A1–C2 · TOEFL iBT
TOEFL iBT Practice Test 31
AI-generated practice paper in the style of TOEFL iBT — original material, not a reproduction of any real exam paper, following the official task types. Listening audio is read aloud by your browser's voice. For Speaking you can record yourself and compare with a model answer, and Writing tasks include a model answer — neither is scored automatically, since that needs real speech and writing evaluation this site does not offer for this exam.
Reading
Complete the Words
Type the missing letters to complete the words in the paragraph.
Fertile soil takes centuries to form but can disappear within a few seasons. Erosion happens when wind or running water carries away the loo upper layer of the ground. Farmers who leave fields ba between harvests incr the risk, because roots no longer hold the soil toge. Cutting down forests on steep slo has an even more dramatic eff. To protect their land, farmers plant cov crops, build terraces, and avo ploughing straight up a hill. Such practices pres both the soil and the long-term produc of the farm.
Read in Daily Life
Read the text and answer the questions.
House rules: Riverside Coworking
- Desks are first-come, first-served between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
- Meeting rooms must be booked in advance via the app; maximum 2 hours per booking.
- Please keep calls under 5 minutes at your desk; use a phone booth for longer calls.
- Kitchen: clean your own dishes; the space is not shared with catering staff.
- Guests must be signed in at reception.
1. What must a member do before using a meeting room?
2. What is expected regarding long phone calls?
LOST: Grey backpack
Lost on Tuesday afternoon somewhere between the Science Building and the bus station. It contains a blue notebook, a calculator and a small pink key ring shaped like a cat. The notebook has my name, Dana Ruiz, on the first page. There is no wallet inside, but the notes are very important for my exam next week. Reward offered. Please email dana.ruiz@campusmail.example or leave the bag at the Security Office.
3. Why does Dana especially want the bag back?
4. What can be inferred from the poster?
Read an Academic Passage
Read the passage and answer the questions.
For much of the twentieth century, neuroscientists believed the adult brain was essentially fixed, its structure determined by childhood development and largely incapable of significant reorganisation thereafter. This assumption has been overturned by decades of research into neuroplasticity, the brain's capacity to physically reorganise its neural connections in response to experience, learning, or injury, at any age. One striking line of evidence comes from studies of musicians: brain-imaging research has repeatedly found that the region of the motor cortex controlling finger movement is measurably larger in professional string players than in non-musicians, and the effect correlates with the number of years of practice, suggesting the brain physically adapted to the demands of the instrument rather than musicians simply being born with unusual brains. Similarly, London taxi drivers, who must memorise an extraordinarily complex map of the city's streets to pass a rigorous licensing exam, show enlarged hippocampal regions associated with spatial memory, an enlargement that appears to shrink again after drivers retire and stop actively navigating. Neuroplasticity also underlies much of the recovery seen after certain strokes, as surviving brain regions gradually take over functions previously handled by damaged tissue, though this capacity is not unlimited and tends to decline with age and with the severity of the original injury. These findings have reshaped rehabilitation medicine, encouraging therapies that deliberately and repeatedly challenge damaged brain regions rather than simply resting them, on the theory that structured effort itself drives beneficial reorganisation.
5. According to the passage, what did brain-imaging studies find about professional string players?
6. As used in the passage, "correlates with" most nearly means
7. What can be inferred about retired London taxi drivers, based on the passage?
8. Why does the author discuss both musicians and taxi drivers in the passage?
9. What is the main idea of the passage?
Listening
Listen and Choose a Response
Listen to each speaker, then choose the best response.
1. Choose the best response.
2. Choose the best response.
3. Choose the best response.
4. Choose the best response.
5. Choose the best response.
6. Choose the best response.
7. Choose the best response.
8. Choose the best response.
Listen to a Conversation
Listen to the conversation, then answer the questions.
Transcript (available after checking)
Carla: Ben, since you're tutoring me in calculus, when's a good time each week for us to meet?
Ben: Tuesdays after my last class usually works well for me, around four.
Carla: That works for me too. How long should each session be?
Ben: Let's start with an hour and adjust if you need more time before exams.
Carla: Sounds reasonable. Should I bring specific problems, or should we just go through the textbook chapters?
Ben: Bringing specific problems is more useful, that way we can focus on what's actually confusing you.
Carla: Okay, I'll come with a list of questions each week.
Ben: Perfect, see you Tuesday at four then.
9. What subject is Ben tutoring Carla in?
10. What day and time do they agree on?
11. What does Ben suggest Carla bring to sessions?
Listen to an Announcement
Listen to the announcement, then answer the questions.
Transcript (available after checking)
Good evening, and thanks for tuning in to campus radio. Coming up next in this hour, we've got a special segment featuring music submitted by students in our songwriting club, so stick around if you want to hear some original local talent. Before that, though, a quick reminder that ticket sales for next month's spring concert open tomorrow morning at nine through the student activities website, and past events have sold out within a day, so don't wait too long. All right, let's get into the music, starting with a track from a second-year student in the engineering program.
