TOEFL IBT Reading Practice Test 11 from IVY’s Reading Actual Test

TOEFL IBT Reading Practice Test 11 from IVY’s Reading 15 Actual Test

This section measures your ability to understand academic passages in English. The Reading section is divided into 2 separately timed parts.
Most questions are worth 1 point but the last question in each set is worth more than 1 point. The directions indicate how many points you may receive.

Some passages include a word or phrase that is underlined in blue. Click on the word or phrase to see a definition or an explanation.

Within each part, you can go to the next question by clicking Next. You may skip questions and go back to them later. If you want to return to previous questions, click on Back. You can click on Review at any time and the review screen will show you which questions you have answered and which you have not answered. From this review screen, you may go directly to any question you have already seen in the Reading section.

You may now begin the Reading section. In this part you will read 1 passage. You will have 20 minutes to read the passage and answer the questions.

Passage 1 | Art History

Two Styles of Greek Pottery Painting

A tradition as old as the civilization itself, Greek pottery can be studied as a chronicle of ancient Greek society. It was designed to fulfill a functional rather than decorative purpose, so Greek pottery was fundamentally related to everyday life, not separated from it. Furthermore, the Greeks’ pottery is an essential source of historical information because so much of it survives today. Although vessels may be broken, even these remnants of pottery contribute to contemporary historians’ understanding of ancient Greek culture. Thus, today’s archaeologists and art historians enjoy a rich record of Greece’s cultural progress and significant insight into the routines of people’s daily lives in this civilization.

Analysis of ancient Greek pottery paintings shows several distinct periods, each capitalizing on and advancing the style that preceded it. This gradual progression that preceded it. This gradual progression parallels developments in other areas of Greek society—how their cultural interest shifted mythological figures in their pottery paintings with images of everyday Greeks. [A] Early pottery decorations were composed of abstract shapes and lines that did not represent human activities. [B] Then, as cultural influences from trade with Middle Eastern regions were introduced, the Greeks began to decorate their pottery using more realistically painted human and animal figures. [C] It was not until Greek artists began producing black-figure-style paintings, however, that Greek pottery gained maturity as a fine art. [D]

The black-figure style of decorating pottery emerged around 700 BC. It soon evolved into a narrative technique that focused on the stories of mythical gods, heroes, and demons. Abandoning the practice of drawing outlined images, artists working in the black- figure style created silhouettes, figures that were completely black except for small details drawn in contrasting red or white. By creating solid figures and using added details, artists working in the black-figure style created human forms that were much more realistic than those of previous styles. However, their figure drawing was still limited to one perspective—a flat side view. In the black-figure style, human poses were always captured in two-dimensional profiles. That is, the images never possessed any feeling of depth, no sense of background or foreground.

To paint pottery in the black-figure style, artists first used slip, a mixture of water and clay, to paint silhouettes on a clay vessel. Then, by etching details into the silhouettes painted in slip, artists exposed the clay beneath. Depending on the type of clay, the etched lines developed into a white, ochre, or red as the pot was fired. The primary drawback of the black-figure style was the constraints imposed by the tools used to etch designs in the black slip, a limitation that the red-figure style, developed in 530 BC, was able to overcome.

Centuries of experimentation with figure painting peaked with the red-figure style’s achievements of accurately representing  the body. Developments in Greek sculpture around the same time helped painters visualize figures as three-dimensional forms occupying three-dimensional spaces. Artists began to create an illusion of depth on a two¬dimensional surface through a technique known as “foreshortening.” They suggested distance by changing the proportions of objects in the foreground and background of the composition. By 500 BC, Greek artists were no longer limited to two-dimensional profiles in creating human figures and incorporated three-quarters frontal poses that demonstrated their mastery of the style.

By painting figures that are turned slightly toward or away from the viewer, the artists incorporated a sense of depth that was absent in the black-figure style. In essentially the reverse of the black- figure-style process, red-figure-style artists painted the backgrounds of their pictures black and let the red clay show through as shapes in the foreground. By then painting details s directly on the red clay instead of etching lines to remove slip, artists were able to make finer, more precise accents that increased the realism of figures’ hair, muscles, and skin. This style’s potential for naturalism led to a focus on facial expressions and motion that enriched the narrative, advancing Greek pottery design to its apex.

