A1–C2 · TOEFL iBT
TOEFL iBT Practice Test 34
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.
In the 1880s, the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus tested his own memory with lists of nonsense words. He found that forgetting is fast right after learning. Within an ho, he had lost about half of the material, and after a mon very little rema. However, each time he revi the list, the memory lasted lon. This pattern, called the forgetting curve, is the bas of spaced repetition, a study method in which students revi information at incre intervals rather than cram before an exam.
Read in Daily Life
Read the text and answer the questions.
Subject: Broken washing machine
Dear Mr. Hassan,
I am writing to let you know that the washing machine in flat 3B stopped working on Sunday. It fills with water but doesn't drain, and there is now water on the floor. I've turned it off and unplugged it. Could you please arrange for a repair as soon as possible? I'm at home after 5 p.m. on weekdays and all day on Saturdays.
Kind regards,
Mei Lin Zhou
1. What is Mei Lin asking Mr. Hassan to do?
2. What has Mei Lin already done?
Post: Saturday Parkrun crew
Great turnout this morning, everyone! We had 42 runners, and Ali set a new personal best of 24:10. Next week we're trying something different: instead of the usual park route, we'll start at the old railway bridge and follow the canal path. It's flat but slightly longer, about 6 km. Bring a torch if you plan to stay for the sunset run afterwards. Coffee is on Farida this time!
3. What is different about next week's run?
4. Who will pay for coffee?
Read an Academic Passage
Read the passage and answer the questions.
Forests influence regional and even continental water cycles far more directly than commonly assumed, a relationship most starkly illustrated by ongoing deforestation in the Amazon basin. Trees do not merely consume rainfall; through a process called transpiration, they draw water up from deep soil layers and release it as vapour from their leaves, and across a vast forest, this collective release forms a substantial source of atmospheric moisture that condenses and falls again as rain further inland, sometimes hundreds of kilometres from where it evaporated. Researchers describe this as a "flying river," a term capturing how the Amazon effectively recycles its own rainfall multiple times as air masses move westward from the Atlantic coast toward the Andes. When large sections of forest are cleared, this internal recycling weakens, since cleared land, especially converted to pasture or cropland, transpires far less water than intact forest and reflects more solar energy, altering local temperature and wind patterns. Climate models project that if deforestation crosses a critical threshold, currently estimated by some researchers at around twenty to twenty-five percent of the original forest area, the weakened moisture recycling could trigger a self-reinforcing decline in rainfall severe enough to convert large stretches of remaining rainforest into a drier savanna-like ecosystem, a transition that would likely prove difficult or impossible to reverse on any human timescale, since savanna vegetation transpires and reflects sunlight differently, reinforcing the drier conditions that produced it.
5. According to the passage, what is transpiration?
6. As used in the passage, "self-reinforcing" most nearly means
7. What can be inferred about a savanna-like ecosystem that replaces rainforest after a rainfall decline?
8. Why does the author use the term "flying river" in describing the Amazon?
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)
Anna: Hi, I wanted to talk about which electives to take next semester. I'm torn between astronomy and film studies.
David: Both are popular. Do you know your schedule for your major courses yet?
Anna: Yes, I have morning classes Monday through Thursday, so afternoons are free.
David: Astronomy has a lab that only meets on Tuesday afternoons, and film studies meets twice a week in the evening. Either could fit.
Anna: I think I'll lean toward astronomy then, since I've always liked physics.
David: Good choice. Just remember the lab requires you to buy a star chart before the second week.
Anna: Noted. Thanks for going through this with me.
David: Anytime. Come back if you change your mind before registration closes.
9. What is Anna trying to decide?
10. According to David, when does the astronomy lab meet?
11. What does David remind Anna to do before the second week?
Listen to an Announcement
Listen to the announcement, then answer the questions.
Transcript (available after checking)
This is a notice for all dormitory residents. Over the next two weeks, the laundry rooms in every residence hall will be upgraded with new washers and dryers that accept payment through a mobile app instead of coins. During installation, each building's laundry room will be closed for one full day, and a schedule showing which day applies to your building has been posted near the front desk. Once installed, the new machines will also send a notification to your phone when your load is finished, so you won't need to keep checking in person. We think you'll find the new system much more convenient.
12. How will the new machines accept payment?
13. What new feature will the machines have?
Listen to an Academic Talk
Listen to part of a lecture, then answer the questions.
