TOEFL Reading Multiple Choice Questions

TOEFL reading multiple choice questions are the most common in this section. Each question is worth one point. This lesson shows you how to answer the 8 types of multiple choice questions.

Here are the eight multiple choice questions:

Factual Information (3-6)
Negative Factual Information (0-2)
Vocabulary in Context (3-5)
Inferences (0-2)
Reference (0-2)
Rhetorical Purpose (0-2)
Essential Information (0-1)
Insert a Sentence (0-1)

Use the strategies below to improve your success on the multiple choice reading questions.

1. Factual Information

These questions are the most common. You should find about 3-6. They may also be called detail questions because they ask you about specific details in the passage.

They ask you to find information within the passage. Often, the question tells you the paragraph that has the information. Here is an example question:

According to paragraph 3, how often should polar bears in captivity be fed?

Once a day
Twice a day
Once a week
Twice a week

You will notice these questions often use numbers, such as dates, amounts, measurements, or general numbers. Because the question gives you the paragraph number, use your scanning technique to find the information you are looking for.

Many of the factual information questions use WH words, like in these examples:

According to the passage, how was uranium discovered?
According to paragraph 4, when did the colonists arrive in Mexico?

2. Negative Factual Information

Another type of fact/detail question is the negative question. These are different because they contain the words not or except.

Read the answers and find them in the passage. You should be able to check off each possible answer as you read it in the passage. The one you can’t find is correct.

Watch out for synonyms in these questions. Often the answers are written in another way. For example, the answer may say the least expensive, but the passage says the cheapest.

Remember, three of the answer are true. Here’s an example:

In paragraph 1, each of these foods is mentioned EXCEPT?

Sushi
Teriyaki
Sashimi
Udon

3. Vocabulary in Context

There are 3-5 vocabulary questions for each reading passage.

These questions ask you to choose the correct definition for a difficult word from the passage. The question looks like this:

The word ________ in the passage is closest in meaning to which answer?

As an example, you could see a question like this:

The word “incredulous” in the passage is closest in meaning to

faithful
honest
sceptical
believable

You are not expected to know the definition of “incredulous”. You must use the reading passage to discover the definition.

To succeed on these types of questions, you must develop strategies to discover the definitions of the words. You can use five steps to understand the meaning of the words.

Locate the highlighted word.
Use your background knowledge.
Use your knowledge of roots, suffixes, and prefixes.
Use the sentence to give you the context of the word.
Use the article and background information.

Locate the highlighted word.

First find the word in the passage. This is easy because the word is highlighted.

Use your background knowledge.

Next, use your vocabulary knowledge to understand the word. Do you know this word already? If so, you can choose the proper synonym from the four choices.

Your own language is also helpful. Often, words come from the same source (e.g. Latin). If you do not know the word, move on to step 3.

Use your knowledge of roots, suffixes, and prefixes.

Study the parts of the word to help you discover its meaning.

Prefix: The prefix changes the meaning of the word. One example is “un”, which changes a word to its opposite.

Suffix: The suffix tells you the part of speech for the word. As an example, “tion” is a suffix for nouns (motion, commotion, potion). Study the different suffixes and their parts of speech.

Root: The root can tell you the origin of the word. This helps you realize other forms of the word that you may already know. For example, “collectively” comes from the root “collect”, which you probably know. This should help you find the definition.

Read the entire sentence that contains the word.

What does the meaning and purpose of the sentence tell you about the highlighted word? Use this information to help you understand the word. Take a look at this example:

The boorish man never said please or thank you.

Considering the man never said please or thank you, you see what boorish means.

Use the entire article and background information.

What does the information from the passage tell you about the word? For example, if the reading passage is talking about space, planets, and the solar system, you may be able to better understand the meaning of the targeted vocabulary word.

4. Inference

Inference questions ask you to draw a conclusion based on the information provided, however, the exact answer is not in the reading. Here is a simple example of making inferences:

Jack likes Japanese food. Jack would love to learn Japanese. He also thinks Japanese people are very friendly.

Inference: Jack would like to visit Japan.

The paragraph did not say Jack wants to visit Japan. You made that inference based on the information given.