1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following best explains why Greek pottery is valuable to historians?
(A) It shows distinct changes in pottery painting over time.
(Bi It is a source of information that survives in large quantities.
(C) It depicts images of everyday activities and people in Greek society.
(D) It is not broken by the natural forces that destroy other cultural artifacts.

2 The word it in the passage refers to
(A) Analysis

(B) pottery
(C) period
(D) style

3. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
(A) Greek pottery paintings primarily focused on the culture’s mythology, the heroes and gods it admired most
(B) Changes in Greek society included a new fascination with their own daily lives and routines, which replaced their interest in mythology.
(C) Changes in pottery painting that showed the new artistic interest in everyday life came from changes in the way Greek society viewed itself.
(D) Greek pottery paintings eventually became less significant as mythology grew in popularity and became the culture’s dominant art form.

4 Why does the author mention abstract shapes in paragraph 2?
(A) To provide a point of origin for describing the development of Greek pottery painting styles
(B) To suggest that the Greeks were influenced by the civilizations with whom they frequently traded
(C) To demonstrate that the Greeks considered pottery painting an essential part of their culture
(D) To provide an example of the helpful information that pottery painting provides contemporary historians

5 The word imposed in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) established

(B) allowed
(C) favored
(D) delivered

6 According to paragraph 4, what is the main weakness of the black figure style?
(A) The etching tools used to add details
(B) The figures painted as black silhouettes
(C) The range of colored slip available
(D) The kind of clay used as a base

7. The word visualize in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) draw
(B) imagine
(C) develop
(D) explore

8. According to paragraph 6, what was the most significant achievement of the red figure style?
(A) It etched details into the clay instead of the slip.
(B) It used a black background to make figures more visible.
(C) It used red clay that gave more natural- colored skin tones.
(D) It developed realistically painted human figures.

9. According to the passage, a sense of depth in pottery paintings
(A) was not considered important by Greek artists
(B) was attempted but never achieved by Greek artists
(C) was incorporated by artists of the red- figure style
(D) was mastered by Greek artists who studied Middle Eastern art

10. The word apex in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) termination
(B) objective
(C) precision
(D) summit

11. Look at the four squares H that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

This shift from abstract decoration to the first human figure drawing was important in the evolution toward the more sophisticated styles of pottery painting that appeared later.

Where would the sentence best fit?

12. Directions: Complete the table by matching the phrases below.
Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices and match them to the style of pottery painting to which they relate. TWO of the answer choices will NOT be used. This question is worth 4 points.

Answer Choices (A) Was practically the reverse of the style that preceded it (B) Featured solid black silhouettes rather than outlined figures (C) Employed a technique that created a sense of depth on a flat surface (D) Was influenced by regions introduced to the Greeks through commerce (E) Produced images by painting the background but not the figures (F) Is considered the finest development in Greek pottery painting (G) Used images that did not relate to human activities (H) Created details by carving into slip to expose a clay surface (I) Required etching tools for drawing images on the pottery	Black-figure Style
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	Red-figure Style
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Reading Passage 2.   Reading Passage 3  Answer Keys & Explanation

Passage 2 | World History

The History of Soap

The history of soap is long but ambiguous, beginning by some estimates as far back as 2800 BC in ancient Babylon. Archaeological findings suggest that various ingredients including fats, oils, and greases were involved in the making of early soaps. Specific evidence was discovered during the excavation of ancient Babylon (modern-day Iraq), when ancient soapy matter was found in clay containers bearing inscriptions that indicated the contents were made by boiling fats with ashes – a method of soap making. Archaeological evidence from other ancient civilizations, like Egypt and Phoenicia, suggests that many cultures were using soaps to clean raw textiles before dyeing them. Early soaps were not commonly used for bathing, and different cultures used the products in different capacities—among other uses, soap was administered as a wound medicament and applied as a hair dye. There is no definitive evidence proving exactly where soap originated; it seems to have been discovered independently by several civilizations- Arabs, Celts, and Romans were all early users of soap-like substances.