Transcript (available after checking)
So, continuing our discussion of operant conditioning, today let's focus on schedules of reinforcement, since the timing and pattern of rewards turns out to matter just as much as the reward itself. B.F. Skinner identified several distinct schedules, and each produces surprisingly different behavior patterns. A fixed-ratio schedule rewards behavior after a set number of responses, like a factory worker paid per every ten items assembled; this tends to produce a high, steady rate of responding, though often with a brief pause right after each reward. A variable-ratio schedule rewards behavior after an unpredictable number of responses, and this is where things get really interesting, because it produces the highest, most persistent response rate of any schedule, and it's also remarkably resistant to extinction, meaning the behavior continues even after rewards stop entirely for a while. This is exactly the mechanism behind slot machines; you never know which pull will pay off, so people keep pulling the lever far longer than they would under a predictable reward system. There are also interval-based schedules, tied to time rather than number of responses, fixed-interval and variable-interval, which tend to produce somewhat different, generally slower response patterns. Understanding these schedules has real practical applications, from designing effective employee incentive programs to understanding why certain habits, both helpful and harmful ones, become so remarkably difficult to break once they're established.
14. What does a fixed-ratio schedule reward?
15. Which schedule produces the highest, most persistent response rate?
16. What example does the professor use for variable-ratio reinforcement?
17. What practical application does the professor mention?
Writing
Build a Sentence
Click the words and phrases to put them in the correct order.
1. This soup tastes strange.
2. Where can I park?
3. Who wrote this report?
4. What made you angry?
5. The lab is closed all week.
Write an Email
Write an email that responds to the situation.
Your apartment building has no working heating, and the landlord has not responded to your calls. Write an email to the landlord, Mr. Simmons.
In your email, do the following:
- Describe the problem and how long it has lasted.
- Explain how it is affecting you.
- Ask him to arrange a repair by a specific date.
Show sample answer
Model answer: Dear Mr. Simmons,
I am writing about the heating in apartment 4B, which has not worked for ten days. I have phoned your office three times but have not received a reply.
Temperatures at night are now close to freezing. I am finding it hard to sleep, and I cannot study properly because my hands are too cold to type. I have also noticed damp forming on the bedroom wall.
Could you please arrange for a technician to visit and repair the system by this Friday? If you cannot do that, I would appreciate a temporary electric heater.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Daniel Reyes
Write for an Academic Discussion
Read the discussion and write a post that contributes to it.
Dr. Farrukh: In philosophy of science, should humanity actively pursue colonizing Mars within this century, or is this an unethical distraction from fixing the damage we've already done to Earth?
Selin: Pursue it, cautiously. A second, self-sustaining home for humanity is a reasonable long-term insurance policy against asteroid impacts or other catastrophes that could threaten Earth entirely.
Femi: I think it's premature and unethical. We haven't proven we can build a sustainable society on a planet with a working atmosphere; jumping to one with none seems like a fantasy that distracts from urgent problems here.
Write a post that contributes to the discussion (at least 100 words).
Show sample answer
Model answer: I lean towards Femi's skepticism about timing rather than Selin's insurance-policy argument, mainly because the technology and cost required to sustain even a small Mars colony remain enormous and unproven, while the problems Femi mentions, like climate change and biodiversity loss, are urgent and solvable with resources we already have.
That said, I wouldn't call all Mars-related research unethical, since much of the technology developed for space survival, like closed-loop life support and efficient solar power, has already found uses on Earth. My position is that colonization itself should wait, but continued scientific research toward that eventual goal, done without diverting serious resources away from Earth's current crises, seems defensible as long-term preparation rather than premature escape.
Speaking
Listen and Repeat
Listen to each sentence and repeat it exactly.
Show sample answer
Model answer: The cafeteria stops serving lunch at two.
Show sample answer
Model answer: Remember to back up your photos before the trip.
Show sample answer
Model answer: He's saving up to buy a secondhand motorcycle next summer.
Show sample answer
Model answer: The physiotherapist suggested a series of exercises to strengthen his lower back.
Show sample answer
Model answer: The plumber discovered that the leak had been damaging the ceiling for weeks.
Take an Interview
Answer each interview question. Speak for about 45 seconds.
Show sample answer
Model answer: I usually go to sleep around midnight, though it varies depending on my workload. During exam periods, it can be closer to one or two in the morning, which I know isn't ideal.
Show sample answer
Model answer: Honestly, not always. On a good week I get around seven hours, but during busy periods it drops closer to five, and I definitely notice the difference in my concentration the next day.
Show sample answer
Model answer: Yes, I started putting my phone in another room before bed, which has genuinely helped me fall asleep faster, since I'm no longer tempted to keep scrolling for another twenty minutes.
Show sample answer
Model answer: I think it's crucial for memory and concentration. I've noticed that when I sleep well, I retain information from lectures far better than when I try to compensate for tiredness with extra coffee.
Keep your streak going
Up next: TOEFL iBT Practice Test 35