TOEFL Reading practice passages with answers, printable
Read in Daily Life and Read an Academic Passage sets in the 2026 shape — the passage, the questions, the key, and the reason each distractor was written. That last part is the one the printable packs on the first page of Google leave out.
Free, no account and no email address. toefl-2026-reading-passages-answers.pdf
What is in it
- Every Reading passage Reach120 has editorially approved for publication in the Read in Daily Life and Read an Academic Passage task types, printed whole.
- All questions for each passage with the answer key, so the pack can be worked on paper and marked afterwards.
- An explanation for the correct answer and, for every wrong option, the reason that option was written — which is what turns a mark into a diagnosis.
- The word count and the domain of each passage, so a set can be picked for the kind of reading you want to practise.
What it does not cover
- Complete the Words, the third Reading task type. It ships as its own pack because it is a gapped-passage drill rather than a question set.
- The two-stage adaptive delivery. A printed pack is a fixed set of passages; the router-plus-module design is part of the real test and cannot be put on paper.
- A timer. The pack is for working through and marking; the free browser drill is where the clock matters.
- Every passage in the Reading bank. Only editorially approved passages are published, which is a smaller set than the bank and deliberately so.
4 Reading passages, 16 questions, every answer explained
Each passage is printed whole with its question set underneath. The key is followed by the reason it is right and, for every wrong option, the reason that option was written — read those before you read the correct answer.
Passage 1
Airport Shuttle Departures
Schedule · Level 3 · 97 words · 3 questions
1. What can a standby rider expect?
- A.A discount on the fare.
- B.A seat only if reserved riders leave room.Answer
- C.A guaranteed seat on any run.
- D.Priority over reservation holders.
Why B (A seat only if reserved riders leave room.) is the answer: The schedule says standby riders board only if seats remain after reservations.
- A. No fare discount is mentioned.
- C. Standby is not guaranteed a seat.
- D. Standby comes after reservation holders, not before.
2. According to the schedule, which statement is NOT true?
- A.The 5:30 a.m. run operates on holidays.Answer
- B.Riders may bring one suitcase and one carry-on.
- C.There is a 6:00 p.m. departure.
- D.Travel time is about 40 minutes normally.
Why A (The 5:30 a.m. run operates on holidays.) is the answer: The schedule says the 5:30 a.m. run does not operate on holidays, so 'operates on holidays' is false.
- B. One suitcase and one carry-on per rider is allowed.
- C. A 6:00 p.m. departure is listed.
- D. Travel time is stated as about 40 minutes in normal traffic.
3. How far ahead must a rider reserve a seat?
- A.The night before.
- B.No reservation is needed.
- C.At least two hours before departure.Answer
- D.At least 40 minutes before departure.
Why C (At least two hours before departure.) is the answer: The schedule says to reserve online at least two hours before departure.
- A. No overnight requirement is stated.
- B. Standby riders board only if seats remain, so reservations matter.
- D. Forty minutes is the travel time, not the reservation window.
Passage 2
Art Supply Clearance Sale
Ad · Level 3 · 77 words · 3 questions
1. Why does the store say everything must go?
- A.Because it is making room for a spring restockAnswer
- B.Because gift cards are expiring
- C.Because it is closing permanently
- D.Because the products are defective
Why A (Because it is making room for a spring restock) is the answer: The ad says 'Everything must go before our spring restock,' linking the sale to new stock coming in.
- B. Gift cards still work; no expiration is mentioned.
- C. A restock implies the store is continuing, not closing.
- D. Nothing suggests the items are defective.
2. How much do the easels cost during the sale?
- A.Half price
- B.Free
- C.$45
- D.$20Answer
Why D ($20) is the answer: The ad lists easels at '$20 (was $45).'
- A. Half price applies to loose brushes.
- B. Easels are discounted, not free.
- C. $45 was the original price.
3. According to the ad, all of the following are true EXCEPT:
- A.Clearance items can be returned within the week.Answer
- B.The first twenty shoppers get a free watercolor tube.
- C.Acrylic paint sets are 40% off.
- D.The sale runs this weekend only.
Why A (Clearance items can be returned within the week.) is the answer: The ad states clearance items are 'final sale — no returns or exchanges,' so returns are not allowed.
- B. The first twenty shoppers receive a free watercolor sample.
- C. Acrylic paint sets are listed at 40% off.
- D. The ad says 'This weekend only.'