One popular legend ascribes the discovery of the cleansing properties of soap to a fortunate coincidence: long ago, people washing their clothes in a river near a site for sacrificial offerings noticed that when they washed their laundry in that specific area, their clothes became particularly clean. They realized that the combination of ash and
animal fat produced by the burnt offerings created an effective laundering aid. Although this legend presents an interesting account of the origin of soap, there is no way to verify the authenticity of the story. As a result, it is considered by some to be a myth.

The first written documentation of soap appears in the writings of Gaius Plinius Secundus, a Roman writer and philosopher who had traveled throughout Western Europe, visiting several other cultures. He wrote about a substance made from a mixture of ash and animal fat—a simple soap that the Celts used as a hair product.

The craft of soap making had spread throughout Europe and reached England by the eleventh century, but in spite of its prevalence, soap was rarely used for bathing and personal hygiene. In fact, the devastating plagues of the Middle Ages—including the Black Death of the fourteenth century – are attributed to a lack of basic cleanliness.

Over time, cultures experimented with soap-making recipes and eventually discovered that the animal fat they used could be replaced by vegetable oils. Virtually any vegetable oil could be used to make soap— palm, coconut, and almond oil were some of the more popular choices. [A] In particular, soap made from olive oil came to be regarded as a superior product. [B] During the sixteenth century, one kind of olive-oil soap—castile soap, believed to be named for the region in Spain where it originated—was widely exported throughout Europe, becoming famous for its quality. [C] Even today, “castile soap” is a term used to refer to soaps that are made primarily of olive oil.

As soap became an increasingly popular trading commodity, British authorities recognized that control of the soap industry would give them significant economic influence. In the seventeenth century, the king of England enforced restrictions on the location of soap-making companies, demanding that they be based in London. Regulations and taxation made soap an expensive luxury that was not accessible to most people. It was not until the removal of the soap tax in the middle of the nineteenth century that it became possible for commoners to purchase this popular item.

Although soap making was a firmly established craft in Europe, early colonists in North America practiced soap making almost exclusively as a household chore, and there were few professional soap makers in the colonies. For some time, personal hygiene was considered a low priority, as the colonists were occupied with other concerns. Ideas about hygiene began to change during the Civil War, when improvements in hospital hygiene introduced Americans to the benefits of personal cleanliness. This resulted in a change in the way society viewed sanitation issues, leading to the installation of indoor bathrooms and sinks and introducing a demand for soap. The revolution in Americans’ attitudes toward hygiene was complete when twentieth-century soap makers began employing expensive, large-scale advertising strategies to increase their sales and expand their industry.

13. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
(A) Archaeological excavations have uncovered clay containers that contain recipes for soap.
(B) Carvings on clay containers holding a soap-like material show that Babylonians made a kind of soap.
(C) In ancient times, soap was made by combining animal fats with ashes and heating the mixture in clay containers.
(D) Excavations in Babylon uncovered bathtubs that were once used for bathing with soap.

14. The word administered in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) given
(B) tested
(C) labeled
(D) saved

15. The word authenticity in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) science
(B) circumstance
(C) legend
(D) truth

16. Why does the author mention the legend in paragraph 2?
(A) To present evidence about the origin of soap
(B) To explain the origin of the word “soap”
(C) To emphasize the idea that soap was spiritually significant
(D) To support the idea that the origin of soap is uncertain

17. What can be inferred from paragraph 4 about epidemics in the Middle Ages?
(A) They generally affected populations of lower- and middle-class people more than communities of upper-class people.
(B) Their disastrous consequences would have been lessened if people had practiced better hygiene.
(C) They changed the way people thought about municipal sanitation and personal cleanliness.
(D) They were spread through contact with contaminated sources of water, especially public baths.

18. The word its in the passage refers to
(A) olive oil
(B) castile soap
(C) Spain
(D) Europe

19. What can be inferred from paragraph 5 about Castile?
(A) Its merchants had access to plenty of olive oil.
(B) It was located near a coastline.
(C) Its citizens were concerned about hygiene.
(D) It had a shortage of animals.

20 The word Regulations in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) Governments
(B) Officials
(C) Rules
(D) Industries

21 According to paragraph 6, soap in England was not initially available to the masses because
(A) soap was not allowed to be sold in London
(B) they were prohibited by law from buying soap
(C) it was produced mainly in rural townships

(D) restrictions and duties made it difficult for many people to purchase

22. What can be inferred from paragraph 7 about colonists’ attitudes toward soap before the Civil War?
(A) They did not consider it an effective cleanser.
(B) They disliked it because it was difficult to make.
(C) They preferred to use it for washing laundry.
(D) They did not care about its cleansing properties.