Here are some example phrases used in inference questions:

It can be inferred that…
From the reading, you can infer that…
From the passage, you can imply…
The passage suggests…
Which of the following can be inferred about ________?
The author implies that ___________.

These questions require you to understand the whole passage. You will not be directed to a specific section of the text. Therefore, you should leave these questions until the end when you have a better understanding of the passage.

Sometimes the question tells you where to look:

It can be inferred from paragraph one that…

If it does not tell you which paragraph to read, it is testing your understanding of the whole passage.

5. Reference

Reference questions ask you to understand the use of referents. These are words that refer to a previous noun in the passage. Here is a simple example

The African elephant is one of the most dangerous animals in the world. It can crush an enemy when needed.

In this passage, the word “it” refers to African elephant.

Inference questions appear as follows:

Which choice does the word “they” refer to in line 26?

The monkeys
The scientists
The trees
The test results

In these types of questions, it is important to be comfortable with pronouns and their usage.

He, She,	Singular People
It	Singular Thing
They	Plural People or Things
His, Her, Its, Hers,	Singular Possession
Their, Theirs	Plural possession

This, That	Singular
These, Those	Plural

Pronoun	Refers to…	Example
Who	People	He has a teacher *who* was born in Spain.
Whom	People	He likes people *whom* he can talk to.
Which	Things	They bought a new Xbox, *which* was on sale.
That	People or Things	She has a bicycle *that* does not work. He knows a man *that* lives has 14 brothers.
Whose	Possession	His brother, *whose* wife is pregnant, will not be coming to the party.
Where	Places	She would like to live in a city where people can feel safe.
When	Time	We should have the meeting at a time when it is convenient for everyone.

It is important to recognize the gender and number of each pronoun. This will help you find the answer. Often the easiest answer to eliminate is based on gender or number.

To check your answer, replace the referent with your choice. The sentence should still make sense.

The main distracter is a noun that is close to the referent but does not apply. Here is an example:

The molecular cells display several harmful qualities to humans. They have been known to multiply rapidly.

In this example, the word “they” refers to a plural noun. The problem is that in the previous sentence, there are three plural nouns (cells, qualities, humans). You must read carefully and choose the appropriate answer (cells).

The four choices in the question are all words from the passage.

6. Rhetorical Purpose

These questions ask “why”. They focus on the links between ideas and paragraphs. These are some sample questions:

The author discusses __________ in paragraph 2 in order to…
Why does the author mention __________?
The author uses __________ as an example of …
How does the author …
The author uses X as an example of…
The author discusses X in paragraph 3in order to…

Understand key words that show an author’s purpose:

Show, Display, Illustrate	Criticize
Compare	Contrast
Refute, Disagree with	Explain, Define
Argue, Believe, Claim

7. Essential Information

These questions ask you to choose the answer that best expresses the essential information in a highlighted section of a text. The answer is a summary or simplification of the sentence in the text. Incorrect answers change the meaning or leave out important information.

Look out for restrictive words:

Always	All	Every
Never	None	Only

This is an example question:

Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the following sentence?

Often, the sentence is correct, but it does not have enough information. As it says on the test, incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

Insert a Sentence

In each passage, there are 1-2 insert a sentence questions. In these questions, you must decide between 4 places in the paragraph to insert the new sentence. Look for the [■] symbol, which is used for these question types.

Insert a Sentence Strategies

Use referents (this/that) example: The destruction of this species was caused by humans.

Articles affect the placement of the sentence. The first mention of a noun uses “a” and subsequent references use “the”.

Transitional words give you an idea of where the sentence goes.

Know connector words:

on the other hand

For example

On the contrary

In other words

Finally

Similarly

In contrast

Further

As a result

Understand the general structure of a paragraph.

Read the sentence with its previous and following sentences. Some sentences can’t be separated

Consider both content and structure.

Do not read the instructions. They are long and always the same for these types of questions.

General Multiple Choice Strategies

Think of the answer to the question before you look at the answers.

Eliminate wrong choices.

Understand the pattern of multiple choice questions.

Correct
Close
Opposite
Not Related

Watch out for words that are exclusive.

All, none, everyone, everything, always, none, never, etc.

Read carefully. Multiple choice questions often have tricks or distracters.