Updated 2026-09-12intermediate

New TOEFL Reading: Read in Daily Life Practice #002 — A Power Cut, a Course, a Book Sale, and a Detour

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 — Message Thread

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

Building 4 residents group - Tuesday

Building Office (9:12 AM): Residents of Building 4, the electricity company will shut off power tomorrow, Wednesday, from 9:00 AM to about 2:00 PM while they replace a cable outside the garage. Lifts will not run during that time.

Building Office (9:13 AM): Please do not open your freezer during the shutoff. Food stays frozen for roughly six hours if the door stays closed. The water supply is not affected.

Nadia, 4B (9:40 AM): My father uses the lift with a walker. Is there any way to get down at lunchtime?

Building Office (9:58 AM): Thank you for telling us. A staff member will be in the lobby from 8:30 AM to help anyone who needs to go down before the power stops, and again from 2:00 PM. If your father needs to leave during the shutoff, message this group and we will arrange help on the stairs.

Tomas, 4F (10:20 AM): Will the garage door still open?

Building Office (10:31 AM): Yes. It runs on a separate line. Park as usual.

Q1 · Purpose
Why did the building office send the first two messages?
  1. A. To warn residents that the water supply will be turned off on Wednesday
  2. B. To tell residents about a power shutoff and how to prepare for it
  3. C. To ask residents to move their cars out of the garage before 9:00 AM
  4. D. To explain why the lift has been broken since Tuesday morning
Answer
Correct: B
Q2 · Detail
What does the office tell Nadia about her father?
  1. A. He should use the stairs with his walker before 8:30 AM.
  2. B. He can use the lift at lunchtime because it runs on a separate line.
  3. C. Staff will be in the lobby before the power stops and again from 2:00 PM.
  4. D. The office will move him to another building for the day.
Answer
Correct: C
Q3 · Inference
What can be inferred about a resident who keeps the freezer closed all day Wednesday?
  1. A. The food inside will most likely still be frozen when the power returns.
  2. B. The freezer will need to be restarted by a staff member in the lobby.
  3. C. The food will spoil because the shutoff lasts longer than six hours.
  4. D. The freezer will keep running because it is on the garage line.
Answer
Correct: A
2

Text 2 — Email

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

Subject: You are enrolled in Beginning Ceramics (Thursday evenings)

From: Kestrel Arts Center

To: Hana Ito

Hello Hana, your place in Beginning Ceramics is confirmed. The class meets Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 PM in Studio 2 for eight weeks, starting April 4.

Your fee covers clay, glazes, and firing for up to six finished pieces. Tools are shared and stay in the studio. You may bring your own apron, though we keep spare ones by the door.

Two things to know about the schedule. Pieces must dry for about a week before they can be fired, so anything you make in the final session will be ready for pickup two weeks after the course ends. We will email you when your shelf is ready, and pieces left longer than a month are recycled.

If you cannot attend a session, you may join the Saturday morning class that week at no extra cost, but only if you tell us by Wednesday evening. Space is limited and Saturday fills quickly.

Please arrive ten minutes early on April 4 for a short safety walkthrough of the kiln area.

Q4 · Detail
What must Hana do to attend a Saturday class instead of her Thursday class?
  1. A. Pay a small extra fee for the Saturday session
  2. B. Tell the center by Wednesday evening of that week
  3. C. Bring her own tools, since Saturday tools are not shared
  4. D. Arrive ten minutes early for a second safety walkthrough
Answer
Correct: B
Q5 · Inference
What can be inferred about a bowl Hana makes in the last session?
  1. A. It will be fired during the final class so she can take it home that evening.
  2. B. It will not be fired at all, because the course will already have ended.
  3. C. It counts as a seventh piece, so she will pay an additional firing fee.
  4. D. She will have to return to the center after the course ends to collect it.
Answer
Correct: D
Q6 · NOT / EXCEPT
All of the following are stated in the email EXCEPT
  1. A. Spare aprons are kept by the studio door.
  2. B. Work left for more than a month is recycled.
  3. C. Students may take the same course again at a reduced price.
  4. D. The fee covers firing for up to six finished pieces.
Answer
Correct: C
3

Text 3 — Flyer

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

Friends of Halden Library - Used Book Sale

Saturday, June 8 - Halden Library, lower hall

Thousands of donated books, sorted by subject, priced to move.

