Hopefully, you already read my blog post from yesterday about the new TOEFL Reading Section. If not, please go to my blog on my website and read it.
This post will ONLY talk about the “Hard Module.” You will be sent to this module if you get more than sixty percent correct in the routing module. Remember, the hard module gives you a chance to get 6/6. You should want to go to the hard module!
This module is easy to explain. You will not have any Read in Daily Life tasks. You will have one or two Fill in the Blank tasks, and one or two Academic Tasks.
I will give you some examples with an answer key at the end.
Here is an example of a fill in the blank task. Please fill in the missing letters.
Cave paintings are some of the oldest forms of human expression. Crea_ _ _ thousands o_ years a_ _ , these ima_ _ _ often sh_ _ animals su_ _ as hor_ _ , bison, and de_ _ . Early hum_ _ _ used natu_ _ _ pigments from the earth to paint on the walls of dark caves. Many experts believe the paintings may have been used for storytelling or religious rituals. They provide valuable clues about how ancient people lived, hunted, and understood their environment. Because of their age and importance, cave paintings help researchers learn about early human creativity and culture.
Here is another example:
In ancient Egypt, people used papyrus as an important writing material to record information. Th_ _ cut do_ _ the ta_ _ plant th_ _ grew alo_ _ the Ni_ _ into th_ _ strips, pres_ _ _ the stri_ _ together and dri _ _ them to form a smooth surface. Egyptians wrote letters, kept records, and created books on papyrus. This invention improved communication and education. Papyrus also preserved history, since many scrolls survived for thousands of years. Today, we recognize papyrus as a symbol of Egyptian culture and achievements in writing.
Then, you will have one or two Academic Tasks. These are about 1/3 the length of 2025 TOEFL reading passages, and the topics are more accessible and current. The questions are the same, except there is now a question “What is the main topic/ purpose of the passage?” In addition, they have added the question, “Click on the sentence that best expresses X.” Finally, you will see more questions that ask, “How does paragraph (x) relate to paragraph (y)? These questions about relationships between paragraphs have always been on the TOEFL but were not as common.
Here is an example of an Academic Reading Task.
Understanding Complex Odors
When you smell an odor, you are actually breathing in tiny molecules. These molecules stimulate specialized nerve cells, called olfactory sensory neurons, located high inside the nose. There are a few million of these cells inside the nasal cavity. Each cell produces one of about 500 types of odor receptors, allowing it to detect a specific group of odor molecules.
Studies using simple odors suggest that when we smell something, a particular combination of neurons becomes active. This pattern of activity forms a coded message that is sent to the brain, which then recognizes the sensation as a specific smell. However, scientists do not fully understand how complex odors—made of several different odor molecules—create a completely unique scent. Some odors can even mask the smell of others. It has remained unclear whether these interactions occur in the nose or if they depend on how the brain interprets combined smells.
To investigate how the nose encodes information about complex odors, researchers at Columbia University exposed mouse nose tissue to different odor mixtures. Their work was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Using an advanced three-dimensional imaging method called SCAPE microscopy, they were able to observe thousands of neuron responses at the same time. They tested odor blends such as “almond,” “floral/jasmine,” and “citrus.”
When each odor was used individually, the neurons displayed simple, predictable patterns of activity. But when two or three odors were mixed, the results were far more complex. One odor could change how a neuron responded to another odor—even if the first odor did not activate that neuron alone. These interactions could either strengthen or weaken the neuron’s response to its usual odor. As a result, the signal sent to the brain for a mixture of smells differed from what scientists would expect based on the individual odors. The findings offer new insight into how the brain interprets smell signals. They may also help explain why conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and viruses like COVID-19 can cause people to lose their sense of smell.
Questions
1. Which of the following best expresses the main purpose of the passage?
A. To indicate how many types of odor receptors humans have
B. To illustrate how the brain detects single odors
C. To explain how combinations of odors are coded in the nose
D. To demonstrate that smell is stronger than other senses
2. According to the passage, what happens when multiple odors are mixed?
A. The brain adds their individual signals together
B. The resulting smell is predictable and easy to decode
C. Odors cannot interact with each other in any way
D. A single odor can change the way neurons react to a different odor
3. The word mask in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to:
A. cover
B. measure
C. copy
D. predict
4. What do the study’s results suggest about how odor mixtures are processed?
A. The process only takes place inside the brain
B. The nose sends a unique code that is different from single-odor signals
C. Odor mixtures have no effect on neuron activity
D. Odor mixtures produce the same patterns as single odors
5. How does paragraph 4 relate to paragraph 3?
A. It casts doubt on the research findings in paragraph 3
B. It gives the outcome of the research findings in paragraph 3
C. It criticizes the research methods used in paragraph 3
D. It explains why the results in paragraph 3 are not complete
ANSWER KEY
Cave paintings are some of the oldest forms of human expression. Created thousands of years ago, these images often show animals such as horses, bison, and deer. Early humans used natural pigments from the earth to paint on the walls of dark caves. Many experts believe the paintings may have been used for storytelling or religious rituals. They provide valuable clues about how ancient people lived, hunted, and understood their environment. Because of their age and importance, cave paintings help researchers learn about early human creativity and culture.
In ancient Egypt, people used papyrus as an important writing material to record information. They cut the tall plant that grew along the Nile into thin strips, pressed the strips together, and dried them to form a smooth surface. Egyptians wrote letters, kept records, and created books on papyrus. This invention improved communication and education. Papyrus also preserved history, since many scrolls survived for thousands of years. Today, we recognize papyrus as a symbol of Egyptian culture and achievements in writing.
Answer Key
- C
- D
- A
- B
- B
