Updated 2026-09-12intermediate

New TOEFL Reading: Read in Daily Life Practice #008 — A Storeroom, a Storm Plan, a Language Exchange, and a Repair Shop

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

Read inEnglish한국어
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 — Workplace Memo

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

Memo: Clearing the third-floor storeroom

To: Everyone at Halvorsen Design

From: Bea Nkemelu, studio manager

Date: August 12

The third-floor storeroom becomes a meeting room in September, so it has to be empty by Friday, August 29.

Most of what is in there belongs to no one in particular: old monitors, sample books, and about forty boxes of printed work from before 2019. I will deal with those. What I cannot deal with is the personal material, because I do not know what matters.

Please go up this week and label anything of yours with your name and one of two words: KEEP or BIN. Unlabeled items will be photographed and posted in the studio channel on August 26, and anything still unclaimed on the 29th goes to recycling.

If you want to keep something bulky, it has to fit in your own drawer unit or go home with you. We are not renting storage, and the basement is not an option because of damp.

The printed work from before 2019 is the one exception. If you see a project you worked on and want a copy, take it now. Those boxes are going whatever happens, and there is no digital version of most of it.

Q1 · Expected Action
What does Bea ask staff to do this week?
  1. A. Move their belongings to the basement
  2. B. Label their own items KEEP or BIN
  3. C. Photograph anything they want to keep
  4. D. Send her a list of the boxes they own
Answer
Correct: B
Q2 · Inference
What can be inferred about an unlabeled box still in the room on August 27?
  1. A. It has already been sent to recycling.
  2. B. It will be moved into a drawer unit by the manager.
  3. C. Its photograph has been posted in the studio channel.
  4. D. It belongs to work printed before 2019.
Answer
Correct: C
Q3 · Purpose
Why does Bea single out the printed work from before 2019?
  1. A. To ask staff to scan it before the room is cleared
  2. B. To explain that those boxes will be kept in the new meeting room
  3. C. To say that it is the only material she cannot deal with herself
  4. D. To warn that it will be discarded and cannot be recovered later
Answer
Correct: D
2

Text 2 — Notice

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

Notice: Storm preparation for Thursday night

Larkhill Housing Cooperative

Strong winds are forecast from Thursday evening until Friday morning. Nothing about this is unusual for February, but two things on our site need attention.

Balconies. Please bring in anything loose, including plant pots, drying racks, and chairs. In the last storm a chair from a fourth-floor balcony broke a car windscreen below.

Bin store. The doors will be strapped shut from Thursday at 6:00 PM until Friday morning, because they blew open last year and the bins ended up on the road. Please put your rubbish out before 6:00 PM Thursday or keep it in your flat until Friday.

The power supply here is underground and rarely affected by wind. If the lights do go out, the building's emergency lighting covers the stairs for three hours, and the office has a small number of torches to lend.

Do not report a fallen branch to the office out of hours. Call the council's line on the notice board, which is staffed overnight; the office is not.

Q4 · Detail
What should residents do with rubbish on Thursday evening?
  1. A. Put it out before 6:00 PM or keep it until Friday
  2. B. Leave it beside the strapped bin store doors
  3. C. Take it to the council's overnight collection point
  4. D. Store it on the balcony away from loose items
Answer
Correct: A
Q5 · Inference
What can be inferred about a power cut during the storm?
  1. A. It is likely, because wind regularly damages the supply here.
  2. B. It would leave the stairs dark immediately.
  3. C. It is unlikely, but the building is prepared for one.
  4. D. It would be reported by the office overnight.
Answer
Correct: C
Q6 · Purpose
Why does the notice describe the chair that fell last time?
  1. A. To warn that damaged cars will not be compensated
  2. B. To show why loose balcony items must be brought inside
  3. C. To ask residents on the fourth floor to move indoors
  4. D. To explain why the bin store doors are now strapped
Answer
Correct: B
3

Text 3 — Social Media Post

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

tuesday_tandem @tuesdaytandem - 5h

One year of a language exchange today. Same person, same cafe, one hour every Tuesday: thirty minutes in Portuguese, thirty in Korean, timer on the table.

The timer sounds silly and it is the only reason this lasted. Without it we drifted into whichever language was easier that day, which always meant the stronger speaker won and the other one practiced nothing.

The second rule we added in month three: no correcting inside the thirty minutes. Write the mistake down, hand the paper over at the end. Being stopped mid-sentence made both of us quieter, and quiet is the opposite of the point.

I still cannot understand films without subtitles. But I can handle a phone call with a stranger, which a year ago would have ruined my whole day.

If you have tried an exchange and it fizzled out, it was probably not the partner. It was probably that nobody set the rules in the first week.

77 replies - 210 reposts - 1.9K likes

Q7 · Detail
What problem did the timer solve?
  1. A. The meetings ran longer than an hour.
  2. B. Corrections interrupted the conversation.
  3. C. They drifted into whichever language was easier.
  4. D. The stronger speaker arrived late each week.
Answer
Correct: C
Q8 · Inference
What can be inferred about the no-correcting rule?
  1. A. It means mistakes are never pointed out at all.
  2. B. It was in place from the very first meeting.
  3. C. It was needed because one partner corrected too harshly.
  4. D. It keeps both speakers talking rather than falling silent.
Answer
Correct: D
Q9 · Purpose
Why does the writer end with a comment about exchanges that fizzle out?
  1. A. To suggest the failure usually comes from missing rules, not the wrong partner
  2. B. To ask readers to recommend a new partner
  3. C. To explain why he stopped meeting his own partner
  4. D. To argue that most people should learn alone instead
Answer
Correct: A
4

Text 4 — Email

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

Subject: Your bike is ready - Cogwheel Repairs

From: Cogwheel Repairs

To: Anika Brenner

Your bike is ready to collect. The total is $84, which is less than the estimate because the rear wheel could be trued rather than replaced.

We did the three things you asked for: new brake pads, a new chain, and the gear cable. While the chain was off we noticed the rear sprockets are worn. They will still work for a few hundred kilometers, but a new chain wears out quickly on old sprockets, so you may find the chain slipping sooner than you expect. We have not replaced them and will not without asking.

The old chain is in a bag on the bike if you want to see the stretch for yourself. Otherwise we recycle it.

Collection is until 6:00 PM on weekdays and 4:00 PM on Saturday. We are closed Sunday and Monday. Bikes left more than fourteen days are charged $2 per day for storage, which we mention because the workshop is genuinely full.

The work carries a three-month guarantee on parts and labor. Bring this email if you come back.

Q10 · Detail
Why is the bill lower than the estimate?
  1. A. The rear wheel was straightened instead of replaced.
  2. B. The sprockets were left as they were.
  3. C. The old chain was recycled by the shop.
  4. D. A three-month guarantee covered part of the cost.
Answer
Correct: A
Q11 · Inference
What can be inferred about the rear sprockets?
  1. A. They were replaced along with the chain.
  2. B. They are likely to need replacing before long.
  3. C. They are covered by the three-month guarantee.
  4. D. They caused the brake pads to wear out.
Answer
Correct: B
Q12 · Purpose
Why does the shop mention the storage charge?
  1. A. To explain why the total came to $84
  2. B. To offer storage while Anika is away
  3. C. To encourage her to collect the bike soon, as space is short
  4. D. To warn that the guarantee ends after fourteen days
Answer
Correct: C