Updated 2026-09-12intermediate

New TOEFL Reading: Read in Daily Life Practice #001 — Library, Pool, Office, and a Bike Commute

Free practice for the new TOEFL Reading section's short daily-life texts: 4 everyday texts and 12 questions with an answer key.

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How to use this practice: Each text is something you could actually receive — an email, a notice, a memo, a post. Read it once at normal speed, then answer the three questions under it. Watch the options that reuse a word from the text: matching words are the most common trap in this part.
1

Text 1 — Email

Read the text, then answer the three questions below it.

Subject: Your Riverton Seed Library account is open

From: Seed Library Desk, Riverton Public Library

To: Daniel Okafor

Dear Mr. Okafor, thank you for registering for the Riverton Seed Library. Your library card now works at the seed cabinet on the second floor, next to the gardening shelves, and you may begin borrowing this week.

Here is how borrowing works. Members may take up to six seed packets each season at no charge. You do not need to ask a staff member. Simply write the packet number and your card number in the logbook on top of the cabinet. We also ask that you return seeds from one of the plants you grow, so that next year's members have something to borrow. Beans, peas, and lettuce are the easiest plants to save seeds from, and our Saturday workshop covers the method in about an hour.

Two notes before your first visit. The cabinet is locked on Mondays while volunteers refill it. Packets marked with a red dot are donations from local farms that we cannot replace, so those are limited to one per member.

Questions about growing something? Reply to this message and a volunteer gardener will answer within two days.

Q1 · Purpose
Why was this email sent to Mr. Okafor?
  1. A. To remind him to return the seeds he borrowed last season
  2. B. To tell a new member that his account is active and explain how borrowing works
  3. C. To ask him to volunteer at the seed cabinet on Mondays
  4. D. To request a donation of seed packets from a local farm
Answer
Correct: B
Q2 · Detail
What should a member do when taking a seed packet?
  1. A. Ask a staff member at the gardening shelves to unlock the cabinet
  2. B. Sign up for the Saturday workshop before the first visit
  3. C. Mark the packet with a red dot
  4. D. Write the packet number and card number in the logbook
Answer
Correct: D
Q3 · Inference
What can be inferred about packets marked with a red dot?
  1. A. They contain seeds that are difficult to grow indoors
  2. B. They must be returned to the cabinet within one season
  3. C. Once they are gone, the library cannot get more of them
  4. D. They may only be taken on Mondays, when volunteers refill the cabinet
Answer
Correct: C
2

Text 2 — Notice

Read the text, then answer the three questions below it.

Notice: Changes to pool hours, October 6-27

Westbrook Community Recreation Center

The main pool will be closed for resurfacing from Monday, October 6 through Sunday, October 27. This work was first scheduled for the summer, but it was moved to October so that children's swim lessons could finish first.

During the closure, the small warm-water pool stays open and its hours are extended:

  • Weekdays: 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM (normally 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM)
  • Saturdays: 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
  • Sundays: closed for cleaning

Because the warm-water pool holds far fewer swimmers, lap swimming will run by reservation only. Members may book one 45-minute slot per day through the center's app, starting seven days in advance. Walk-ins will be accepted only if a lane is still free ten minutes before the hour.

Monthly passes will be extended by three weeks at no cost. No action is needed for this, and the credit will appear on your account in November. Members who would rather have a refund should speak to the front desk before October 20.

Q4 · Detail
How can a member swim laps while the main pool is closed?
  1. A. By reserving a 45-minute slot through the center's app
  2. B. By arriving ten minutes before the center opens each morning
  3. C. By booking a lane at the front desk before October 20
  4. D. By using the main pool during the extended weekday hours
Answer
Correct: A
Q5 · NOT / EXCEPT
All of the following are stated in the notice EXCEPT
  1. A. The warm-water pool does not open on Sundays.
  2. B. Monthly passes will be extended by three weeks.
  3. C. The resurfacing work was originally planned for the summer.
  4. D. Children's swim lessons will continue in the warm-water pool during October.
Answer
Correct: D
Q6 · Expected Action
What should a member do if they want their money back instead of extra time on their pass?
  1. A. Nothing, because the credit appears automatically in November
  2. B. Speak to the front desk before October 20
  3. C. Cancel the app reservation seven days in advance
  4. D. Wait until the main pool reopens on October 27
Answer
Correct: B
3

Text 3 — Workplace Memo

Read the text, then answer the three questions below it.

