There are ten TOEFL reading question types in the current test. This page shows you each type with a sample question, the answer, and the reason for the answer, so you can recognize every type before test day.
The types appear inside the three item types of the TOEFL Reading test: Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life, and Read an Academic Passage. Read in Daily Life texts mostly use Detail, Gist Purpose, and Inference questions. Academic passages use all ten.
Table Of Contents
- How Many TOEFL Reading Question Types Are There?
- TOEFL Reading Question Type 1: Detail
- TOEFL Reading Question Type 2: Gist Purpose
- TOEFL Reading Question Type 3: Rhetorical Purpose
- TOEFL Reading Question Type 4: Vocabulary
- TOEFL Reading Question Type 5: Negative Factual Information
- TOEFL Reading Question Type 6: Inference
- TOEFL Reading Question Type 7: Organization
- TOEFL Reading Question Type 8: Select in Passage
- TOEFL Reading Question Type 9: Insert a Sentence
- TOEFL Reading Question Type 10: Complete the Words
- How to Practice the TOEFL Reading Question Types
How Many TOEFL Reading Question Types Are There?
There are ten TOEFL reading question types. Nine of them are multiple-choice or click-in-the-passage questions on a Read in Daily Life text or an academic passage, and the tenth, Complete the Words, is a gap-filling text of its own. The table shows how often our learners answer each type correctly in practice, from the hardest to the easiest.
| Question type | Correct in practice |
|---|---|
| Select in Passage | 46.4% |
| Insert a Sentence | 47.6% |
| Rhetorical Purpose | 55.6% |
| Negative Factual Information | 57.7% |
| Inference | 60.4% |
| Vocabulary | 62.4% |
| Organization | 63.3% |
| Complete the Words (per blank) | 65.2% |
| Detail | 74.6% |
| Gist Purpose | 81.9% |
The four hardest types all ask you to use the passage, not just find a fact in it. Select in Passage and Insert a Sentence have no answer letters to compare, Rhetorical Purpose asks why the author included a detail, and Negative Factual Information asks for the one choice that is not there. The easiest types, Gist Purpose and Detail, are the ones Read in Daily Life texts use most. Some types got much easier or harder when the passages became shorter in January 2026: see the old and new TOEFL reading questions compared.
Figures are from the BestMyTest TOEFL learner performance data, up to October 2026: about 3.1 million answers by question type from 117,491 TOEFL Reading sections of full practice tests and 515,474 practice questions, on the previous test format and the current one. Question types that are in both formats are combined. Percentages are correct answers divided by questions answered. Select in Passage uses July to October 2026 only. Last updated 8 October 2026.
TOEFL Reading Question Type 1: Detail
A TOEFL Reading Detail question asks for a fact that is stated in the passage. You find the sentence that holds the fact and choose the answer that says the same thing in other words. Detail is the most common question type in both Read in Daily Life texts and academic passages, and our learners answer 74.6% of Detail questions correctly in practice.
Detail Question
Which of the following is mentioned as an example of a governmental nudge?
- Placing fruit at eye level in a cafeteria
- Automatically enrolling citizens in pension plans
- Publishing nutrition labels on packaged food
- Imposing fines for late tax payments
Detail Question
Detail questions ask about information that is clearly stated in the passage.
The correct answer is explicitly mentioned (not implied), often as a specific fact, number, or description.
-
spellcheck AnswerAnswer: B
(B) The correct answer is automatically enrolling citizens in pension plans. Paragraph 2 notes that governments "automatically enroll citizens in pension plans while still allowing them to opt out," explicitly naming this as a governmental nudge.
(A) Placing fruit at eye level in a cafeteria is incorrect because the passage presents it as a general example of a nudge, not specifically a government action.
(C) Publishing nutrition labels on packaged food is incorrect; the passage never mentions this practice.
(D) Imposing fines for late tax payments is incorrect because fines are a coercive penalty, not a subtle nudge, and they are not mentioned in the text.
