TOEFL iBT — Test of English as a Foreign Language
Take the TOEFL Reading — Academic Passages, Set 1: 20 multiple-choice questions (30 minutes) with instant scoring and a full answer review. Covers 20…
What this test covers
The first 5 questions of this test, with the correct answer and explanation.
Q1. Read the passage: Urban Heat Islands Cities are often several degrees warmer than the countryside around them, a pattern known as the urban heat island effect. Several features of cities combine to produce it. Dark surfaces such as asphalt and roofing absorb sunlight during the day and release the stored heat slowly at night. Cities also have fewer trees and less exposed soil, so less water evaporates; evaporation normally carries heat away from the ground. In addition, cars, factories and air-conditioning units release waste heat directly into the streets. The consequences go beyond discomfort. Higher temperatures increase the demand for electricity, worsen air quality and raise the risk of heat-related illness, especially for elderly people. Planners have proposed several ways to mitigate the effect, including painting roofs in light colours that reflect sunlight, planting street trees and creating parks that cool the surrounding neighbourhoods. What is the passage mainly about?
Answer: B. The causes and effects of higher temperatures in cities, and ways to reduce them
Explanation: The passage explains why cities are warmer, the consequences, and possible solutions.
Q2. Read the passage: Urban Heat Islands Cities are often several degrees warmer than the countryside around them, a pattern known as the urban heat island effect. Several features of cities combine to produce it. Dark surfaces such as asphalt and roofing absorb sunlight during the day and release the stored heat slowly at night. Cities also have fewer trees and less exposed soil, so less water evaporates; evaporation normally carries heat away from the ground. In addition, cars, factories and air-conditioning units release waste heat directly into the streets. The consequences go beyond discomfort. Higher temperatures increase the demand for electricity, worsen air quality and raise the risk of heat-related illness, especially for elderly people. Planners have proposed several ways to mitigate the effect, including painting roofs in light colours that reflect sunlight, planting street trees and creating parks that cool the surrounding neighbourhoods. The word "mitigate" in the passage is closest in meaning to
Answer: A. reduce
Explanation: Painting roofs, planting trees and creating parks are ways to lessen (reduce) the effect.
Q3. Read the passage: Urban Heat Islands Cities are often several degrees warmer than the countryside around them, a pattern known as the urban heat island effect. Several features of cities combine to produce it. Dark surfaces such as asphalt and roofing absorb sunlight during the day and release the stored heat slowly at night. Cities also have fewer trees and less exposed soil, so less water evaporates; evaporation normally carries heat away from the ground. In addition, cars, factories and air-conditioning units release waste heat directly into the streets. The consequences go beyond discomfort. Higher temperatures increase the demand for electricity, worsen air quality and raise the risk of heat-related illness, especially for elderly people. Planners have proposed several ways to mitigate the effect, including painting roofs in light colours that reflect sunlight, planting street trees and creating parks that cool the surrounding neighbourhoods. According to the passage, why does a lack of trees and soil make cities warmer?
Answer: C. Less water evaporates, and evaporation normally carries heat away
Explanation: The passage says less exposed soil and fewer trees mean less evaporation, which normally removes heat.
Q4. Read the passage: Urban Heat Islands Cities are often several degrees warmer than the countryside around them, a pattern known as the urban heat island effect. Several features of cities combine to produce it. Dark surfaces such as asphalt and roofing absorb sunlight during the day and release the stored heat slowly at night. Cities also have fewer trees and less exposed soil, so less water evaporates; evaporation normally carries heat away from the ground. In addition, cars, factories and air-conditioning units release waste heat directly into the streets. The consequences go beyond discomfort. Higher temperatures increase the demand for electricity, worsen air quality and raise the risk of heat-related illness, especially for elderly people. Planners have proposed several ways to mitigate the effect, including painting roofs in light colours that reflect sunlight, planting street trees and creating parks that cool the surrounding neighbourhoods. All of the following are mentioned as consequences of the urban heat island effect EXCEPT
Answer: C. more frequent earthquakes
Explanation: Electricity demand, air quality and illness are listed; earthquakes are not mentioned.
