iBT TOEFL Reading
A. Understanding Details
Most countries set an age at which its young people become adults in the eyes of
the law. This age is called the age of majority. When people reach this age,
usually 18, they become entitled to certain inalienable rights from which they
were precluded as minors, such as the right to vote. Before becoming adults,
minors are not able to enter into legal contracts. This is seen as being for their own
protection. They are also protected from statutory rape, from being exploited in
the labor market, and from having to go through the same penal system as adults.
1. Which of the following would be an example of a protection granted
specifically to minors?
(A) The right to vote
(B) Child labor laws
(C) Pursuit of employment
(D) The right to a fair trial
2. Which of the following would be an example of a right denied to minors?
(A) The right to vote
(B) The right to a fair trial
(C) Child labor laws
(D) Separate penal systems
3. The word “statutory” in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) Part of a statue
(B) Punished under the law
(C) said or stated
(D) not very serious
4. List two things that minors are not allowed to do, but adults are allowed to
do.
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B. Identifying Topics and Paraphrasing
Galileo was the first to detect a disc around Saturn. This was don in the year
1610. Since then, progressively more powerful telescopes and space probes have
refined our original conception of this disc. Saturn’s disc is actually many thin
rings, mostly made of particles of ice and rock. The largest rings, A and B, and the
F ring lies beyond the A. The gaps are created by the paths of Saturn’s moons: the
Cassini division by Mimas, the smaller Encke gap by Pan. The gaps on either
side of the F ring are made by Prometheus on the inside and Pandora on the
outside.
1. Which of the following sentences best expresses the essential information of
the highlighted sentence? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important
ways or leave out essential information.
(A) The larger the ring or division, the more moons found within the gap.
(B) The F ring needs two moons due to its relatively enormous size.
(C) The moons prevent the A and B rings from colliding and disintegrating.
(D) Saturn’s rings are separated from each other by the planet’s moons.
2. According to the passage, which moon divides the A ring from the F ring?
(A) Pan
(B) Mimas
(C) Prometheus
(D) Pandora
3. The word “gaps” in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) differences
(B) blanks
(C) pauses
(D) separations
4. Which of the following best states the topic of the passage?
(A) What people once thought was a disc around Saturn is really a group of
rings.
(B) Galileo discovered both the rings and the moons of Saturn.
Why? _______________________________________________________
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C. Recognizing Coherence
[ ] A) The ancient Greeks believed in five virtues: justice, strength,
temperance, courage, and wisdom. Socrates tried to show that all of these virtues were
merely kinds of wisdom. According to him, the greatest wisdom was to know the
limits of one’s own knowledge. Plato, his student, recorded Socrates’ dialogues and
went on to philosophize on politics and just government. [ ] B) Aristotle, Plato’s
student, was highly analytical and began to approach abstract questions from a
vigorous, logical standpoint, thus planting the seeds of modern theoretical inquiry and
scientific research methods. [ ] C) Aristotle’s student, Alexander the Great, ended
up turning toward military conquest rather than philosopher.
1. Which of the following sentences best expresses the essential information of
the highlighted sentence? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important
ways or leave out essential information.
(A) Merely possessing wisdom was good enough, according to Socrates,
because the other virtues were not as important.
(B) Socrates was the first person to define the virtue of wisdom.
(C) One of the main teachings of Socrates was that wisdom should be
understood as separate from the other virtues.
(D) Socrates worked toward a way to prove that the five virtues could all be
understood as parts of a single whole.
2. The word “just” in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) a moment ago (B) fair or right (C) only
(D) simply
3. Look at the four [
to the passage.
] that indicate where the following sentence could be added
After the ancient period, philosophers began to be persecuted by the
Church, and philosophy lay largely dormant in Europe until the
Renaissance.
Where would the sentence best fit? Choose the [ ] where the sentence should
be added to the passage.
(A) Line 1
(B) Line 6
(C) Line 9
(D) Line 10
4. Which of the following sentences could best replace the first sentence of the
reading and maintain the coherence of the passage?
(A) Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato were all Greek philosophers, but each and his
own unique approach to the discipline.
(B) Although the three great Greek philosophers disagreed about many things,
they all enjoyed teaching.
Why? _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
D. Understanding Referents and Vocabulary
Starting at Lake Itasca in Minnesota, the Mississippi River glows south through
ten states before it reaches the Gulf of Mexico. [
] A) It was formed about 10,000
years ago when the Ice Age was coming to an end. At this time, glacier deposits
created the upper Mississippi Valley. As these glaciers melted, the water carved its
way through the debris, creating the upper Mississippi and the rivers that flow into it.