[1] In 2008, behavioral economists Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein popularized the idea of the “nudge,” a subtle change in the choice architecture that steers people toward a desired behavior without removing alternatives. Placing fruit at eye-level in a cafeteria, for example, can increase healthy eating because the human brain tends to select the most salient option.
[2] The intellectual roots of the nudge trace back to prospect theory, which shows that people systematically deviate from the purely rational model assumed by classical economics. Loss aversion, status-quo bias, and limited self-control make individuals responsive to small contextual cues. Governments have therefore created specialized “nudge units” that send text reminders about tax deadlines or automatically enroll citizens in pension plans while still allowing them to opt out. Studies report significant rises in compliance and saving rates at minimal cost.
[3] Critics warn, however, that nudging can become manipulative if the architect’s goals conflict with the chooser’s welfare. They argue for transparency and periodic evaluation to ensure that interventions remain ethical. Supporters counter that the environment is always influencing decisions, so intentionally designing it for public benefit is preferable to leaving it to chance or to commercial interests. As evidence accumulates, the debate centers less on whether nudges work and more on how, when, and by whom they should be deployed.
[2] The intellectual roots of the nudge trace back to prospect theory, which shows that people systematically deviate from the purely rational model assumed by classical economics. Loss aversion, status-quo bias, and limited self-control make individuals responsive to small contextual cues. Governments have therefore created specialized “nudge units” that send text reminders about tax deadlines or automatically enroll citizens in pension plans while still allowing them to opt out. Studies report significant rises in compliance and saving rates at minimal cost.
[3] Critics warn, however, that nudging can become manipulative if the architect’s goals conflict with the chooser’s welfare. They argue for transparency and periodic evaluation to ensure that interventions remain ethical. Supporters counter that the environment is always influencing decisions, so intentionally designing it for public benefit is preferable to leaving it to chance or to commercial interests. As evidence accumulates, the debate centers less on whether nudges work and more on how, when, and by whom they should be deployed.
TOEFL Reading Question Type 2: Gist Purpose
A Gist Purpose question asks why the writer wrote the whole text. It appears mostly with Read in Daily Life texts, where an email or a notice states its purpose in the first sentences. It is the easiest type for our learners, at 81.9% correct. The trap is a choice that repeats one true detail from the text but is not the reason the text was written.
Gist Purpose Question
What is the main purpose of this post?
- To promote new workout classes
- To advertise a mental health book sale
- To announce a free community event focused on mental health
- To recruit new members for the studio
Gist Purpose Question
Gist purpose questions ask why the passage (or an entire section of it) was written.
The correct answer expresses the author’s overall goal, not a small detail.
-
spellcheck AnswerAnswer: C
(C) The correct answer is to announce a free community event focused on mental health. In paragraph 1, the post says, "we are launching a Monthly Mental Health Talk Series ... These free sessions will be held on the last Wednesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. ... and are open to both members and non-members." This wording shows the main purpose is to inform the community about a free mental-health-centered event.
(A) 'To promote new workout classes' is incorrect because the passage never mentions any exercise or fitness classes; it focuses exclusively on mental health talks.
(B) 'To advertise a mental health book sale' is incorrect; there is no reference to books or sales in either paragraph.
(D) 'To recruit new members for the studio' is incorrect; although non-members are welcome, the text does not aim to persuade people to join the studio but rather to attend the talks.
Community well-being goes beyond physical fitness. At Horizon Wellness Studio, we are launching a Monthly Mental Health Talk Series in collaboration with local therapists and counselors. These free sessions will be held on the last Wednesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in our community room and are open to both members and non-members.
Topics will include stress management, mindfulness, work-life balance, and establishing healthy routines. Our goal is to create a safe and welcoming space where open dialogue and shared experiences can support mental and emotional health in our neighborhood.
Topics will include stress management, mindfulness, work-life balance, and establishing healthy routines. Our goal is to create a safe and welcoming space where open dialogue and shared experiences can support mental and emotional health in our neighborhood.
