Updated 2026-09-12intermediate

New TOEFL Reading: Read in Daily Life Practice #004 — A Dental Visit, a Staff Rule, a First Race, and a Cooking Class

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 appointment on Tuesday, February 11, 3:40 PM

From: Northgate Dental

To: Samuel Ferreira

Hello Samuel, this is a reminder of your appointment with Dr. Adeyemi on Tuesday, February 11 at 3:40 PM. Please arrive by 3:30 so we can update your records at the front desk.

This visit is a cleaning and a check of the filling placed last spring. We expect it to take about forty minutes. No X-rays are planned, so you may eat normally beforehand.

Your insurance details on file expired in January. Please bring your current card, or send a photo of both sides through the patient portal before Monday. Without it we can still see you, but you would pay the full amount on the day and claim it back yourself.

If you need to cancel, do so at least twenty-four hours ahead through the portal or by phone. Cancellations inside twenty-four hours carry a $40 fee, which we waive for illness.

Parking behind the building is for staff. Patients may use the lot on Danforth Street, which is free for the first hour.

Q1 · Inference
What can be inferred about a patient who arrives without a current insurance card?
  1. A. The appointment will be moved to a later date.
  2. B. They will pay more on the day than a patient who brought one.
  3. C. They will be charged the $40 cancellation fee.
  4. D. Dr. Adeyemi will only perform the cleaning, not the check.
Answer
Correct: B
Q2 · Detail
Why does the email say Samuel may eat normally before the visit?
  1. A. Because the appointment is late in the afternoon
  2. B. Because the filling was placed last spring
  3. C. Because no X-rays are planned
  4. D. Because the visit will take only forty minutes
Answer
Correct: C
Q3 · Purpose
What is the main purpose of this email?
  1. A. To confirm the appointment and tell Samuel what to bring and do
  2. B. To ask Samuel to renew his insurance policy before February
  3. C. To explain a new parking rule for patients and staff
  4. D. To warn that a fee will be charged if he arrives after 3:30
Answer
Correct: A
2

Text 2 — Workplace Memo

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

Memo: Changes to staff drinks and closing duties

To: All baristas, Wren Street

From: Ivy Kowalski, store manager

Date: October 7

Two changes start next Monday. Please read both, even if you only work weekends.

Staff drinks. You may still make yourself one free drink per shift, but from Monday it must be made before your shift starts or during your break, not while you are on the bar. Several customers have waited while a drink was made for staff, and that is the part we are fixing, not the free drink itself.

Closing. The closing checklist now ends at 9:45 PM instead of 10:00 PM, because the new grinder takes fifteen minutes to clean properly. Nothing has been added to the list; the last order simply moves earlier. Please tell customers who arrive after 9:30 that the espresso machine may already be down.

One thing that is not changing: the tip jar is still split evenly across everyone scheduled that week, including trainees.

If a change makes your shift hard to manage, tell me directly rather than swapping it with someone. I would rather adjust the rota than find out later.

Q4 · Detail
What exactly is changing about staff drinks?
  1. A. Staff must now pay for drinks made during a shift.
  2. B. Only one drink per week is free from Monday.
  3. C. Drinks must be made before the shift or during a break.
  4. D. Trainees are no longer included in the free drink rule.
Answer
Correct: C
Q5 · Inference
What can be inferred about the closing time change?
  1. A. Baristas will now do more tasks than before in the same time.
  2. B. The store will lock its doors fifteen minutes earlier than before.
  3. C. Baristas will finish their shift later than they used to.
  4. D. The last drinks will be served earlier than they used to be.
Answer
Correct: D
Q6 · Expected Action
What does the manager ask a barista to do if the new schedule does not work for them?
  1. A. Speak to her directly instead of swapping shifts
  2. B. Swap the shift with another barista and inform her later
  3. C. Write the problem on the closing checklist
  4. D. Take the free drink during the break instead
Answer
Correct: A
3

Text 3 — Social Media Post

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

quiet_miles @quietmiles - 2d

Ran my first ten-kilometer race on Sunday. Finished in 63 minutes, which is slower than my training runs and I could not care less.

Here is what nobody warned me about. The first two kilometers are the dangerous part. Everyone around you is fresh, the crowd is loud, and you go out far too fast without noticing. I passed the 2K marker almost a minute ahead of my plan and paid for it on the hill at 7K.

The second thing: bring your own water bottle for before the start. There were tables at 3K and 6K, but nothing in the forty minutes of standing around beforehand, and I was thirsty before I had run a step.

The finish was strange. I expected to feel proud and mostly I felt confused about where my bag was.

Doing it again in March. If anyone has run the Halewood course, is the second half really as flat as people say?

41 replies - 8 reposts - 620 likes

Q7 · Purpose
Why did the writer post this?
  1. A. To complain that the race organizers provided too little water
  2. B. To pass on what he learned in his first race and ask about a future course
  3. C. To explain why he finished slower than in training
  4. D. To recommend the Halewood course to new runners
Answer
Correct: B
Q8 · Detail
What mistake does the writer say he made?
  1. A. He forgot to check where the water tables were.
  2. B. He left his bag at the wrong end of the finish area.
  3. C. He ran the first two kilometers faster than he had planned.
  4. D. He trained on hills instead of on a flat course.
Answer
Correct: C
Q9 · Vocabulary in Context
In the first line, "I could not care less" is closest in meaning to
  1. A. it does not bother him at all
  2. B. he is disappointed but hides it
  3. C. he does not remember his time
  4. D. he cares more than he expected to
Answer
Correct: A
4

Text 4 — Flyer

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

Tuesday Night Kitchen - six-week cooking course

Marlow Community Center, kitchen on the ground floor

Learn six weeknight meals you will actually cook again. No experience needed; several past students had never used a chef's knife.

  • Tuesdays, 6:00 to 8:00 PM, starting September 17
  • $90 for six weeks, or $18 per single session if places remain
  • Twelve students per course, working in pairs

Each evening you cook one full meal and eat it together at the end. Ingredients are included. You take home whatever is left, so bring a container.

Week 4 is knife skills and runs slightly longer. If you can only make five of the six evenings, we suggest you keep that one.

Tell us about allergies when you sign up, not on the night. We can plan around most of them, but not always with two hours' notice.

Sign up at the front desk or by phone. We do not take online payment. If a course is full, ask to be added to the waiting list; roughly two places open in most terms.

Q10 · Detail
How can someone register for the course?
  1. A. Online, using the center's payment page
  2. B. By turning up on the first evening with $18
  3. C. By joining the waiting list, which everyone must use
  4. D. At the front desk or by phone
Answer
Correct: D
Q11 · Purpose
Why does the flyer single out week 4?
  1. A. To warn that it costs more than the other sessions
  2. B. To advise students who must miss a week not to miss that one
  3. C. To explain that beginners should skip it
  4. D. To say that it is the only session with ingredients included
Answer
Correct: B
Q12 · Inference
What can be inferred about telling the center about a food allergy?
  1. A. Students with allergies are advised not to take the course.
  2. B. The center cannot accommodate any allergies.
  3. C. Allergy information changes what ingredients are bought in advance.
  4. D. Allergies should be mentioned to your cooking partner, not to staff.
Answer
Correct: C