Q5. Read the passage: Urban Heat Islands Cities are often several degrees warmer than the countryside around them, a pattern known as the urban heat island effect. Several features of cities combine to produce it. Dark surfaces such as asphalt and roofing absorb sunlight during the day and release the stored heat slowly at night. Cities also have fewer trees and less exposed soil, so less water evaporates; evaporation normally carries heat away from the ground. In addition, cars, factories and air-conditioning units release waste heat directly into the streets. The consequences go beyond discomfort. Higher temperatures increase the demand for electricity, worsen air quality and raise the risk of heat-related illness, especially for elderly people. Planners have proposed several ways to mitigate the effect, including painting roofs in light colours that reflect sunlight, planting street trees and creating parks that cool the surrounding neighbourhoods. Why does the author mention elderly people?
Answer: C. To identify a group especially at risk from high temperatures
Explanation: They are named as being especially vulnerable to heat-related illness.
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Q6. Read the passage: The Origins of the Domestic Horse For decades, many researchers believed that horses were first domesticated by the Botai culture of what is now Kazakhstan, about 5,500 years ago. Archaeologists had found horse bones at Botai sites in enormous numbers, along with traces of what appeared to be horse milk in pottery. However, genetic studies published in 2018 complicated this picture. They showed that the Botai horses were the ancestors not of modern domestic horses but of Przewalski's horses, a population that later returned to the wild. Later work traced the ancestors of today's domestic horses to the steppes of western Eurasia, near the Volga and Don rivers, and suggested that they spread rapidly across Asia and Europe from around 4,200 years ago. The story of horse domestication is therefore less simple than once thought: people may have managed horses in more than one place, but only one lineage gave rise to the horses we know today. What is the main point of the passage?
Q7. Read the passage: The Origins of the Domestic Horse For decades, many researchers believed that horses were first domesticated by the Botai culture of what is now Kazakhstan, about 5,500 years ago. Archaeologists had found horse bones at Botai sites in enormous numbers, along with traces of what appeared to be horse milk in pottery. However, genetic studies published in 2018 complicated this picture. They showed that the Botai horses were the ancestors not of modern domestic horses but of Przewalski's horses, a population that later returned to the wild. Later work traced the ancestors of today's domestic horses to the steppes of western Eurasia, near the Volga and Don rivers, and suggested that they spread rapidly across Asia and Europe from around 4,200 years ago. The story of horse domestication is therefore less simple than once thought: people may have managed horses in more than one place, but only one lineage gave rise to the horses we know today. According to the passage, what did the 2018 genetic studies show?
Q8. Read the passage: The Origins of the Domestic Horse For decades, many researchers believed that horses were first domesticated by the Botai culture of what is now Kazakhstan, about 5,500 years ago. Archaeologists had found horse bones at Botai sites in enormous numbers, along with traces of what appeared to be horse milk in pottery. However, genetic studies published in 2018 complicated this picture. They showed that the Botai horses were the ancestors not of modern domestic horses but of Przewalski's horses, a population that later returned to the wild. Later work traced the ancestors of today's domestic horses to the steppes of western Eurasia, near the Volga and Don rivers, and suggested that they spread rapidly across Asia and Europe from around 4,200 years ago. The story of horse domestication is therefore less simple than once thought: people may have managed horses in more than one place, but only one lineage gave rise to the horses we know today. The word "complicated" in the passage is closest in meaning to
Q9. Read the passage: The Origins of the Domestic Horse For decades, many researchers believed that horses were first domesticated by the Botai culture of what is now Kazakhstan, about 5,500 years ago. Archaeologists had found horse bones at Botai sites in enormous numbers, along with traces of what appeared to be horse milk in pottery. However, genetic studies published in 2018 complicated this picture. They showed that the Botai horses were the ancestors not of modern domestic horses but of Przewalski's horses, a population that later returned to the wild. Later work traced the ancestors of today's domestic horses to the steppes of western Eurasia, near the Volga and Don rivers, and suggested that they spread rapidly across Asia and Europe from around 4,200 years ago. The story of horse domestication is therefore less simple than once thought: people may have managed horses in more than one place, but only one lineage gave rise to the horses we know today. According to the passage, where are the ancestors of today's domestic horses traced to?