TOEFL Reading Question Type 3: Rhetorical Purpose
A Rhetorical Purpose question asks why the author included one detail, not whether the detail is true. You can recognize it by wording like "Why does the author mention...". The job the detail does is usually in the sentence before it. Our learners answer 55.6% of these questions correctly.
Rhetorical Purpose Question
What is the author's purpose in mentioning "snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles" in paragraph 3?
- To prove that dinosaurs could not survive because they were endothermic
- To question whether climate change tied to sea levels is enough to explain dinosaur extinction
- To list examples of animals that were better at producing internal body heat than dinosaurs
- To argue that reptiles were unaffected by climate change during the Cretaceous
Rhetorical Purpose Question
Rhetorical purpose questions ask why the author included a specific detail, example, or phrase.
The answer is not stated directly. You must connect the referenced detail to the paragraph’s main point.
You will often see wording like: Why does the author mention ___?
-
spellcheck AnswerAnswer: B
The author mentions surviving reptiles to challenge the idea that climate change alone caused dinosaur extinction. If other cold-blooded animals survived extreme temperatures, then climate shifts tied to sea levels may not fully explain why dinosaurs disappeared.
[3] However, if this were accurate, how did ectothermic species such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles persist through the icy winters and sweltering summers? These animals are dependent on the environmental conditions to maintain a habitable body temperature. It's perplexing why these creatures weren't impacted, yet dinosaurs were rendered too incapacitated to manage, especially considering the theory posited by some scholars that dinosaurs were endothermic. Detractors also emphasize that the shallow seaways had alternately retreated from and advanced towards the continents numerous times throughout the Mesozoic, so why were the dinosaurs able to survive the climatic shifts related to the earlier variations, but not this one? The theory of a simple climatic alteration tied to sea levels, although initially compelling, fails to thoroughly explain all the available data.
TOEFL Reading Question Type 4: Vocabulary
A Vocabulary question asks for the meaning of a highlighted word as the passage uses it. You do not need to know the word already, because the words around it almost always give a clue, for example a restatement after "or", a contrast after "but", or an example in the next sentence. Our learners answer 62.4% of Vocabulary questions correctly.
Vocabulary Question
The word “liberate” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to
- protect
- measure
- observe
- release
Vocabulary Question
In a vocabulary question, you choose the answer closest in meaning to a highlighted word or phrase as it is used in the passage.
Focus on the sentence meaning and nearby context, not only the dictionary definition.
-
spellcheck AnswersAnswer: D
(D) The correct answer is release. In paragraph 1, the sentence reads, "photons transfer their energy to electrons inside the material, freeing them from their atomic bonds." The verb "freeing" shows that the photons cause electrons to be set loose; therefore, "liberate" is closest in meaning to "release."
(A) "Protect" is incorrect because protecting means keeping something safe or shielding it, which is the opposite of freeing electrons from their bonds.
(B) "Measure" is incorrect; measuring concerns quantifying or gauging, which does not match the idea of electrons being set free.
(C) "Observe" is incorrect because observing involves watching or monitoring, not causing electrons to escape their bonds.
[1] Solar photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity by manipulating the behavior of photons, the energy packets that make up light. When sunlight strikes a silicon-based cell, photons transfer their energy to electrons inside the material, freeing them from their atomic bonds. This process, called the photoelectric effect, was first explained by Albert Einstein and underpins all modern solar technology. However, only photons carrying the right amount of energy can liberate electrons; the rest pass through or become heat.
TOEFL Reading Question Type 5: Negative Factual Information
A Negative Factual Information question asks which choice the passage does NOT support. You recognize it by the capital NOT or EXCEPT. Three choices are in the passage, often in different words, and one is not. Our learners answer 57.7% of these questions correctly, which makes it the fourth hardest type.
Negative Factual Information Question
All of the following contributed to a stable ancient Martian hydrological cycle EXCEPT
- hydrogen from volcanic eruptions
- pressure from a dense atmosphere
- carbon dioxide and hydrogen combination
- intense sunlight from the young Sun
Negative Factual Information Question
You can recognize a negative factual information question by the word NOT or EXCEPT.