[ ] B) The lower Mississippi gets its water from the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. [ ]
C) The Mississippi River is actually longer than the Mississippi. Collectively, they
make up the fourth longest river in the world. [ ] D)
1. Look at the four [
the passage.
] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to
Only the Nile, the Amazon, and the Yantze are longer.
Where would the sentence best fit? Choose the [ ] where the sentence should be
added to the passage.
(A) Line 2
(B) Line 6
(C) Line 7
2. The word “it” in the passage refers to
(A) the glacier (B) the debris (C) the upper Mississippi
(D) Line 9
(D) the rivers
3. The word “carved” could best be replaced by which of the following?
(A) Cut
(B) Pressed
(C) Fixed
(D) Set
4. The word “its” appears twice in the reading. What does each pronoun refer to?
First ‘Its” ---____________
Second “its” --- _______________
E. Making Inferences and Establishing Purpose
Body language imparts meaning without the use of words. It is a type of
non-verbal communication. There are certain recognized distinctions between types
of body language: voluntary/involuntary and universal/cultural. The first distinction
is often fuzzy. For instance, a smile can be voluntary or involuntary. However, by
the second distinction, smiles are universal. They are interpreted the same across all
cultures. Nodding and head shaking, however, are cultural. In Turkey, the former
is replaced by raising the eyebrows. It is thought that body language has its roots in
animal communication. Indeed, great apes raised in captivity are quite proficient at
reading human body language.
1. The word “They” in the passage refers to
(A) distinctions (B) cultures
(C) smiles
(D) people who smile
2. What can be inferred from the passage about nodding?
(A) It will be understood everywhere.
(B) It will not be understood in Turkey.
(C) It will not be understood by an ape.
(D) It will be understood if it is voluntary.
3. The word “fuzzy” in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) unclear (B) hairy
(C) solid
(D) inverted
4. Explain how you chose your answer for question 2 above. Refer to key words or
phrases in the passage that helped you choose your answer.
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F. Completing Summaries and Tables
The Marathon is the longest footrace competition, consisting of 26.2 miles (42,
195 m). The name comes from the Greek legend of Pheidippides, who died after
running from the city of Marathon to Athens to report the Greek triumph over Persia
so that the Athenians would not surrender. Modern historians say the legend is likely
to have been embellished or fabricated; a man named Philippides did make a similar
run from Athens to Sparta, but did not perish from the effort. The winner of the first
modern marathon in the 1896 Olympics was Spiridon “ Spiros” Louis. An interesting
side note about his victory is that he stopped during the course of the race for a glass
of wine at a local inn.
1. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided
below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that
express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in
the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are
minor ideas in the passage.
First sentence:
The marathon is a famous Olympic event with an interesting history.
(A) It was based on the Greek legend of a famous runner.
(B) The runner died after saving his civilization from thePersians.
(C) The real name of Pheidippides was probably Philippedes.
(D) The legend is probably loosely based on a similar occurrence.
(E) Spiridon Louis enjoyed drinking wine at local inns.
(F) Today, there are marathons in major cities all over the world.
2. It can be inferred from the passage that
(A) it is physically impossible for a man to run from Marathon to Athens
(B) the Greeks in Marathon successfully defended the city
(C) it is traditional to drink a glass of wine during a marathon
(D) the modern Olympics were started in honor of the marathon.
3. The word “fabricated” in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) manufactured (B) unknown
(C) cherished (D) false
4. Which sentences in the passage contain the main ideas listed in the summary?
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Water makes up seventy percent of the Earth’s surface, and people rely on it to sustain
life. Rainfall nurtures crops and restores water supplies. The amount of water on the
Earth is constant, meaning that we can neither create more water nor get rid of it. we
can, however, interfere with the water cycle. Water has several forms 一 liquid, vapor,
and ice 一 and is constantly changing and being recycled through a process known as
the hydrologic cycle. [
] A)
The hydrologlc cycle involves inflows, outflows, and storage. [ ] B) When water
moves from the ground, for example, into a river, it is called an outflow for the
ground and an inflow for the river. [ ] C)
somewhere with relatively little movement. [ ] D)
Water is stored when Ii rests
There are six components to the hydrologlc cycle: evapotranspiration, condensation,
precipitation, run － off, infiltration, and percolation. Evapotranspiration is the
combination of evaporation and transpiration. Evaporation occurs when the sun
warms surface water and transforms it into water vapor. Transpiration is the same
thing, but involve plants. Plants soak water up from the ground and then return it to
the cycle via the pores in their leaves. Once again, the sun turns this water into vapor
once the water has been evaporated, it rises into the atmosphere. As the air gets
colder at higher altitudes, the water vapor condenses and clings to particles in the air.