Q10. Read the passage: The Origins of the Domestic Horse For decades, many researchers believed that horses were first domesticated by the Botai culture of what is now Kazakhstan, about 5,500 years ago. Archaeologists had found horse bones at Botai sites in enormous numbers, along with traces of what appeared to be horse milk in pottery. However, genetic studies published in 2018 complicated this picture. They showed that the Botai horses were the ancestors not of modern domestic horses but of Przewalski's horses, a population that later returned to the wild. Later work traced the ancestors of today's domestic horses to the steppes of western Eurasia, near the Volga and Don rivers, and suggested that they spread rapidly across Asia and Europe from around 4,200 years ago. The story of horse domestication is therefore less simple than once thought: people may have managed horses in more than one place, but only one lineage gave rise to the horses we know today. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
Q11. Read the passage: From Continental Drift to Plate Tectonics In 1912 the German scientist Alfred Wegener proposed that the continents had once been joined in a single landmass and had slowly drifted apart. He pointed to several kinds of evidence. The coastlines of South America and Africa fit together remarkably well; fossils of the same land reptiles appear on continents now separated by oceans; and rock formations on opposite sides of the Atlantic match closely. Yet most geologists rejected his idea, mainly because Wegener could not explain what force could move entire continents. The theory was revived in the 1950s and 1960s, when surveys of the ocean floor revealed long volcanic ridges where new crust forms, and magnetic patterns in the rock on either side of the ridges that mirror each other. These discoveries supported the idea of seafloor spreading and led to the modern theory of plate tectonics, which explains not only moving continents but also earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain building. What was the main reason most geologists rejected Wegener's idea?
Q12. Read the passage: From Continental Drift to Plate Tectonics In 1912 the German scientist Alfred Wegener proposed that the continents had once been joined in a single landmass and had slowly drifted apart. He pointed to several kinds of evidence. The coastlines of South America and Africa fit together remarkably well; fossils of the same land reptiles appear on continents now separated by oceans; and rock formations on opposite sides of the Atlantic match closely. Yet most geologists rejected his idea, mainly because Wegener could not explain what force could move entire continents. The theory was revived in the 1950s and 1960s, when surveys of the ocean floor revealed long volcanic ridges where new crust forms, and magnetic patterns in the rock on either side of the ridges that mirror each other. These discoveries supported the idea of seafloor spreading and led to the modern theory of plate tectonics, which explains not only moving continents but also earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain building. All of the following are given as evidence Wegener used EXCEPT
Q13. Read the passage: From Continental Drift to Plate Tectonics In 1912 the German scientist Alfred Wegener proposed that the continents had once been joined in a single landmass and had slowly drifted apart. He pointed to several kinds of evidence. The coastlines of South America and Africa fit together remarkably well; fossils of the same land reptiles appear on continents now separated by oceans; and rock formations on opposite sides of the Atlantic match closely. Yet most geologists rejected his idea, mainly because Wegener could not explain what force could move entire continents. The theory was revived in the 1950s and 1960s, when surveys of the ocean floor revealed long volcanic ridges where new crust forms, and magnetic patterns in the rock on either side of the ridges that mirror each other. These discoveries supported the idea of seafloor spreading and led to the modern theory of plate tectonics, which explains not only moving continents but also earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain building. The word "revived" in the passage is closest in meaning to
Q14. Read the passage: From Continental Drift to Plate Tectonics In 1912 the German scientist Alfred Wegener proposed that the continents had once been joined in a single landmass and had slowly drifted apart. He pointed to several kinds of evidence. The coastlines of South America and Africa fit together remarkably well; fossils of the same land reptiles appear on continents now separated by oceans; and rock formations on opposite sides of the Atlantic match closely. Yet most geologists rejected his idea, mainly because Wegener could not explain what force could move entire continents. The theory was revived in the 1950s and 1960s, when surveys of the ocean floor revealed long volcanic ridges where new crust forms, and magnetic patterns in the rock on either side of the ridges that mirror each other. These discoveries supported the idea of seafloor spreading and led to the modern theory of plate tectonics, which explains not only moving continents but also earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain building. Why does the author mention magnetic patterns that "mirror each other" on either side of the ridges?