The correct answer is the choice that is not supported by the paragraph.
-
spellcheck AnswerAnswer: D
(D) The correct answer is intense sunlight from the young Sun. Paragraph 2 notes that "These gases would have allowed the young Sun’s weaker light to maintain a stable hydrological cycle." Because the sunlight was weaker, not intense, it could not have been a contributing factor; therefore, option d is the exception.
(A) Hydrogen from volcanic eruptions is incorrect as an exception because paragraph 2 explicitly says "small amounts of hydrogen, released by volcanic eruptions and meteor impacts, may have combined with CO₂ to amplify the greenhouse effect," meaning it did contribute.
(B) Pressure from a dense atmosphere is not the exception; paragraph 1 states that "early Mars possessed a dense atmosphere rich in greenhouse gases that trapped solar heat," which helped sustain surface water.
(C) The combination of carbon dioxide and hydrogen clearly aided the greenhouse effect as stated in paragraph 2, so it is not the factor that failed to support the hydrological cycle.
[1] Scientists have long been puzzled by evidence that rivers once criss-crossed the surface of Mars. To carve such channels, the planet must have been warm enough for liquid water, yet today Mars is a frozen desert. One explanation is that early Mars possessed a dense atmosphere rich in greenhouse gases that trapped solar heat. Clues about this vanished air are preserved in mineral deposits and isotopic ratios measured by orbiters.
[2] Research using climate models indicates that carbon dioxide alone could not have sustained temperatures above the freezing point. Instead, small amounts of hydrogen, released by volcanic eruptions and meteor impacts, may have combined with CO₂ to amplify the greenhouse effect. These gases would have allowed the young Sun’s weaker light to maintain a stable hydrological cycle, producing rain, lakes, and the deltas now observed by rovers.
[3] The question, then, is why this clement climate faded. Most scientists think the solar wind gradually stripped the Martian atmosphere after the planet’s global magnetic field shut down. Without magnetic shielding, lightweight molecules escaped into space, thinning the air and ending the warm era. Understanding this transition is not merely historical curiosity; it guides the search for habitable exoplanets whose atmospheres may likewise be vulnerable to stellar winds.
[2] Research using climate models indicates that carbon dioxide alone could not have sustained temperatures above the freezing point. Instead, small amounts of hydrogen, released by volcanic eruptions and meteor impacts, may have combined with CO₂ to amplify the greenhouse effect. These gases would have allowed the young Sun’s weaker light to maintain a stable hydrological cycle, producing rain, lakes, and the deltas now observed by rovers.
[3] The question, then, is why this clement climate faded. Most scientists think the solar wind gradually stripped the Martian atmosphere after the planet’s global magnetic field shut down. Without magnetic shielding, lightweight molecules escaped into space, thinning the air and ending the warm era. Understanding this transition is not merely historical curiosity; it guides the search for habitable exoplanets whose atmospheres may likewise be vulnerable to stellar winds.
TOEFL Reading Question Type 6: Inference
An Inference question asks what the passage suggests but does not say in so many words. The correct answer stays one small step from the evidence. A choice with "all", "only", or "never" usually goes one step too far. Our learners answer 60.4% of Inference questions correctly.
Inference Question
What can be inferred about workers who combine autonomy with high income in the gig economy?
- They experience greater job security due to strong networks and savings.
- They depend on gigs as their only source of income.
- They are mostly recent immigrants to the country.
- They are subject to more customer biases than other groups.
Inference Question
In an inference question, the correct answer is not directly stated.
You must draw a logical conclusion based on information in the paragraph.
-
spellcheck AnswerAnswer: A
(A) The correct answer is they experience greater job security due to strong networks and savings. Paragraph 2 states: 'Workers possessing valued skills, strong professional networks, and emergency savings can use gigs strategically, combining autonomy with high income,' suggesting these resources help them achieve more stability and success.
(B) 'They depend on gigs as their only source of income' is incorrect; the passage contrasts strategic users of gigs (who combine gigs with autonomy and high income) with those who rely on gigs as their main livelihood, usually more marginalized populations.