This is called condensation and is how clouds are formed. When the clouds get too
heavy, droplets fall back to the earth through a process called precipitation.
Now that the water has been returned to the earth, it can either be intercepted by a
water source, or it can land on the ground. For the water that lands on the ground, one
of several things can happen. If there has been a heavy rain, or if it has rained for a
long time, a lot of the water will return to the streams, lakes, and oceans as run－off.
Run－off also depends on the slope of the ground. A steep slope will cause more
movement of water. Conversely, if water movement is minimized, much of the water
will infiltrate the soil. Gravity forces the water lower and lower into the ground
through a process called percolation. The permeability of the soil determines the rate
at which percolation occurs. If the soil is very dense, it will hold less water. If it is
porous, on the other hand, it will store more water. The amount of water that can be
held in the soil is called its porosity.
The water will continue to move downward until it reaches saturated soil. This means
that there is already so much water in the soil that it can‘t hold any more. An aquifer
is any geologic material that can hold water or allow water to transmit through it.
Even solid rock can be an aquifer because water can move through its cracks and
pores.
Ground water is returned to the earth via vegetation. Plants soak up water through
their roots and, as mentioned, return the water to the atmosphere. Outflows also occur
naturally via springs. Humans can extract ground water using wells. Groundwater
mining can cause problems for the water table, which is the measure of water in the
ground. Taking too much water not only reduces the water supply, but it affects the
soil. When water is withdrawn, the pores that hold the water collapse, altering the
make－up of the soil. Further, contamination from landfills and septic systems
cause serious problems for the soil and for the plants that rely on it.
1. Which of the following is closest in meaning to “extract” in paragraph 6?
(A) Exact
(B) Intact
(C) Take out
(D) Dig up
2. Which of the following means most nearly the same as “collapse” as used in
paragraph 6?
(A) Cave in
(B) Tumble (C) Shut down (D) Open up
3. What word does “it’ in paragraph 6, line 10 refer to?
(A) The soil (B) The plants (C) The septic systems (D) The landfills
4. Why does the author mention vegetation?
(A) To show how important water is for yielding a good crop
(B) To show how crops can be harmed by contamination
(C) To show how the roots of plants help to hold the soil together
(D) To show how ground water is used in the hydrologic cycle
5. According to the passage, what is percolation?
(A) The process of water seeping into the soil
(B) The process of water turning to vapor
(C) The process of water vapor forming clouds
(D) The process of water falling to the earth
6. According to the reading, which of the following would cause run-off?
(A) Heavy rain (B) A steep slope (C) Both A and B (D) Neither A nor B
7. According to the passage, what is an “inflow”?
(A) When water is removed from a place
(B) When water is added to a place
(C) When water is stored in a place
(D) When water falls from the sky
8. Based on the information in paragraph 1, which of the following best explains
why the Earth doesn’t run out of water?
(A) Water gets recycled.
(B) We get plenty of them.
(C) We have plenty of sources of water.
(D) When we run out, we can melt ice.
9. Look at the four [
the passage.
] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to
When the river reaches the sea, it is an outflow for the river and an
inflow for the sea.
Where would the sentence best fit? Choose the [ ] where the sentence should be
added to the passage.
(A) Paragraph 1, Line 7
(B) Paragraph 2, Line 1
(C) Paragraph 2, Line 3
(D) Paragraph 2, Line 4
10. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
(A) The world’s water supply is diminishing.
(B) Plants are involved in the hydrologic cycle.
(C) People should be careful not to damage the soil.
(D) Solid rock can be on aquifer.
11. From the passage, it can be inferred that
(A) there is an unlimited amount of water available
(B) porous soil stores less water
(C) human interference can affect the stability of the soil
(D) water continues to move downward after it reaches saturated soil
12. Directions: Complete the table by matching the phrases below. Select the
appropriate phrases from the answer choices and match them to the section of the
reading to which they relate. Decide if the word in italics is experiencing an inflow or
an outflow. Two of the answer choices will NOT be used.
Inflow
Outflow
__________
__________
__________
_________
_________
_________
(A) Water being evaporated from the surface of a lake
(B) Water infiltrating the ground
(C) Water being contaminated
(D) Run-off entering a river
(E) Plants returning water to the atmosphere
(F) Plants soaking water up from the ground
(G) Soil collapsing
(H) Water moving through cracks in rock