Passage 3
A Butterfly's Long Journey
Life Science · Level 4 · 199 words · 5 questions
1. The word "unraveling" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
- A.celebrating
- B.tying together
- C.working outAnswer
- D.ignoring
Why C (working out) is the answer: Scientists are still figuring out the puzzle, so unraveling means working out.
- A. Celebrating is unrelated to solving a puzzle.
- B. Tying together is nearly the opposite of unraveling a puzzle.
- D. They are actively studying it, not ignoring it.
2. What can be inferred from the fact that no single butterfly makes the round trip?
- A.The route cannot be learned by imitating experienced individualsAnswer
- B.Each butterfly lives for several years
- C.The route changes completely each year
- D.The butterflies never reach the wintering grounds
Why A (The route cannot be learned by imitating experienced individuals) is the answer: Since the travelers have never seen the destination, they cannot be copying experienced individuals.
- B. The generations turn over, implying short lives.
- C. They return to the same specific patches each year.
- D. They do reach specific wintering sites.
3. Which sentence best states the main idea of the passage?
- A.Monarchs face no threats to their migration
- B.Monarchs migrate only when older butterflies lead them
- C.Monarch migration is a remarkable, inherited journey that is also fragileAnswer
- D.Monarch wintering sites change randomly each year
Why C (Monarch migration is a remarkable, inherited journey that is also fragile) is the answer: The passage stresses the inherited, remarkable journey and its fragility.
- A. The passage says the migration is fragile and threatened.
- B. No experienced leaders exist for the trip.
- D. They return to the same specific sites.
4. Where would this sentence best fit in paragraph 1? "Several generations are born and die during a single yearly cycle."
- A.Position [C]Answer
- B.Position [B]
- C.Position [A]
- D.Position [D]
Why A (Position [C]) is the answer: The sentence about several generations fits after noting that great-grandparents left the site, explaining how the route is passed down.
- B. Position B interrupts the point that the flyers have never seen the destination.
- C. Position A comes before the generational detail is introduced.
- D. Position D ends the paragraph after the conclusion is drawn, making it redundant.
5. According to paragraph 2, how do the butterflies appear to navigate?
- A.By memorizing landmarks from a previous trip
- B.By using the sun's position, adjusted for the time of dayAnswer
- C.By following the wind
- D.By following older butterflies who know the route
Why B (By using the sun's position, adjusted for the time of day) is the answer: The passage says they use the sun as a compass, adjusting for the time of day.
- A. The migrating insects have never seen the destination.
- C. Wind is not mentioned as a guide.
- D. No single butterfly has made the trip before to lead others.
Passage 4
Building Toward the Sky
History And Engineering · Level 3 · 181 words · 5 questions
1. What can be inferred about buildings before steel framing?
- A.They could rise indefinitely with thin glass walls.
- B.They had no lower walls at all.
- C.They relied on elevators to carry their weight.
- D.Their maximum height was constrained by how much weight the walls could bear.Answer
Why D (Their maximum height was constrained by how much weight the walls could bear.) is the answer: The passage says walls carried the weight and grew impractically massive, limiting height.
- A. Thin glass walls came only after steel framing.
- B. Older buildings depended heavily on their lower walls.
- C. Elevators moved people, not building weight.
2. The word "impractical" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to
- A.beautiful
- B.expensive
- C.temporary
- D.unworkableAnswer
Why D (unworkable) is the answer: Massive base walls made adding floors unworkable, so 'impractical' means unworkable.
- A. Appearance is unrelated to the meaning.
- B. Cost is not the sense stressed; feasibility is.
- C. Duration is not what impractical means here.
3. What is the main idea of the passage?
- A.Elevators were invented before any tall buildings existed.
- B.Steel framing and the safety elevator allowed buildings to rise far higher and reshaped cities.Answer
- C.Thick stone walls are the best way to build tall structures.
- D.Cities became less crowded once towers appeared.
Why B (Steel framing and the safety elevator allowed buildings to rise far higher and reshaped cities.) is the answer: The passage credits steel skeletons and safe elevators with removing the height ceiling and transforming cities.
- A. The passage links elevators to reaching the new upper floors, not to preceding all tall buildings.
- C. Thick walls limited height, which the new methods overcame.
- D. Towers packed more activity onto downtown land, increasing density.
4. Look at the four markers [A], [B], [C], and [D] in paragraph 2. Where would the following sentence best fit? "With the frame doing the work, walls no longer had to grow thicker toward the ground."