(C) 'They are mostly recent immigrants to the country' is incorrect as the passage specifies that marginalized groups such as immigrants usually bear the full weight of instability, not the group described here.
(D) 'They are subject to more customer biases than other groups' is incorrect. The passage notes customer biases negatively impact marginalized workers, not well-networked, high-income gig workers.
[1] Rideshare drivers delivering food late at night, freelance designers bidding for global projects, and neighbors renting spare bedrooms all participate in what sociologists describe as the “gig economy.” This labor model is distinguished by short-term contracts arranged through digital platforms rather than long-standing employment relationships. Because barriers to entry appear low—a car, a laptop, or a smartphone often suffice—the gig economy is frequently celebrated as democratizing work. Yet, contemporary research emphasizes that such flexibility is paired with precariousness; earnings fluctuate, benefits are scarce, and legal protections are ambiguous.
[2] The stratifying effects of the gig economy become visible when examining who can actually thrive within it. Workers possessing valued skills, strong professional networks, and emergency savings can use gigs strategically, combining autonomy with high income. By contrast, individuals already marginalized in traditional labor markets—immigrants, racial minorities, and the formerly incarcerated—often rely on gigs as their primary livelihood and thus bear the full weight of instability. Digital rating systems intensify these inequalities. A single low score can sharply reduce future job offers, and studies show that customer biases regarding accent, gender, and even profile pictures seep into supposedly objective algorithms. Consequently, platforms may reproduce offline hierarchies in a new technological guise.
[3] Debates about regulating the gig economy reveal competing sociological visions of work and citizenship. Some scholars advocate extending the welfare state—mandating minimum pay rates, portable benefits, and collective bargaining rights—to mitigate the precarious nature of platform labor. Others warn that heavy regulation could stifle the very flexibility that attracts both workers and consumers. A third perspective urges focusing on data transparency, arguing that opening algorithmic “black boxes” would allow researchers and policymakers to detect discrimination and design targeted interventions. Ultimately, the gig economy serves as a social laboratory, forcing societies to confront classic questions about inequality, security, and the meaning of decent work in digital capitalism.
[2] The stratifying effects of the gig economy become visible when examining who can actually thrive within it. Workers possessing valued skills, strong professional networks, and emergency savings can use gigs strategically, combining autonomy with high income. By contrast, individuals already marginalized in traditional labor markets—immigrants, racial minorities, and the formerly incarcerated—often rely on gigs as their primary livelihood and thus bear the full weight of instability. Digital rating systems intensify these inequalities. A single low score can sharply reduce future job offers, and studies show that customer biases regarding accent, gender, and even profile pictures seep into supposedly objective algorithms. Consequently, platforms may reproduce offline hierarchies in a new technological guise.
[3] Debates about regulating the gig economy reveal competing sociological visions of work and citizenship. Some scholars advocate extending the welfare state—mandating minimum pay rates, portable benefits, and collective bargaining rights—to mitigate the precarious nature of platform labor. Others warn that heavy regulation could stifle the very flexibility that attracts both workers and consumers. A third perspective urges focusing on data transparency, arguing that opening algorithmic “black boxes” would allow researchers and policymakers to detect discrimination and design targeted interventions. Ultimately, the gig economy serves as a social laboratory, forcing societies to confront classic questions about inequality, security, and the meaning of decent work in digital capitalism.
TOEFL Reading Question Type 7: Organization
An Organization question asks how two parts of the passage are connected, for example how paragraph 3 relates to paragraph 2. You need the main point of each part and the link between them, such as a problem and its solution or a claim and the objections to it. Our learners answer 63.3% of Organization questions correctly.
Organization Question
How does paragraph 3 relate to paragraph 2?
- Paragraph 3 provides statistical evidence supporting claims in paragraph 2.
- Paragraph 3 presents objections to the applications described in paragraph 2.
- Paragraph 3 introduces historical background for concepts in paragraph 2.
- Paragraph 3 repeats examples from paragraph 2 without adding new information.
