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A1–C2 · TOEFL iBT

TOEFL iBT Practice Test 42

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.

Inflation describes a general rise in prices over time. A little inflation is nor, but when prices climb too quickly, money loses its value and savi shrink. Several factors can cause this prob. Sometimes demand grows faster than businesses can sup goods. In other cases, higher costs for ene or raw materials are passed on to custo. Central banks usually respond by rais interest rates, which makes borrowing more expen and slows spending. However, this policy can also red employment, so the decision is diffi.

Read in Daily Life

Read the text and answer the questions.

How to use CityBike 1. Download the app and create an account with your email address. 2. Scan the QR code on the bike to unlock it. 3. Ride! The first 30 minutes of every trip are free; after that, it costs 50 cents per 10 minutes. 4. To finish, park the bike at any official station and push it firmly into the dock until the light turns green. Bikes left elsewhere will cost you a $10 fee.

1. How do you unlock a bike?

2. When is a $10 charge applied?

Poster: Family Day at the City Museum Saturday 7 June, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Explore the dinosaur hall with our guides, build a model volcano, and take part in the treasure hunt (ages 6-12). Face painting in the lobby from noon. Admission is free for children under 12 when accompanied by an adult. Adult tickets cost $8. Food is not allowed in the galleries, but the cafe will offer a special children's menu.

3. Which activity is for a specific age group?

4. What is NOT permitted inside the galleries?

Read an Academic Passage

Read the passage and answer the questions.

A rainbow forms when sunlight enters a raindrop, slows and bends as it passes from air into the denser water, reflects once off the droplet's inner curved surface, and bends again on exiting, with the total path separating white light into its component colours because each wavelength bends by a slightly different amount, a phenomenon called dispersion. Red light bends least and appears at the top of the arc; violet bends most and appears at the bottom, with the familiar colour sequence in between. Because this bending depends on a specific angle relative to the sun, an individual observer only sees light redirected from raindrops positioned along a precise cone-shaped angle, roughly 42 degrees from the point directly opposite the sun, which explains why a rainbow appears to move as the observer moves: it is not a fixed object but a pattern formed anew by whichever droplets happen to satisfy that angle from the viewer's exact position at that moment. A secondary, fainter rainbow, formed by light reflecting twice inside each droplet, sometimes appears further out with its colours reversed, and the darker band of sky often visible between the two arcs, known as Alexander's dark band, occurs because light bent toward those angles is redirected away from the observer entirely rather than toward the eye.

5. According to the passage, why does white light separate into colours inside a raindrop?

6. As used in the passage, "cone-shaped angle" helps explain why

7. What can be inferred about a rainbow from the passage?

8. Why does the author explain Alexander's dark band?

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.

9. What is Frank's problem?

10. What does Henry think is causing the problem?

11. What does Henry tell Frank to do first?

Listen to an Announcement

Listen to the announcement, then answer the questions.

12. How many guest tickets is each graduate allotted?

13. By when must caps and gowns be picked up?

Listen to an Academic Talk

Listen to part of a lecture, then answer the questions.

14. What is the asthenosphere, according to the lecture?

15. What happens at a divergent boundary?

16. What example does the professor give of a transform boundary?

17. What is the main purpose of this lecture excerpt?

Writing

Build a Sentence

Click the words and phrases to put them in the correct order.

1. I've got two tickets for the football match.

2. What did your sister ask you?

3. What do you do to relax?

4. What did the teacher say about homework?

5. What was the professor's main point?

Write an Email

Write an email that responds to the situation.

You are unable to attend a job interview because of a transport strike. Write an email to the interviewer, Ms. Carter. In your email, do the following: - Apologise and explain the problem. - Say that you are still interested in the job. - Suggest another way or time to have the interview.
Show sample answer
Model answer: Dear Ms. Carter, I am very sorry to tell you that I will not be able to attend my interview tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. The city's train drivers are on strike, and there are no services to your office, which is too far for me to reach any other way. I want to assure you that I am still very interested in the position of marketing assistant and have been looking forward to meeting your team. Would it be possible to hold the interview by video call at the same time tomorrow? If you prefer to meet in person, I could come any day next week. I apologise again for the inconvenience. Yours sincerely, Michael Adeyemi

Write for an Academic Discussion

Read the discussion and write a post that contributes to it.

Dr. Salazar: In pedagogy this week, we ask whether group projects prepare students better for real careers than individual assignments, or whether they mostly let some students do less work while others carry the team. Mei-Ling: Group work is valuable despite its flaws. Almost every job requires collaboration, and learning to manage disagreements and divide tasks fairly is a skill textbooks alone can't teach. Connor: In my experience, group grades are unfair. I've done entire projects almost alone while a groupmate who barely contributed received the same mark, and that has nothing to do with real teamwork. Write a post that contributes to the discussion (at least 100 words).
Show sample answer
Model answer: I think Connor is describing a design flaw in how group work is graded, not a reason to abandon it, so I lean towards keeping group projects but changing the assessment method. Mei-Ling is right that collaboration is a genuine, transferable skill, and avoiding group work entirely would leave students unprepared for how most workplaces actually function. However, Connor's frustration is completely understandable, and a single shared grade with no individual accountability does invite exactly the free-riding problem he describes. I would support group projects that combine a group mark for the final product with an individual component, such as peer evaluation or an individual reflection on one's specific contribution, so students like Connor aren't penalised for a groupmate's lack of effort.

Speaking

Listen and Repeat

Listen to each sentence and repeat it exactly.

Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
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Model answer: Could you show me how this new coffee machine works?
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Model answer: They spent the whole afternoon assembling the furniture they bought online.
Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
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Model answer: What's the difference between these two data plans, and which offers better value?
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Model answer: We had to reschedule the picnic because the forecast predicted thunderstorms all afternoon.
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Model answer: The professor spent the entire session explaining the difference between correlation and causation.

Take an Interview

Answer each interview question. Speak for about 45 seconds.

Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
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Model answer: Yes, I completed a two-month internship last summer at a small marketing agency, where I helped manage social media accounts and assisted with a couple of client campaigns.
Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
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Model answer: I learned a lot about how theory taught in class actually gets applied in practice, and I also discovered that I enjoy the creative side of marketing more than the analytical side.
Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
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Model answer: Yes, adjusting to a full workday was harder than expected, since university gives much more flexible scheduling. It took a couple of weeks before I felt comfortable with the routine and office environment.
Recorded on your device only — play it back and compare with the model answer.
Show sample answer
Model answer: I think it gave me a much clearer sense of the type of role I actually want, and it also gave me a professional reference and some real examples to talk about in future job interviews.
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