Updated 2026-09-12intermediate

New TOEFL Reading: Read in Daily Life Practice #007 — A Street Market, a Study Group, a Scholarship, and a Canteen

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 — Flyer

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

Ferndale Street Market - first Sunday of every month

Ferndale Road, closed to traffic 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Sixty stalls: vegetables, bread, cheese, secondhand clothes, tools, plants, and two coffee carts.

Traders should arrive between 6:30 and 7:45 AM. Vans must be unloaded and moved to the school car park before the road closes at 8:00; vehicles left on Ferndale Road cannot be driven out until 5:00 PM.

Stall fees are $25 for a standard pitch and $40 for a corner pitch with two open sides. Pay the market steward in cash on the day. Traders who booked a pitch and do not come without telling us lose priority for the following month.

Shoppers: the market accepts cards at about half the stalls. There is a cash machine outside the pharmacy, which runs out by early afternoon on market days.

Dogs are welcome on the street but not inside the food tent at the north end.

We are looking for two more stewards. This is unpaid, runs 6:30 AM to 1:00 PM, and comes with a free pitch for the following month if you also trade.

Q1 · Inference
What can be inferred about a trader who arrives at 8:15 AM?
  1. A. They will pay a higher fee for a corner pitch.
  2. B. They will lose priority for the following month.
  3. C. Their van will have to stay until the road reopens.
  4. D. They will be given a pitch inside the food tent.
Answer
Correct: C
Q2 · Detail
How do traders pay for a pitch?
  1. A. In cash to the steward on the day
  2. B. By card at the market office before the first Sunday
  3. C. At the cash machine outside the pharmacy
  4. D. By working an unpaid shift as a steward
Answer
Correct: A
Q3 · Purpose
Why does the flyer mention the cash machine running out?
  1. A. To explain why stall fees must be paid in cash
  2. B. To suggest that shoppers bring cash with them
  3. C. To ask the pharmacy to refill it more often
  4. D. To warn that half the stalls have closed early
Answer
Correct: B
2

Text 2 — Message Thread

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

Stats 201 study group

Omar (4:41 PM): Room 3 in the library is booked for us Thursday 5 to 7. Four of us confirmed so far.

Lena (4:44 PM): I can come but only from 5:45. Is that a problem?

Omar (4:46 PM): Fine, but the room is released if nobody arrives in the first fifteen minutes, so someone has to be there at 5.

Sofia (5:02 PM): I will be there at 5. Can we start with the chapter 6 problem set rather than the lecture slides? I can follow the slides alone, the problems I cannot.

Omar (5:05 PM): Agreed. Bring your attempts even if they are wrong, otherwise we spend the whole two hours on the first question.

Lena (5:20 PM): Does anyone have last year's exam? Tobias said the department posts it but I cannot find it.

Omar (5:26 PM): It is on the course page under Resources, not under Past Papers, which is empty. I will print four copies.

Q4 · Detail
Why must someone arrive at 5:00?
  1. A. Because Lena cannot arrive until 5:45
  2. B. Because the room is released if nobody comes within fifteen minutes
  3. C. Because the library closes the room at 7:00
  4. D. Because the printed exam papers are collected at 5:00
Answer
Correct: B
Q5 · Purpose
Why does Omar ask everyone to bring their attempts?
  1. A. So the group does not spend the whole session on one question
  2. B. So he can mark them before Thursday
  3. C. So the group can compare them with last year's exam
  4. D. So Lena can catch up on what she misses before 5:45
Answer
Correct: A
Q6 · Inference
What can be inferred about last year's exam paper?
  1. A. It has not been posted by the department this year.
  2. B. Tobias was wrong about it being available.
  3. C. Lena looked in the wrong section of the course page.
  4. D. Only four copies exist and Omar has them all.
Answer
Correct: C
3

Text 3 — Email

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

Subject: Hallam Travel Grant - what to send by May 20

From: Student Funding Office

To: Second-year students

The Hallam Travel Grant covers up to $1,200 toward research travel between July and December. Fourteen grants were awarded last year from just over ninety applications.

Send three things by 5:00 PM on May 20: a one-page description of what you plan to do and why it needs travel, a rough budget, and a short note from your supervisor confirming the plan is realistic. The note goes directly from your supervisor to us, not through you.

Budgets do not need receipts or quotes at this stage. An honest estimate is enough, and we would rather see a plain figure for accommodation than an unexplained total.

The grant is paid after travel, against receipts. Students who cannot pay upfront should say so in the application; a partial advance is possible but must be requested now, not in July.

Applications that arrive late are not read. The system closes itself at 5:00 PM and we cannot reopen it, so aim for the morning if your internet is unreliable.

Q7 · Detail
Who sends the supervisor's note?
  1. A. The student, attached to the application
  2. B. The supervisor, directly to the funding office
  3. C. The department, after the deadline
  4. D. Nobody; it is only needed if a grant is awarded
Answer
Correct: B
Q8 · Inference
What can be inferred about a student who cannot pay for flights in advance?
  1. A. They are not eligible for this grant.
  2. B. They should apply again in July for an advance.
  3. C. They must submit receipts with the application.
  4. D. They should mention it in the May application.
Answer
Correct: D
Q9 · Purpose
Why does the email mention unreliable internet?
  1. A. To explain why the system sometimes closes early
  2. B. To offer an extension to students with connection problems
  3. C. To urge students to submit well before the 5:00 PM cutoff
  4. D. To ask students to apply from a campus computer
Answer
Correct: C
4

Text 4 — Notice

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

Notice: Canteen changes for the spring term

Ridgeway School, catering team

From January 8 the canteen will serve two hot meals each day instead of three. The third option was rarely chosen and most of it was thrown away.

The salad bar grows to take its place and will now be priced by weight rather than by bowl size, which means a plate of leaves costs less than the same plate with a scoop of pasta.

Hot meals stay at $3.20 with a student card. The card must be tapped by the student, not by a friend, and cards that are lent out are suspended for a week.

Students with allergies should collect a new colored card from the office. Last term's cards no longer match the menu, because two suppliers changed in December and the ingredient lists moved with them.

Break-time toast has moved from the canteen to the hatch by the sports hall, to reduce the queue at the main counter. It is served from 10:35 to 10:50 only, and the hatch does not take cash.

Q10 · Purpose
Why was the third hot meal removed?
  1. A. Because the salad bar was more popular with staff
  2. B. Because two suppliers changed in December
  3. C. Because few students chose it and most was wasted
  4. D. Because the price of hot meals had to stay at $3.20
Answer
Correct: C
Q11 · Inference
What can be inferred about the new salad bar pricing?
  1. A. Heavier items on the plate raise the price.
  2. B. Every plate now costs the same fixed amount.
  3. C. Salad is free for students with an allergy card.
  4. D. Bowl size still decides what a student pays.
Answer
Correct: A
Q12 · NOT / EXCEPT
All of the following are stated in the notice EXCEPT
  1. A. Toast is served for fifteen minutes at break.
  2. B. A lent student card is suspended for a week.
  3. C. Allergy cards from last term are out of date.
  4. D. The canteen will open earlier in the spring term.
Answer
Correct: D