Organization Question
Organization questions ask you to understand how ideas are arranged or connected within a passage. They may focus on how information is ordered or how one paragraph relates to another.
-
spellcheck AnswerAnswer: B
(B) The correct answer is that paragraph 3 presents objections to the applications described in paragraph 2. Paragraph 2 describes how governments apply nudges, for example text reminders and automatic pension enrollment. Paragraph 3 begins with "Critics warn, however" and gives objections to those applications.
(A) is incorrect because paragraph 3 gives arguments, not statistics.
(C) is incorrect because the history of the idea is in paragraph 2, not paragraph 3.
(D) is incorrect because paragraph 3 adds new ideas, the criticism and the response to it.
[1] In 2008, behavioral economists Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein popularized the idea of the “nudge,” a subtle change in the choice architecture that steers people toward a desired behavior without removing alternatives. Placing fruit at eye-level in a cafeteria, for example, can increase healthy eating because the human brain tends to select the most salient option.
[2] The intellectual roots of the nudge trace back to prospect theory, which shows that people systematically deviate from the purely rational model assumed by classical economics. Loss aversion, status-quo bias, and limited self-control make individuals responsive to small contextual cues. Governments have therefore created specialized “nudge units” that send text reminders about tax deadlines or automatically enroll citizens in pension plans while still allowing them to opt out. Studies report significant rises in compliance and saving rates at minimal cost.
[3] Critics warn, however, that nudging can become manipulative if the architect’s goals conflict with the chooser’s welfare. They argue for transparency and periodic evaluation to ensure that interventions remain ethical. Supporters counter that the environment is always influencing decisions, so intentionally designing it for public benefit is preferable to leaving it to chance or to commercial interests. As evidence accumulates, the debate centers less on whether nudges work and more on how, when, and by whom they should be deployed.
[2] The intellectual roots of the nudge trace back to prospect theory, which shows that people systematically deviate from the purely rational model assumed by classical economics. Loss aversion, status-quo bias, and limited self-control make individuals responsive to small contextual cues. Governments have therefore created specialized “nudge units” that send text reminders about tax deadlines or automatically enroll citizens in pension plans while still allowing them to opt out. Studies report significant rises in compliance and saving rates at minimal cost.
[3] Critics warn, however, that nudging can become manipulative if the architect’s goals conflict with the chooser’s welfare. They argue for transparency and periodic evaluation to ensure that interventions remain ethical. Supporters counter that the environment is always influencing decisions, so intentionally designing it for public benefit is preferable to leaving it to chance or to commercial interests. As evidence accumulates, the debate centers less on whether nudges work and more on how, when, and by whom they should be deployed.
TOEFL Reading Question Type 8: Select in Passage
A Select in Passage question has no letters. You click one sentence in a marked paragraph, and that sentence must answer the whole question. Several sentences mention the topic, but only one gives the exact information asked for. Our learners answer 46.4% of these questions correctly, the lowest rate of all ten types.
Select in Passage Question
Click on the sentence in paragraph 2 that describes how the movement of the jet stream affects weather conditions in Chicago.
Select in Passage Question
In a select in passage question, you click on the sentence in the passage that answers the question.
The correct sentence must directly support the idea asked about, not just relate to the topic.
-
spellcheck AnswerAnswer: the fourth sentence, "Thus, a single atmospheric ribbon helps determine whether Chicago experiences a heat wave or a blizzard."
It is the only sentence that names Chicago and says what the jet stream does to its weather.
The first sentence explains where jet streams form. The second says they steer weather systems in general. The third describes mid-latitude cities, not Chicago.
[1] High above Earth's surface, narrow corridors of fast-moving air known as jet streams circle the globe at altitudes of about 10 to 15 kilometers. Discovered by military aviators during World War II, these winds can exceed 300 kilometers per hour. Commercial pilots still pay close attention to them today, timing routes to ride a favorable tailwind and save fuel while avoiding opposing currents that slow a flight.
