tree with several small trees?
A. Immediate shade may decrease even if the tree count rises — New trees usually cast less shade; increasing their number does not necessarily preserve the mature tree's immediate cooling.
Why does the author say that young trees still have value?
B. To distinguish short-term cooling from long-term growth — The final paragraph balances current shade against future canopy growth instead of dismissing young trees.
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The full text of each passage, with every restored word and the clue that gives it away.
Passage 1 · Weather and Climate · Beginner
Weather describes the conditions of the atmosphere at a specific time and place. Temperature and humidity are two important factors that scientists measure every day. These measurements help forecasters predict storms and other events.
Passage 2 · Public Libraries · Beginner
A public library is a place where people can borrow books and other materials for free. Libraries also provide access to computers and the internet. Many communities depend on these services for education and research.
Passage 3 · Sleep and Health · Beginner
Sleep is essential for maintaining good physical and mental health. During sleep, the body repairs damaged tissues and strengthens the immune system. Adults generally need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night.
Passage 4 · Photosynthesis · Intermediate
Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants convert sunlight into chemical energy. During this process, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is absorbed through tiny openings in the leaves. The resulting sugars provide fuel for growth and reproduction throughout the organism.
Passage 5 · The Industrial Revolution · Intermediate
The Industrial Revolution began in Britain during the late eighteenth century. Factories replaced traditional workshops, and machines powered by steam engines dramatically increased production capacity. These technological advances transformed economies across Europe and North America within a few decades.
Passage 6 · Coral reefs · Advanced
Coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth. They support approximately one quarter of all marine species despite covering less than one percent of the ocean floor. Rising water temperatures and ocean acidification now threaten these fragile structures worldwide.
The whole section: task types, adaptive format and strategy.
Every question format across the three tasks, and what each asks for.
Beginner passages with every answer and the clue that gives it away.
Intermediate and advanced passages with target times.
How to use grammar and context clues to restore each word.
Guided everyday texts with explanations.
Denser documents with tighter timing.
Scanning tactics for notices, emails and schedules.
Guided academic passages to build comprehension.
Harder passages under tighter timing.
Reading for structure and answering by referring back.
Once each task is comfortable, sit complete TOEFL-format reading sets across all three task types, with explanations of why each answer is right.
Open the reading practiceTOEFL 2026 reading section
The three tasks, the adaptive format and section strategy.
Reading question types
Every question format across the three tasks.
TOEFL writing practice
The same thing for the writing section: what to drill and how.
TOEFL listening practice
Practice for the four listening task types.