Updated 2026-09-12easy

New TOEFL Reading: Read in Daily Life Practice #026 — A Hotel Booking, a Market, a Snow Day, and Learning to Cook

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: Booking confirmed - two nights in July

From: Harbour View Hotel

To: P. Duarte

Your booking is confirmed for 12 and 13 July, one room with two beds.

Check-in is from 3 PM. Check-out is at 11 AM. If you arrive early, we can keep your bags at the desk.

Breakfast is included and is served from 7 to 10 AM in the room next to reception.

Parking is free but there are only eight spaces. They cannot be booked. There is a public car park five minutes away for $8 a day.

You can cancel free until 5 July. After that we charge one night.

The lift is out of use until the end of June, so it will be working when you arrive. Your room is on the third floor.

Q1 · Detail
What can guests do if they arrive before 3 PM?
  1. A. Go straight to the room
  2. B. Park in the public car park free
  3. C. Have breakfast
  4. D. Leave bags at the desk
Answer
Correct: D
Q2 · Inference
What does the email suggest about hotel parking?
  1. A. It must be booked in advance
  2. B. It costs $8 a day
  3. C. A space is not guaranteed
  4. D. It is only for guests on the third floor
Answer
Correct: C
Q3 · Detail
When is cancellation free?
  1. A. Until 5 July
  2. B. Until 12 July
  3. C. Until the end of June
  4. D. At any time
Answer
Correct: A
2

Text 2 — Flyer

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

Saturday farmers market

Town square, 8 AM to 1 PM, every Saturday

Fresh fruit, vegetables, bread, honey, cheese, and flowers from farms near the town.

Most stalls take cards. Two of the farm stalls take cash only, so bring some.

Come early for bread. The bakery stall usually sells out by 10 AM.

Bring your own bags. We stopped giving out plastic bags last year.

There is a coffee van near the fountain and tables by the library wall.

The market moves inside the sports hall in bad weather. Look at our page on Saturday morning if the weather looks bad.

Parking in the square is closed on Saturdays. Use the car park behind the church.

Q4 · Detail
Why should shoppers bring cash?
  1. A. No stall takes cards
  2. B. Two farm stalls take cash only
  3. C. The coffee van has no card machine
  4. D. Cards cost extra at the market
Answer
Correct: B
Q5 · Inference
Someone arrives at 11 AM and wants bread. What is likely?
  1. A. The bakery stall may have sold out
  2. B. The bread is cheaper then
  3. C. The bakery moves inside at 11
  4. D. Bread is only sold with cash
Answer
Correct: A
Q6 · Expected Action
What should shoppers do if the weather looks bad?
  1. A. Wait until next Saturday
  2. B. Go to the church car park first
  3. C. Check the market's page that morning
  4. D. Bring extra bags
Answer
Correct: C
3

Text 3 — Notice

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

Notice: School closed on Tuesday

Larch Hill Primary School

The school will be closed on Tuesday because of the snow. The roads to the school are not safe for the buses.

Teachers will put work on the class page by 9 AM. Children should do about one hour of work.

The after-school club is also closed. Payments for Tuesday will be returned in next month's bill.

School lunches are not provided. Families who receive free school meals can collect a food box from the main office between 11 AM and 1 PM.

We will send a message on Tuesday evening about Wednesday. Please do not call the office; the phones are busy.

If the snow stops, the school will open as normal on Wednesday.

Q7 · Detail
Why is the school closed?
  1. A. The heating is broken
  2. B. Teachers are in training
  3. C. The office phones are down
  4. D. The roads are unsafe for buses
Answer
Correct: D
Q8 · Detail
Where can families on free school meals get food?
  1. A. From the class page
  2. B. From the bus driver
  3. C. From the after-school club
  4. D. From the main office, 11 AM to 1 PM
Answer
Correct: D
Q9 · Expected Action
How will parents learn about Wednesday?
  1. A. By calling the office on Tuesday
  2. B. From a message on Tuesday evening
  3. C. From the bus driver on Wednesday
  4. D. From the class page at 9 AM
Answer
Correct: B
4

Text 4 — Social Media Post

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

one_pot_tomas @onepottomas - 4h

I could not cook at all in January. Now I make six meals well. Here is what helped.

I cooked the same meal every week for a month. Boring, but by week four I did not need the recipe.

I stopped buying special things for one dish. Rice, eggs, onions, and tinned tomatoes are in almost everything I make.

I burned things because I used high heat to save time. Medium heat and a bit more patience fixed most of my problems.

I also started washing up while things cook. Cooking feels much easier when the kitchen is not full of dishes at the end.

Next month I want to learn one soup and one dish with fish.

48 replies - 17 reposts - 820 likes

Q10 · Detail
Why did he cook the same meal for a month?
  1. A. It was the cheapest meal
  2. B. So he could cook it without the recipe
  3. C. Because he only had four ingredients
  4. D. Because it was the only dish he liked
Answer
Correct: B
Q11 · Detail
What caused him to burn food?
  1. A. Using high heat
  2. B. Washing up while cooking
  3. C. Using tinned tomatoes
  4. D. Cooking six meals at once
Answer
Correct: A
Q12 · Purpose
Why did he write this post?
  1. A. To ask for a recipe for fish
  2. B. To sell a cookbook
  3. C. To share what helped him learn to cook
  4. D. To complain that cooking is too hard
Answer
Correct: C