How to use these TOEFL practice questions
The TOEFL iBT assesses Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing in an academic context. It includes integrated tasks that combine skills, as well as tasks where you produce a response independently. The questions below are focused practice drills, not a claim about the exact layout or number of questions in a live test.
For each one, choose an answer and then read the explanation in the question panel. Pay attention to the evidence or relationship that supports the answer, not just the option letter. In integrated tasks, practise keeping source details accurate; in every section, work towards clear, organised responses under time pressure.
Reading: vocabulary in context
This checks whether you can use the sentence around an unfamiliar word to identify its meaning.
A board on this topic ends up looking like this:
Reading passage: ‘The researchers expected the wetland to absorb excess water. However, after several seasons of drought, its capacity to retain water had diminished.’ In this sentence, ‘diminished’ is closest in meaning to:
‘Decreased’ is correct: the sentence contrasts expected absorption with a reduced capacity after drought. ‘Remained stable’ is the strongest distractor because it sounds neutral, but diminished means the capacity fell, not that it stayed the same.
When you practise vocabulary, check whether the sentence signals contrast, cause or continuation. A familiar-looking synonym can still be wrong if it does not fit the passage’s logic.
Reading: inference
This tests whether you can draw a limited conclusion from a passage without adding an unsupported claim.
A board on this topic ends up looking like this:
Reading passage: ‘In a survey of coastal residents, most respondents supported restoring the marsh. Support was highest among people who reported frequent flooding, although many respondents also valued the marsh as wildlife habitat.’ What can be inferred?
The passage directly links higher support with reported frequent flooding, so option 2 is supported. Option 1 is the strongest distractor because it turns ‘highest among’ into ‘only reason’; the passage also mentions wildlife habitat.
An inference should be smaller than the evidence, not broader. Watch for absolute words such as “only” and “all”: they often make an option stronger than the passage allows.
Reading: purpose of an example
This checks whether you can identify how a specific example supports the author’s point.
A board on this topic ends up looking like this:
Reading passage: ‘Some cities use reflective roofs to reduce heat absorption. In one neighbourhood, measured roof-surface temperatures were lower after installation than on nearby conventional roofs. The result illustrates how building design can affect local heat exposure.’ Why does the author mention the neighbourhood study?
The study is an example supporting the point that design can affect heat exposure. Option 2 is the strongest distractor because the example is favourable, but the passage does not recommend replacing every other measure.
For purpose questions, connect the example to the claim immediately before or after it. Do not treat one example as a universal recommendation.
Listening: lecture detail
This tests careful listening for a stated relationship between a process and its result.
A board on this topic ends up looking like this:
Lecture excerpt: ‘When a river carries sediment into a lake, the current slows. Larger particles tend to settle near the river mouth, while finer particles can travel farther before settling.’ Where would larger particles most likely settle?
The lecturer says larger particles settle near the river mouth as the current slows. Option 2 is the strongest distractor because it names a plausible lake location, but the excerpt gives a different location.
Practise noting the sequence: river enters lake, current slows, larger particles settle nearby. A compact sequence is often more useful than trying to remember every word.
Listening: inference from a lecture
This checks whether you can combine two details to understand why a result occurred.
A board on this topic ends up looking like this:
Lecture excerpt: ‘The team repeated the seed-growth trial in a second room. The first room had stable temperatures, but the second experienced larger temperature swings. Growth varied more in the second room, so the team decided to control temperature more carefully in future trials.’ What is the most likely reason for the decision?
The greater variation in the second room led the team to control temperature, suggesting it may have influenced growth. Option 2 is the strongest distractor because the rooms are mentioned, but the team says it will control temperature, not stop comparisons.
When a lecturer explains a decision, link the observation to the action that follows. Avoid choosing a cause the speaker never states or implies.
Listening: organisation
This tests your understanding of how a lecturer moves from a general concept to an example.
A board on this topic ends up looking like this:
Lecture excerpt: ‘First, let us define a keystone species: one whose effect on its ecosystem is unusually large relative to its abundance. Consider sea otters. By eating sea urchins, they can limit grazing pressure on kelp forests. We will use this example to examine how one species can influence habitat structure.’ How is the lecture organised?
The lecturer defines ‘keystone species’ and then applies the idea to sea otters and kelp forests. Option 2 is the strongest distractor because a definition is given, but no competing definition or rejection appears.
Listen for signposts such as “first”, “consider” and “we will use this example”. They reveal the lecture’s structure and help distinguish a main point from supporting detail.
Listening: conversation purpose
This tests whether you can identify a speaker’s likely intention from a short exchange.
A board on this topic ends up looking like this:
Conversation excerpt: Student: ‘I have the data for my presentation, but the graphs are difficult to read.’ Tutor: ‘The computer lab has software that can make them clearer. If you bring your files tomorrow, I can show you how to use it.’ What does the tutor offer to do?
The tutor offers to demonstrate software that can make the graphs clearer. Option 2 is the strongest distractor because the tutor offers help, but the offer concerns the graphs, not rewriting the presentation.