[2] Jet streams form along the boundaries of warm and cold air masses, so they are strongest where temperature contrasts are greatest. As the current meanders, it steers weather systems below, guiding storm tracks and influencing regional temperatures. When the polar jet arches northward, mild subtropical air can flood mid-latitude cities; when it plunges southward, frigid Arctic air follows. Thus, a single atmospheric ribbon helps determine whether Chicago experiences a heat wave or a blizzard.
[2] Jet streams form along the boundaries of warm and cold air masses, so they are strongest where temperature contrasts are greatest. As the current meanders, it steers weather systems below, guiding storm tracks and influencing regional temperatures. When the polar jet arches northward, mild subtropical air can flood mid-latitude cities; when it plunges southward, frigid Arctic air follows. Thus, a single atmospheric ribbon helps determine whether Chicago experiences a heat wave or a blizzard.
TOEFL Reading Question Type 9: Insert a Sentence
An Insert a Sentence question gives you one new sentence and four squares in a paragraph. You click the square where the sentence fits. The sentence must follow from the sentence before it and lead into the sentence after it. This is the second hardest type for our learners, at 47.6% correct.
Insert a Sentence Question
Look at the four squares [■] that show where the following sentence could be added to paragraph 3.
That field had once pushed aside the stream of charged particles coming from the Sun.
Where would the sentence best fit?
That field had once pushed aside the stream of charged particles coming from the Sun.
Where would the sentence best fit?
Insert a Sentence Question
In an Insert a Sentence question, you get one new sentence and four squares in a paragraph. You click the square where the sentence fits.
The sentence must follow from the sentence before it and lead into the sentence after it.
-
spellcheck AnswerAnswer: the third square.
"That field" needs a field that was already named, and the magnetic field first appears in the sentence before the third square. The sentence then leads into "Without magnetic shielding," which is what happens after the field shuts down.
The first two squares come before any field is mentioned. The fourth square breaks the link between "thinning the air" and "this transition."
[3] [■] The question, then, is why this clement climate faded. [■] Most scientists think the solar wind gradually stripped the Martian atmosphere after the planet’s global magnetic field shut down. [■] Without magnetic shielding, lightweight molecules escaped into space, thinning the air and ending the warm era. [■] Understanding this transition is not merely historical curiosity; it guides the search for habitable exoplanets whose atmospheres may likewise be vulnerable to stellar winds.
TOEFL Reading Question Type 10: Complete the Words
Complete the Words is both an item type and a question type: a short academic text with ten words that are missing the second half of their letters. You type the missing letters. Our learners get 65.2% of questions right and spend about 12 seconds on each one. Our TOEFL complete the words guide covers the eight kinds of missing word and the time to spend.
Complete the Words
Glaciers form where snow fa faster than it melts. Over many years the snow is pre into dense ice. The wei of the ice makes it move slo downhill, car valleys and carrying rocks for long dist. When the cli warms, a glacier melts fas than it grows and begins to retreat. Scientists st old glaciers to learn how the climate has cha over thousands of years.
Complete the Words Question
Complete the Words Question
In this type of questions, you will see short academic texts in which parts of words are missing. You must complete each word correctly based on the surrounding context.
-
spellcheck Answer1. lls
2. ssed
3. ght
4. wly
5. ving
6. ances
7. mate
8. ter
9. udy
10. nged
How to Practice the TOEFL Reading Question Types
Practice each question type on real texts, then review every question you get wrong and read the explanation. Our practice questions mark the question type of every item, and the score report of each practice test shows your result by type, so you can see which of the ten types to work on next.
- Read an Academic Passage Full Practice Question: five questions of different types with an explanation for each.
- Read in Daily Life Full Practice Question: an email with Gist Purpose and Inference questions.
- Complete the Words Full Practice Question: one academic text with ten gaps, scored as you type.
- Sample Test 1: a free full-length adaptive TOEFL with a Reading band score and your result by question type.
- TOEFL reading practice guide: the three item types, what our practice tests show, and how to prepare.
Create a free account to open a lesson for each of the ten question types, with a strategy and practice questions for every one.
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