- A.[C]
- B.[B]Answer
- C.[A]
- D.[D]
Why B ([B]) is the answer: The sentence follows the introduction of the steel frame and sets up the point that walls became thin, fitting at [B].
- A. At [C] the discussion has moved to elevators, breaking the topic.
- C. At [A] the frame has not yet been introduced, so 'the frame' has no referent.
- D. At [D] the elevator point is complete; the wall idea would be out of place.
5. According to paragraph 2, what allowed exterior walls to become thin?
- A.The building had fewer floors overall.
- B.The walls were made of heavier stone than before.
- C.The elevator supported the weight of the walls.
- D.A steel skeleton bore the building's load instead of the walls.Answer
Why D (A steel skeleton bore the building's load instead of the walls.) is the answer: The passage says the steel frame bore the load, freeing walls to become thin curtains.
- A. The frame allowed more floors, not fewer.
- B. Walls became thin curtains, not heavier stone.
- C. The elevator reached upper floors; it did not carry wall weight.
Every question in these files is a Reach120 practice item taken from the bank our learners practise against. None of them is a real TOEFL test question, and nothing here is published, licensed, endorsed or reviewed by ETS.
What the 2026 Reading section asks for
Reading in the 2026 format is three task types rather than one long passage set: short everyday texts, a gapped-word drill, and one academic passage with a question set. This pack carries the first and third; the gapped drill is its own pack.
What ETS states
The 2026 specification lists the Reading section at 50 items and 35 raw points, with task types Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life, and Read an Academic Passage.
These are published blueprint values, which the specification states are subject to minor revisions until the official launch. The item count includes non-scored items, so items do not equal raw points — the specification lists a maximum of 1 point per scored item.
The specification lists an estimated Reading time of an 18–21 minute router plus a 9 minute module, in a two-stage router-plus-module adaptive design.
The times are estimated. Reading prints a single 9 minute module for both routes, unlike Listening, which prints two discrete module lengths.
Reading items are machine-scored selected responses, evaluated by rule-based algorithms per the specification’s item-type notes.
Machine-scored is not exclusive to Reading and Listening — Build a Sentence is machine-scored too. This says nothing about how Reach120 scores your practice.
Sourced from the ETS 2026 test specifications, read 2026-07-27. Everything outside this box is Reach120’s own reading of it.
How to work a passage so the marking is worth something
- 1Answer every question for a passage before you look at a single answer. Marking one question at a time turns a test into a guided tour.
- 2On the ones you got wrong, read the distractor explanation before the correct one. The wrong option was written to catch a specific misreading, and that misreading is the thing to fix.
- 3On the ones you got right, check the explanation anyway. A right answer for the wrong reason is the same mistake, waiting.
- 4Time yourself only on a second pass. Comprehension first, speed second — the reverse order teaches guessing.
Why the wrong-option notes matter more than the key
Every printable Reading pack on the first page of the results serves a passage, questions and a letter. A letter tells you that you were wrong. It does not tell you which reading habit produced the wrong answer, and that is the only part that changes a score.
Each distractor in this pack ships with the note the item writer left on it — the partial reading, the plausible-but-unsupported inference, the detail lifted from the wrong paragraph. Reading four of those notes takes a minute and is worth more than the next passage.
Common questions
- Do I need an account to download this?
- No. The PDF downloads directly from this page with no account and no email address, and every passage, question, key and explanation is printed on this page as well.
- Are these real TOEFL passages?
- Every question in these files is a Reach120 practice item taken from the bank our learners practise against. None of them is a real TOEFL test question, and nothing here is published, licensed, endorsed or reviewed by ETS.
- Why are there not more passages in the pack?
- Because only passages an editor has approved for publication are published. That is a deliberately smaller set than the Reading bank our learners practise against, and it is the same gate the sample library uses. The pack grows as more sets clear review, and the count on this page is whatever it holds today rather than a number typed once.
- Does the pack match the adaptive test?
- It matches the task types and the question style, not the delivery. The 2026 Reading section is a two-stage router-plus-module design per the specification read on 2026-07-27, and a fixed printed pack cannot reproduce that. The full mock in the app runs the sections end to end.
- Where is Complete the Words?
- In its own pack. It is the third Reading task type but a different exercise — a passage with the ends of words removed — so it gets its own page and its own file rather than a section buried in this one.