TOEFL Complete the Words: 10 Practice Passages With Answers

1. fills — add lls. Singular water takes fills: it occupies the gaps.
2. spaces — add ces. Between introduces the spaces separating particles.
3. soil — add il. Soil identifies the particles discussed in the opening.
4. and — add nd. And coordinates fills and changes.
5. how — add ow. How introduces the manner in which light moves.
6. travels — add vels. Light travels through a surface; the singular subject needs travels.
7. the — add he. The identifies the surface already under discussion.
8. allowing — add wing. Allowing introduces the result of that change.
9. light — add ght. More light contrasts with the smaller amount returning.
10. enter — add ter. Enter contrasts with escape in the same clause.

Completed passage: Soil often appears darker after rain even though its mineral composition has not changed. Water fills the spaces between soil particles and changes how light travels through the surface, allowing more light to enter rather than escape. Less light returns to an observer, so the ground looks darker than it did when dry. The effect becomes weaker as the water evaporates and air returns to the small spaces. A visible color change can therefore result from altered reflection rather than from a new substance.

1. retrieval — add ieval. During retrieval names the act of recalling described first.
2. search — add rch. Students search their memory for information.
3. memory — add ory. Their memory is the source they search.
4. reconstruct — add struct. Reconstruct means build the information again from memory.
5. without — add hout. Without seeing contrasts with reading the explanation.
6. the — add he. The points to the original explanation.
7. explanation — add nation. Explanation is what a learner previously read.
8. can — add an. Can expresses a possible benefit, not a guaranteed result.
9. gaps — add ps. Gaps are missing parts of understanding that checking can correct.
10. their — add eir. Their refers back to the students.

Completed passage: Trying to recall an idea can support learning in a different way from reading it again. During retrieval, students search their memory and reconstruct information without seeing the original explanation, which can expose gaps in their understanding. Checking an answer afterward helps them correct those gaps before the next attempt. A brief quiz can therefore serve as a learning activity as well as a check on progress. Its value depends partly on useful feedback, since confidently repeating a mistake does not correct it.

1. units — add its. Units are the shared measurements discussed throughout.
2. researchers — add rchers. Researchers is the plural subject of compare.
3. compare — add pare. Allow someone to compare uses the base verb after to.
4. from — add om. From identifies the origin of results.
5. studies — add dies. Separate studies supply results for comparison.
6. first — add rst. Without first converting means conversion need not precede comparison.
7. every — add ery. Every modifies a singular recorded value.
8. value — add lue. Value means an individual recorded measurement.
9. another — add ther. Another modifies the singular local system.
10. system — add tem. A system of measurement is the complete noun phrase.

Completed passage: A measurement becomes more useful when different people can interpret it in the same way. Shared units allow researchers to compare results from separate studies without first converting every recorded value into another local system of measurement. Agreement about units does not remove errors caused by poor instruments or careless observations. It does make those errors easier to discuss because the numbers have a common meaning. Standardization supports communication, while accurate measurement still requires attention to the method used.

1. plants — add nts. Plants are the living roof cover identified in the opening.
2. shelter — add lter. Provide shelter describes protection for insects.
3. tiny — add ny. Tiny modifies insects and fits the miniature habitats described later.
4. and — add nd. And joins provide and help.
5. retain — add ain. Retain means hold rainwater instead of letting it drain away.
6. that — add at. That introduces the clause describing rainwater.
7. otherwise — add rwise. Otherwise means what would happen without the plants.
8. directly — add ctly. Directly describes water flowing into drains without being retained.
9. drains — add ins. Drains receive the escaping rainwater.
10. storm — add orm. Storm supplies the rainfall event.

Completed passage: A planted roof changes more than the appearance of a building when its design supports living organisms. The plants provide shelter for tiny insects and help retain rainwater that would otherwise flow directly into drains during a sudden storm. Different soil depths can support different plants, creating several small habitats within one roof. However, a roof garden cannot simply reproduce every feature of the ground below. Its structure must safely carry the extra weight, and the plants must tolerate exposed conditions.

1. label — add bel. Label refers to the museum text introduced in the opening.
2. attention — add ntion. Directs attention means guides what a visitor notices.
3. particular — add cular. Particular means selected features rather than every detail.
4. and — add nd. And links directs and supplies.
5. context — add text. Context is background that looking alone may not reveal.
6. may — add ay. May expresses the possibility of something not being apparent.
7. be — add e. Be completes may not be apparent.
8. from — add om. From looking identifies the source of visual information.
9. at — add t. Looking at is the required verb and preposition combination.
10. object — add ect. Object refers to the museum item mentioned first.