Memo: Moving to shared desks on the fourth floor

To: All Marketing and Design staff

From: Priya Raman, Office Operations

Date: March 3

Starting Monday, March 24, the fourth floor will move to shared desks. No one on the floor will have an assigned seat, and this includes managers.

Each morning you will choose a desk in the booking tool, the same tool we already use for meeting rooms. Desks open for booking at 6:00 AM on the day itself and cannot be held in advance, which keeps desks from sitting empty under the name of someone who is out that day. If you forget to book, a floor host can seat you, but a host will not move anyone who booked correctly.

Everyone will receive a locker near the kitchen for personal items, along with a laptop stand. Please empty your current drawers by Friday, March 21. Anything left behind will be stored for one month and then donated.

Two groups are excepted. The design team keeps its calibrated monitors in the north corner, and staff with a documented accommodation keep a fixed desk. For an accommodation, contact People Operations rather than me.

Q7 · Purpose
What is the main purpose of this memo?
  1. A. To ask staff to choose between a locker and an assigned desk
  2. B. To explain why the design team is moving to the north corner
  3. C. To announce a change in seating and explain how the new system will work
  4. D. To remind managers that they must book meeting rooms in advance
Answer
Correct: C
Q8 · Detail
When can an employee book a desk?
  1. A. At 6:00 AM on the day they plan to use it
  2. B. Any time during the week before, through the booking tool
  3. C. On March 21, when the drawers must be emptied
  4. D. Only by asking a floor host on arrival
Answer
Correct: A
Q9 · Inference
Why does the company not allow desks to be booked in advance?
  1. A. Because the booking tool cannot handle reservations for two different kinds of space
  2. B. Because floor hosts need time to clean each desk before the day begins
  3. C. Because managers should be given the first choice of seats each morning
  4. D. Because desks claimed early could stay empty when the person does not come in
Answer
Correct: D
4

Text 4 — Social Media Post

Read the text, then answer the three questions below it.

MapleStreetMira @maplestreetmira - 7h

Three weeks ago I sold my car and started commuting to work by bicycle. Eleven kilometers each way. It sounded impossible in week one, and now it takes about forty minutes, which is roughly what the bus used to take once I counted the waiting.

The hard part was not the distance. It was everything around the ride: finding a route that avoids the highway bridge, working out where to leave the bike so I stop worrying about it all day, and learning that a clean shirt in my bag matters more than any piece of gear I bought.

I am not going to pretend it has all been pleasant. Two rainy mornings nearly sent me back to the bus, and I still have no plan for January.

Bike commuters, how do you handle winter? Did you keep riding, or switch to something else for a few months? Also very open to boring advice about locks.

64 replies - 12 reposts - 903 likes

Q10 · Purpose
Why did Mira write this post?
  1. A. To share what her first weeks of bike commuting were like and ask others how they ride through winter
  2. B. To warn new riders that an eleven-kilometer commute is longer than it sounds
  3. C. To recommend the gear she bought when she sold her car
  4. D. To explain why she has decided to go back to taking the bus
Answer
Correct: A
Q11 · Vocabulary in Context
In the last line, "boring advice" is closest in meaning to
  1. A. advice she has already heard many times before
  2. B. ordinary, practical advice that is not exciting
  3. C. advice that is too detailed to be useful
  4. D. advice from people who do not ride bicycles
Answer
Correct: B
Q12 · Inference
What can be inferred about Mira's old commute by bus?
  1. A. It cost more than she expected once she added up the monthly fares
  2. B. It was much faster than cycling, so she now loses time each morning
  3. C. Counting the time she spent waiting, it took about as long as cycling does now
  4. D. It was the reason she decided to sell her car three weeks ago
Answer
Correct: C