Q15. Read the passage: From Continental Drift to Plate Tectonics In 1912 the German scientist Alfred Wegener proposed that the continents had once been joined in a single landmass and had slowly drifted apart. He pointed to several kinds of evidence. The coastlines of South America and Africa fit together remarkably well; fossils of the same land reptiles appear on continents now separated by oceans; and rock formations on opposite sides of the Atlantic match closely. Yet most geologists rejected his idea, mainly because Wegener could not explain what force could move entire continents. The theory was revived in the 1950s and 1960s, when surveys of the ocean floor revealed long volcanic ridges where new crust forms, and magnetic patterns in the rock on either side of the ridges that mirror each other. These discoveries supported the idea of seafloor spreading and led to the modern theory of plate tectonics, which explains not only moving continents but also earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain building. According to the passage, plate tectonics explains which of the following?
Q16. Read the passage: Sleep and Memory Sleep is not simply a period of rest for the brain. A growing body of research suggests that it plays an active role in strengthening memories. During deep, slow-wave sleep, patterns of brain activity recorded while a person was learning appear to be replayed, which may help transfer information from short-term storage to more permanent networks. Other studies link rapid eye movement (REM) sleep with the consolidation of skills and emotional memories. In a typical experiment, participants learn a list of word pairs and are tested twelve hours later; those who slept during the interval usually recall more pairs than those who stayed awake for the same length of time. Such findings do not mean that people can learn new material while asleep, but they do suggest that a night of sleep after studying is a valuable part of the learning process rather than lost time. What is the passage mainly about?
Q17. Read the passage: Sleep and Memory Sleep is not simply a period of rest for the brain. A growing body of research suggests that it plays an active role in strengthening memories. During deep, slow-wave sleep, patterns of brain activity recorded while a person was learning appear to be replayed, which may help transfer information from short-term storage to more permanent networks. Other studies link rapid eye movement (REM) sleep with the consolidation of skills and emotional memories. In a typical experiment, participants learn a list of word pairs and are tested twelve hours later; those who slept during the interval usually recall more pairs than those who stayed awake for the same length of time. Such findings do not mean that people can learn new material while asleep, but they do suggest that a night of sleep after studying is a valuable part of the learning process rather than lost time. According to the passage, what happens during slow-wave sleep?
Q18. Read the passage: Sleep and Memory Sleep is not simply a period of rest for the brain. A growing body of research suggests that it plays an active role in strengthening memories. During deep, slow-wave sleep, patterns of brain activity recorded while a person was learning appear to be replayed, which may help transfer information from short-term storage to more permanent networks. Other studies link rapid eye movement (REM) sleep with the consolidation of skills and emotional memories. In a typical experiment, participants learn a list of word pairs and are tested twelve hours later; those who slept during the interval usually recall more pairs than those who stayed awake for the same length of time. Such findings do not mean that people can learn new material while asleep, but they do suggest that a night of sleep after studying is a valuable part of the learning process rather than lost time. In the experiment described, which participants usually recalled more word pairs?
Q19. Read the passage: Sleep and Memory Sleep is not simply a period of rest for the brain. A growing body of research suggests that it plays an active role in strengthening memories. During deep, slow-wave sleep, patterns of brain activity recorded while a person was learning appear to be replayed, which may help transfer information from short-term storage to more permanent networks. Other studies link rapid eye movement (REM) sleep with the consolidation of skills and emotional memories. In a typical experiment, participants learn a list of word pairs and are tested twelve hours later; those who slept during the interval usually recall more pairs than those who stayed awake for the same length of time. Such findings do not mean that people can learn new material while asleep, but they do suggest that a night of sleep after studying is a valuable part of the learning process rather than lost time. The word "consolidation" in the passage is closest in meaning to
Q20. Read the passage: Sleep and Memory Sleep is not simply a period of rest for the brain. A growing body of research suggests that it plays an active role in strengthening memories. During deep, slow-wave sleep, patterns of brain activity recorded while a person was learning appear to be replayed, which may help transfer information from short-term storage to more permanent networks. Other studies link rapid eye movement (REM) sleep with the consolidation of skills and emotional memories. In a typical experiment, participants learn a list of word pairs and are tested twelve hours later; those who slept during the interval usually recall more pairs than those who stayed awake for the same length of time. Such findings do not mean that people can learn new material while asleep, but they do suggest that a night of sleep after studying is a valuable part of the learning process rather than lost time. What does the author imply about studying late into the night instead of sleeping?