12. What is coming up next in the show?
13. When do spring concert tickets go on sale?
Listen to an Academic Talk
Listen to part of a lecture, then answer the questions.
Transcript (available after checking)
Now, most plants use what's called C3 photosynthesis, named for the three-carbon molecule initially produced when carbon dioxide is first fixed during the process. But some plants, particularly those adapted to hot, dry environments, use a modified pathway called C4 photosynthesis instead, and understanding the difference actually explains a lot about why certain crops thrive in certain climates. In C3 plants, the enzyme responsible for fixing carbon dioxide, called rubisco, has an unfortunate tendency to occasionally grab oxygen molecules instead of carbon dioxide, especially in hot conditions when plants close their pores to conserve water, which reduces internal carbon dioxide levels. This mistake, called photorespiration, actually wastes energy and reduces the plant's overall efficiency. C4 plants evolved a clever workaround: they first fix carbon dioxide into a different four-carbon molecule in outer leaf cells, then shuttle that molecule into specialized inner cells where carbon dioxide is concentrated before being handed off to rubisco, essentially flooding the enzyme with so much carbon dioxide that the oxygen-grabbing mistake becomes far less likely. This makes C4 plants, like corn and sugarcane, considerably more efficient in hot, sunny, water-limited conditions compared to C3 plants like wheat and rice, which explains a lot about historical crop distribution patterns across different global climate zones.
14. What problem does rubisco sometimes cause in C3 plants?
15. What is photorespiration?
16. How do C4 plants avoid this problem?
17. What crops does the professor give as C4 examples?
Writing
Build a Sentence
Click the words and phrases to put them in the correct order.
1. When is the deadline for the scholarship?
2. I've lost my keys again.
3. What's the difference between the two designs?
4. Have they found a cure yet?
5. Is the shop open late?
Write an Email
Write an email that responds to the situation.
You are a new employee and your computer has not been set up yet. Write an email to the IT department.
In your email, do the following:
- Explain what you need.
- Say how it affects your work.
- Ask when it will be ready.
Show sample answer
Model answer: Dear IT Department,
I started work in the marketing team on Monday, and unfortunately I still do not have a working computer. I have been given a laptop, but I cannot log in to the company network, and I do not have access to the shared folders or the email system.
Because of this, I have not been able to read the project files or contact clients, so I am relying on my colleagues to share information with me. This is slowing down the team and preventing me from starting my tasks.
Could you please tell me when my account will be ready? If it can be done by the end of the week, that would be very helpful.
Thank you for your help.
Best regards,
Ivan Petrov
Write for an Academic Discussion
Read the discussion and write a post that contributes to it.
Professor Zhao: In astronomy and public policy, governments spend billions on space exploration missions. Should this money instead be redirected toward pressing problems on Earth, like poverty and disease, or does space research justify its cost?
Corinne: Redirect at least some of it. It's hard to justify a mission to Mars while people lack clean water, and space agencies' budgets are large enough that meaningful redirection is possible without ending research entirely.
Btissam: I'd keep funding space research fully. It's a tiny fraction of most national budgets, and space research has already given us satellite communication, GPS and medical imaging technology that improve daily life on Earth.
Write a post that contributes to the discussion (at least 100 words).
Show sample answer
Model answer: I lean towards Btissam's position on the numbers, since space agency budgets really are a small fraction of total government spending, and Corinne's comparison implies redirecting that money would meaningfully solve poverty, when the amounts involved are actually far too small relative to those problems' true scale.
Corinne does have a point worth keeping, though: within space budgets themselves, some choices matter more than others, and prioritising missions with clear practical applications, like climate-monitoring satellites, over purely symbolic missions could deliver more public benefit for the same cost. I would keep space research funded roughly as it is, while agencies remain transparent about how each mission's benefits, beyond simple exploration, justify its specific cost.
Speaking
Listen and Repeat
Listen to each sentence and repeat it exactly.
Show sample answer
Model answer: The flight was delayed because of heavy fog.
Show sample answer
Model answer: The marathon route passes through five different neighbourhoods in the city.
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Model answer: The consultant recommended restructuring the department to reduce overlap between different teams.
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Model answer: The startup secured funding from investors just before running out of cash.
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Model answer: After comparing several offers, they decided to buy the smaller, more fuel-efficient car.
Take an Interview
Answer each interview question. Speak for about 45 seconds.
Show sample answer
Model answer: I usually start preparing about two weeks in advance by making summary notes from each week's lectures, then testing myself with practice questions closer to the exam date.
Show sample answer
Model answer: I prefer studying in the university library, especially on the quieter upper floors. My apartment has too many distractions, like the kitchen and my phone charger right next to my desk.
Show sample answer
Model answer: Yes, especially during my first year, when I underestimated how much material would be covered. I've since learned to start earlier and break my revision into smaller, more manageable daily sessions.
Show sample answer
Model answer: I would advise them to practise past papers under timed conditions, since understanding the format reduces a lot of anxiety, and to get enough sleep instead of pulling an all-nighter right before the exam.
Keep your streak going
Up next: TOEFL iBT Practice Test 32