Distinguish an offer from a decision or instruction. The tutor proposes a specific kind of help; the student has not been told to change the topic or delay the presentation.
Integrated reading and listening: identify the disagreement
This checks whether you can compare a source claim with a speaker’s response rather than mixing their positions together.
A board on this topic ends up looking like this:
Reading excerpt: ‘The university should replace printed notices with a digital-only system because it would reduce paper use and make updates faster.’ Lecture excerpt: ‘Digital updates are quick, but some students have unreliable internet access. A digital-only system could leave them without timely information.’ What is the lecturer’s main response to the proposal?
The lecturer accepts that digital updates are quick but raises access for students with unreliable internet. Option 2 is the strongest distractor because the lecture contrasts the systems, but it does not claim print is always faster.
For integrated work, label each source’s position before comparing them. Here, the reading gives two reasons for the proposal; the lecture challenges its accessibility, not its speed.
Reading: paraphrase and precision
This tests whether you can recognise a paraphrase that preserves both the author’s claim and its limits.
A board on this topic ends up looking like this:
Reading passage: ‘In a small pilot study, participants who took short walking breaks reported less afternoon fatigue. The researchers cautioned that a larger study is needed before drawing conclusions about long-term effects.’ Which option best paraphrases the passage?
Option 0 preserves both the reported result and the researchers’ caution. Option 1 is the strongest distractor because it repeats the topic but changes a limited pilot finding into proof of a long-term effect.
Good paraphrasing preserves qualifications such as “small”, “reported” and “more evidence is needed”. Removing them changes the claim.
Integrated writing: source relationship
This tests whether you can identify a response that links a reading claim to the relevant lecture evidence.
A board on this topic ends up looking like this:
Reading excerpt: ‘A city plans to plant street trees to reduce summer heat.’ Lecture excerpt: ‘Trees can shade pavements, but young trees provide little shade at first and need regular watering during dry periods.’ Which summary best represents the relationship between the sources?
The lecture does not reject the proposal; it adds conditions about the timing of shade and the need for watering. Option 2 is the strongest distractor because it sounds like a challenge, but the lecture never says trees cannot reduce heat.
A useful integrated summary reports the relationship accurately: agreement, contrast or qualification. Do not turn a qualification into a complete rejection.
Review a written response
Multiple-choice checks do not practise the full work of Writing. For an integrated response, practise selecting relevant source details, organising them around the relationship between sources, and using accurate language. This marked sample uses the platform’s feedback criteria, not an official TOEFL score or marking scheme.
A marked response on this topic ends up looking like this:
The reading proposes street trees to reduce summer heat. The lecture says trees shade pavement, but young trees provide little shade at first and need watering during dry periods. Summarise how the lecture relates to the proposal.
3/4The lecture supports the reading because both sources discuss trees and heat. It says trees give shade to pavements. However, young trees do not give much shade and they need water when it is dry. This means the plan will take some time and needs care.
The response identifies the shared topic, includes two accurate lecture details and gives a relevant qualification. Its organisation is clear, though the relationship could be stated more precisely and the source points linked more explicitly.
Missed
−Explain that the lecture qualifies the proposal rather than simply supporting it.
−Connect the delayed shade and watering requirement to the proposal’s practical limitations.
Model answerThe lecture qualifies the reading’s proposal to plant street trees as a way to reduce summer heat. It agrees that trees can shade pavements, but notes that young trees provide little shade initially. It also says they need regular watering during dry periods. Therefore, the cooling benefit may take time and depend on ongoing maintenance.
That is a MySummaries paper, filled with TOEFL material. Yours is written from your own notes. Start free
The response earns credit for relevant details, but “supports” is too broad: the lecture adds conditions to the proposal. In your own practice, check that the first sentence states the source relationship and that each detail explains it.
Use your results to choose the next drill
Keep a brief record of errors by skill and cause: missed detail, unsupported inference, source confusion or imprecise paraphrase. Repeat a question only after you can explain why the correct answer fits and why the strongest distractor fails. In timed work, accuracy still matters, but practise delivering clear, complete responses without spending too long on one item.
A weak-area summary on this topic ends up looking like this:
Use a result like this to choose the next session: review how integrated sources relate, then practise a short summary that names both positions accurately. The figures are a study record, not a prediction of an exam result.
A remediation card on this topic ends up looking like this:
You lost this mark twice: the lecture says young trees provide little shade at first and need watering in dry periods. Does that reject the street-tree proposal, or qualify its benefits? State the relationship and one supporting detail.
Answer the prompt aloud or in a few sentences, then check whether you named the relationship and used a source detail. That turns a repeated error into a specific skill to practise.
How MySummaries helps
MySummaries lets you build a revision board from your own TOEFL notes and practice material, then generate spaced-repetition cards and written mock exams marked against those notes. It can also create examiner-voice audio lectures and recorded speaking practice with feedback. Start at portal.mysummaries.app.