23. The word concerns in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) principles
(B) affairs
(C) opinions
(D) accomplishments

24. Look at the four squares []  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

Soaps made with oils such as these were gentler on the skin than soaps made with animal fats, so vegetable-oil soaps quickly became desirable products.

Where would the sentence best fit?

25. 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. This question is worth 2 points.

Believed to date back thousands of years, the origin of soap is not entirely known, but it is dear that throughout its history, soap has varied in both composition and application depending on the cultures who used it.

Answer Choices

(A) Early soaps consisted of ingredients not easily found today and were used for practices now considered outdated.
(C) Some historians believe that the earliest soaps were used mainly for medicinal and cosmetic purposes.
(E) Unlike soap makers of the past, modern soap producers use more organic materials and focus more on hygiene.
(B) The first soaps were made from ash and animal fat, but later soaps used different types of vegetable oils.
(D) In ancient times, soap was valued as a precious commodity, so its creation and usage was limited to sacred occasions.
(F) Gradually, soap became the product it is today, a cleanser used for bathing and for personal hygiene.

Reading Passage 1  Reading Passage 3  Answer Keys & Explanation

Passage 3 | Astronomy

Io’s Volcanoes

In earlier periods of Earth’s history, the surface of our planet was a much more violent place than it is today. The core of the Earth is estimated to currently be between 3,000 and 55 5,000 degrees Celsius, but its temperature was even greater millions of years ago. This intense internal heat and pressure has been responsible for many of the processes that have shaped the surface of our planet over the ¡o millennia, such as tectonic shifts, earthquakes, and volcanoes. In a volcanic eruption, molten rock from deep inside the Earth is ejected out onto the surrounding landscape, significantly altering the physical and chemical makeup of  the environment Scientists believe events like this were much more common and powerful in prehistoric times, and they study modem volcanic activity to better understand how Earth was shaped and formed.

[A] However, these processes are not unique to our world. [B] In fact, lo, one of the largest moons orbiting the planet Jupiter, is the most volcanically active celestial body known to exist. [C] The discovery of this fact has provided researchers with a new window into what our early planet may have looked like. [D]

It was not until the late 1970s that scientists were able to gather definitive 3t information about the surface features of Io. Probes launched by NASA around this time passed near the moon on their way to study Jupiter, Saturn, and the other outer planets. This provided the opportunity to capture photographs and take other kinds of measurements of lo. The probes’ detailed pictures of the moon revealed what turned out to be a very important, unexpected discovery. Scientists had anticipated that lo’s surface, like those of most other rock-based bodies that inhabit our solar system, would display the typical craters and impact marks from countless collisions over time with meteors and other objects adrift in space. They planned to use those marks to estimate the age of the moon’s surface by recording the amount of craters—the more craters, the older the surface. When scientists saw the probes’ images, however, they were shocked to see an absence of impact craters. As it turns out, lo’s surface is not very old, less than one million years.

Fortunately, the scientists were also able to observe the reason for this peculiarity: lo’s surface is covered with volcanoes. It is constantly changing as new volcanoes emerge, others become extinct, and magma deposits accumulate or disappear. Just like on Earth, these processes continually renew the moon’s surface, redistributing molten material from the interior to the exterior and subsequently covering all traces of impact marks, lo’s volcanic features are the reason for its youthful face.

The existence of volcanoes on lo was not the only interesting discovery. Photographs of the surface showed the volcanic activity to be extremely intense, with some eruptions spewing material as high as 300 kilometers. And, in addition to volcanoes, lo is covered by lava flows, volcanic geysers, and molten lakes. Taken together, these observations allowed scientists to confirm what had previously only been speculated about the cores of other moons and planets: like Earth’s, some of them are hot.

Part of the reason for its fiery interior, and hence also for its volcanic activity, has to do with lo’s somewhat unique orbital position, so During its orbit around Jupiter, the moon is constantly pulled by the gravity of that enormous planet. However, at some points, lo is also pulled in the opposite direction by the gravity of two other large moons whose orbits 3i sometimes put lo between them and Jupiter. These immense gravitational forces stretch and squish lo by as much as 100 meters. This motion generates internal friction, and the resulting heat melts lo’s interior, giving rise to  its spectacular displays of volcanic activity.

