Updated 2026-09-12upper

New TOEFL Reading: Read in Daily Life Practice #011 — Parking Permits, a Garden Plot, an Insurance Claim, and a Used Car

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 — Notice

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

Notice: Residents' parking zone K, changes from 1 June

Ellerton Borough Council

Zone K currently issues one permit per household and an unlimited number of visitor scratch cards. From 1 June, households may hold up to two permits, and visitor cards are capped at sixty per year.

The second permit costs three times the first. This is deliberate: the consultation found that the shortage is caused by second and third cars rather than by visitors, and pricing the second permit low would have removed the effect of capping it.

Households with no permit at all may buy visitor cards at the current price. Households with two permits pay double for visitor cards. Households with one permit pay the current price, as now.

Carers and health visitors are outside the cap entirely. Register the vehicle once with the council and it is exempt in every zone, not only Zone K.

Existing permits run to their expiry date and are not reissued early. If your permit expires in August, the new rules reach you in August, not in June.

Trade vehicles working at an address may park without a permit for up to five consecutive days. Beyond that, the household applies for a works dispensation, which is free but takes ten working days.

Q1 · Purpose
Why is the second permit priced so much higher than the first?
  1. A. Because the shortage comes mainly from extra household cars
  2. B. To pay for the cost of capping visitor cards
  3. C. To encourage households to register as carers instead
  4. D. Because trade vehicles occupy the zone for five days at a time
Answer
Correct: A
Q2 · Inference
A household holds two permits. What does it pay for visitor cards?
  1. A. Nothing, because two permits include visitor use
  2. B. The current price, as now
  3. C. Twice the current price
  4. D. Three times the current price
Answer
Correct: C
Q3 · Inference
A resident's permit expires in August. When do the new rules apply to them?
  1. A. In June, when the rules take effect for the zone
  2. B. Immediately, because existing permits are reissued early
  3. C. Ten working days after they apply for a dispensation
  4. D. In August, when the current permit expires
Answer
Correct: D
2

Text 2 — Flyer

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

Allotment plots available - Weir Lane Gardens

Applications close 28 February

Eleven plots are available this year, which is more than usual because the site has been divided. Six full plots of 250 square metres and five half plots of 125.

Rent is $70 a year for a full plot and $40 for a half. Water is included. There is no reduction for taking a plot late in the season, since the work of preparing it falls at the same time either way.

First-time holders are offered a half plot. We know this is not what most people ask for. Two thirds of full plots given to first-time holders in the last five years were returned within eighteen months, and a returned plot sits unworked for a season before the next holder can use it.

Plots must be cultivated. The committee inspects in June and September, and a plot that is more than half uncultivated at both inspections is reallocated. Illness or a family emergency pauses this; tell the secretary rather than hoping it is not noticed.

Sheds are allowed on full plots only, up to 6 square metres, and must be taken down when you leave unless the incoming holder wants it.

The waiting list currently runs to about two years, so apply even if you are not certain. Declining an offer moves you to the end of the list, but declining twice removes you.

Q4 · Purpose
Why does the flyer mention plots returned within eighteen months?
  1. A. To justify offering first-time holders a half plot
  2. B. To explain why rent is not reduced later in the season
  3. C. To warn that half plots are harder to keep cultivated
  4. D. To show that the waiting list is shorter than it appears
Answer
Correct: A
Q5 · Inference
A holder is ill and cannot work the plot in July. What should they do?
  1. A. Apply for a half plot instead at the next inspection
  2. B. Take down the shed before the September inspection
  3. C. Tell the secretary so the cultivation rule is paused
  4. D. Return the plot and rejoin the waiting list
Answer
Correct: C
Q6 · Inference
What can be inferred about declining an offer of a plot?
  1. A. It is not recorded if the reason is illness
  2. B. It is worth doing once but carries a real cost the second time
  3. C. It moves the applicant up the list for a full plot
  4. D. It is impossible once an application has been submitted
Answer
Correct: B
3

Text 3 — Email

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

Subject: Claim 4471-B - what we still need from you

From: Brayfield Insurance, claims team

To: Mr. D. Aguilar

Your claim for water damage to the kitchen floor is open and we have enough to begin, but two items are outstanding.

First, the plumber's report. We need the report that states the cause, not the invoice for the repair. The invoice you sent confirms that work was done and its cost; it does not say what failed, and the cause determines whether this falls under accidental damage or under wear.

Second, photographs taken before the floor was lifted. If none exist, say so in writing and we will proceed on the plumber's report alone. Claims are not refused for missing photographs, but they are slower, because the assessor then visits.

You asked whether to replace the flooring now or wait. Replace it if leaving it would cause further damage, and keep every receipt. We settle at the cost of a comparable material, not the cost of the material you choose, so if you upgrade, expect to meet the difference.

Your policy carries a $250 excess on water damage. This is deducted from the settlement, not billed separately.

We aim to decide within ten working days of receiving the last item. The clock starts then, not from the date the claim was opened.

Q7 · Detail
Why is the invoice not enough on its own?
  1. A. It does not show the cost of the repair
  2. B. It was sent after the floor had been lifted
  3. C. It was issued by a plumber rather than an assessor
  4. D. It does not state what failed
Answer
Correct: D
Q8 · Inference
What happens if the customer has no photographs?
  1. A. The claim is refused under the policy terms
  2. B. The excess rises from $250 to a higher figure
  3. C. The ten working days start from the date the claim opened
  4. D. The claim continues but takes longer, as an assessor visits
Answer
Correct: D
Q9 · Inference
The customer chooses more expensive flooring than the original. What follows?
  1. A. The settlement covers the new material in full
  2. B. The customer pays the difference above a comparable material
  3. C. The claim is reclassified as wear rather than accidental damage
  4. D. The excess is waived because receipts were kept
Answer
Correct: B
4

Text 4 — Social Media Post

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

second_gear_sam @secondgearsam - 9h

Bought a nine-year-old car last month after four months of looking. Writing this down because almost every guide I read focused on the wrong things.

Mileage mattered less than I expected. Two of the cars I rejected had low mileage and a service history with three-year gaps in it, which is worse: an engine that sat unused is not an engine that was looked after.

The test drive advice everyone gives is to listen for noises. Useful, but the thing that actually caught a problem was driving with the radio off for twenty minutes, long enough for the car to warm up. Both faults I found appeared only after fifteen minutes.

I paid $180 for an independent inspection on the car I eventually bought, and the report found nothing serious. People told me that was money wasted. It was not. I used it to argue the price down by $400, because the report listed two tyres near the legal limit.

Last thing, and this is the part I got wrong: I did not check the insurance quote before agreeing the price. The model I chose costs more to insure than the one I had shortlisted first, and that gap will outlast any discount I negotiated.

103 replies - 58 reposts - 1.4K likes

Q10 · Inference
Why did the writer reject two low-mileage cars?
  1. A. They were older than nine years
  2. B. Their service history had long gaps
  3. C. Their tyres were near the legal limit
  4. D. Their insurance quotes were too high
Answer
Correct: B
Q11 · Inference
What does the writer suggest about the $180 inspection?
  1. A. It should be paid for by the seller
  2. B. It is only worth it if the report finds something serious
  3. C. It paid for itself even though nothing serious was found
  4. D. It replaced the need for a long test drive
Answer
Correct: C
Q12 · Purpose
Why does the writer describe the insurance quote at the end?
  1. A. To admit a mistake that cost more than the discount he won
  2. B. To recommend the model he originally shortlisted
  3. C. To explain why he spent four months looking
  4. D. To argue that insurers charge too much for older cars
Answer
Correct: A