  • 8:00 to 10:00 AM: members only (join at the door for $10, valid one year)
  • 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM: open to everyone
  • 3:00 to 4:00 PM: fill a bag for $5, bags provided

Paperbacks are $1 and hardcovers are $3 until 3:00 PM. Children's books are $0.50 all day. We take cash and cards, though the card reader depends on the hall's network and has been slow in past years.

Every dollar goes to the library's summer reading program for children, which ran out of funding for craft materials last year.

We are still collecting donations. Bring books to the front desk any day before June 5. We cannot accept textbooks older than five years, encyclopedias, or anything damp or moldy. Please do not leave boxes outside the building overnight; rain has ruined several donations that way.

Volunteers are welcome for setup on Friday evening and for carrying boxes after the sale.

Q7 · Detail
How can someone enter the sale before 10:00 AM?
  1. A. By volunteering to help with setup on Friday evening
  2. B. By donating books at the front desk before June 5
  3. C. By buying a bag for five dollars at the entrance
  4. D. By paying ten dollars at the door to become a member
Answer
Correct: D
Q8 · Purpose
Why does the flyer mention the summer reading program?
  1. A. To explain where the money from the sale will go
  2. B. To invite children to sign up for the program at the sale
  3. C. To warn that the program may be canceled this year
  4. D. To ask for craft materials instead of book donations
Answer
Correct: A
Q9 · Inference
What can be inferred about paying for books at the sale?
  1. A. Only cash will be accepted after 3:00 PM.
  2. B. Bringing cash is the safer choice, because card payment may be slow.
  3. C. Members receive a discount on hardcovers before 10:00 AM.
  4. D. Children's books must be paid for separately at the front desk.
Answer
Correct: B
4

Text 4 — Notice

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

Notice: Route 12 detour, March 2 to March 30

Ashbury City Transit

From Monday, March 2, Route 12 buses will not travel along Mill Street while the bridge deck is repaired. Buses will instead turn at Canal Road and rejoin the normal route at Fifth Avenue.

Three stops on Mill Street will be closed for the month: Mill and Second, Mill and Third, and the stop outside the hospital. Temporary stops are marked with yellow signs on Canal Road, about a three-minute walk from the closed stops.

The hospital stop is the exception. Because the walk from Canal Road is longer and uphill, a small shuttle will run between the hospital entrance and the Canal Road stop every fifteen minutes from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The shuttle is free and does not require a transit card.

Journey times will be about eight minutes longer in each direction. Timetables have not been reprinted, so please allow extra time rather than relying on the posted times.

Route 12 night service after 10:00 PM is unaffected, as those buses already use Canal Road.

Q10 · Purpose
What is the main purpose of this notice?
  1. A. To announce that Route 12 will be canceled for a month
  2. B. To ask riders to use the free shuttle instead of the bus
  3. C. To apologize for timetables that were printed with the wrong times
  4. D. To explain a temporary change to Route 12 and what riders should do
Answer
Correct: D
Q11 · Detail
What is different about the hospital stop?
  1. A. It will stay open during the repairs.
  2. B. A free shuttle will connect it to the Canal Road stop.
  3. C. It will be moved three minutes away and marked with a yellow sign.
  4. D. Buses will stop there only after 10:00 PM.
Answer
Correct: B
Q12 · Expected Action
What does the notice ask riders to do about departure times?
  1. A. Leave earlier than the posted times suggest
  2. B. Take the night service after 10:00 PM whenever possible
  3. C. Check the reprinted timetable at each temporary stop
  4. D. Ride the shuttle fifteen minutes before the bus arrives
Answer
Correct: A