Needless to say, the size and intensity of lo’s volcanoes are of great interest to scientists who believe that similar conditions may once have existed on Earth. By better understanding the nature of such conditions, we will have a better grasp of the formative processes that shaped our planet, lo thus offers scientists a rare opportunity to study an important aspect of Earth’s distant past.

26. The word ejected in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) tom
(B) piled
(C) worn
(D) thrown

27. What can be inferred from paragraph 1 about Earth’s core temperature?
(A) It has decreased over time, but it will increase again in the future.
(B) Tectonic activity and earthquakes have no relation to core temperature.
(C) It must be above 5,000 degrees Celsius to produce volcanoes.
(D) Hotter temperatures produced more intense volcanic events.

28 Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
(A) Scientists knew that lo was a rock-based body because of all the meteor craters and other marks that were found on its surface. ,
(B) Most rocky bodies in the solar system are covered with collision craters, and researchers were expecting to see these on lo.
(C) Rock-based planets and moons usually have numerous impact marks because they are constantly colliding with small meteors and other particles.
(D) Even before scientists saw images of lo’s surface, they could predict the amount of craters and impact marks that would be visible there.

29. Why does the author mention Probes in paragraph 3?
(A) To explain how important discoveries about lo were made
(B) To describe the level of NASA’s interest in Jupiter’s moons
(C) To introduce similarities between lo and the outer planets
(D) To illustrate an outdated method of collecting data in space

30. According to paragraph 3, how do scientists determine the ages of rock-based moons?
(A) By comparing them with planets of known ages
(B) By measuring the circumference of the celestial body
(C) By observing the frequency of impact marks
(D) By analyzing the composition of the crust

31. The word traces in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) sizes
(B) regions
(C) evidence
(D) combinations

32. Why does the author mention lava flows and volcanic geysers in paragraph 5?
(A) To discuss some characteristics shared by all rock-based moons and planets
(B) To state the features of lo’s surface that the probes were sent to photograph
(C) To explain that some natural processes are more powerful than volcanic eruptions
(D) To list observations that enabled scientists to determine the nature of the cores of other moons and planets

33. The word speculated in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) written
(B) proved
(C) imagined
(D) understood

34. The word them in the passage refers to
(A) lakes
(B) cores
(C) moons
(D) planets

35. According to paragraph 6, what is responsible for lo’s molten core?
(A) The gravitational pull of the surrounding bodies
(B) The heat present when lo orbits close to the sun
(C) The moon’s own intense gravitational forces
(D) The volcanoes that heat and melt lo’s surface

36. What can be inferred from paragraph 6 about lo?
(A) It is larger than the two moons that orbit closest to it.
(B) It is the only moon in the solar system that has volcanoes.
(C) It orbits closer to Jupiter than some of the other moons.
(D) Its core measures less than 100 meters in diameter.

37. Look at the four squares [] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
Most of the rocky planets and moons in our solar system experience similar events.

Where would the sentence best fit?

38. 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. This question is worth 2 points.

Since the discovery that lo is the most volcanically active location in our solar system, scientists have been using it to learn about conditions on the early Earth.

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Answer Choices
(A) Instead of observing craters on lo’s surface, NASA’s probes revealed the presence of volcanic activity on the moon.
(C) It is impossible to determine the ages of planets and moons with active volcanoes because their surfaces are constantly changing.
(E) Many of the volcanoes currently active on Earth are similar to those on lo in terms of size.

(B) The volcanic activity on lo is so intense that the moon’s surface is constantly being recycled and renewed, similar to theories about what happened on Earth.
(D) Before scientists launched probes to photograph lo, they assumed that they would be able to estimate the moon’s age by observing its volcanoes.
(F) Because of the peculiarities in the orbiting patterns of Jupiter’s moons, lo experiences intense gravitational forces that heat its core.

Drag your answer choices to the spaces where they belong. To remove an answer choice, click on it To review the passage, click View Text

Reading Passage 1  Reading Passage 2  Answer Keys & Explanation