Completed passage: A short museum label can influence which details a visitor notices in an unfamiliar object. The label directs attention toward particular features and supplies context that may not be apparent from looking at the object alone. A note about a repaired handle, for instance, can encourage visitors to consider everyday use. Labels must select information because space is limited and visitors read at different speeds. The aim is to open a useful line of observation without replacing the experience of looking.

1. repair — add air. Repair modifies skills and repeats the central activity.
2. disappear — add ppear. Disappear explains the loss of knowledge discussed in the opening.
3. damage — add age. Damage is the minor physical problem that can prompt disposal.
4. become — add ome. Can become requires the base form become.
5. reason — add son. The reason introduces why an object is discarded.
6. an — add n. An precedes the vowel sound in otherwise.
7. useful — add ful. Useful contrasts with throwing the object away.
8. is — add s. Is forms the passive is thrown away.
9. away — add ay. Thrown away means discarded.
10. of — add f. Instead of takes the following being restored.

Completed passage: The useful life of an object depends partly on whether people know how to repair it. When repair skills disappear, minor damage can become the reason that an otherwise useful object is thrown away instead of being restored. Written instructions preserve some knowledge, but practical demonstrations reveal details that diagrams may leave unclear. Watching someone adjust pressure or choose a tool can help a beginner avoid an expensive mistake. Passing on these skills can reduce waste while keeping objects in use for longer.

1. features — add ures. Features are selected elements on a map.
2. emphasis — add asis. Receive emphasis means are given prominence.
3. they — add ey. They refers to those selected features.
4. the — add he. The identifies the interests of the commissioning people.
5. of — add f. Interests of links the interests with the people holding them.
6. people — add ple. People is the antecedent of who commissioned.
7. commissioned — add sioned. Commissioned means formally requested the map.
8. map — add ap. Map is the object commissioned.
9. other — add her. Other contrasts with the first set of features.
10. receive — add eive. Plural features take receive, parallel to the earlier clause.

Completed passage: A historical map records choices made by its creator as well as features of a place. Some features receive emphasis because they served the interests of the people who commissioned the map, while other features receive little attention. A trading map might highlight routes and ports but provide limited detail about inland settlements. Researchers therefore compare maps with other records before drawing conclusions about an earlier landscape. An empty area on a map does not necessarily mean that nobody lived there.

1. information — add mation. Information is what reduces uncertainty during waiting.
2. people — add ple. Helps people understand uses the base verb understand after people.
3. delays — add ays. Delays names the interruptions people are trying to understand.
4. reduces — add uces. Reduces agrees with singular information.
5. about — add out. Uncertainty about introduces the matter that is unclear.
6. the — add he. The specifies the line of waiting people.
7. is — add s. The line is moving requires singular is.
8. or — add r. Or connects the two alternative concerns.
9. have — add ve. They have missed requires the plural present perfect auxiliary.
10. an — add n. An precedes important instruction.

Completed passage: The experience of waiting depends on more than the total number of minutes that pass. Clear information helps people understand delays and reduces uncertainty about whether the line is moving or they have missed an important instruction. A visible sequence of numbered tickets can also make the order of service easier to follow. These measures do not necessarily shorten the actual wait, but they change how people interpret it. Designers need to consider both the service process and the information available to those waiting.

1. surfaces — add aces. Surfaces are the hard room boundaries reflecting sound.
2. sound — add und. Sound modifies waves and is the phenomenon in the opening.
3. while — add ile. While contrasts reflection with absorption.
4. materials — add rials. Materials are the soft substances doing the absorbing.
5. some — add me. Some limits the amount of energy absorbed.
6. and — add nd. And coordinates absorb and reduce.
7. the — add he. The specifies the amount being reduced.
8. of — add f. Amount of connects the quantity with sound.
9. returning — add rning. Returning describes reflected sound traveling back.
10. the — add he. The identifies the person hearing the sound.

Completed passage: The same voice can sound different in an empty room and in one filled with furniture. Hard surfaces reflect sound waves, while soft materials absorb some energy and reduce the amount of sound returning toward the listener. Repeated reflections can make speech less distinct when sounds from successive words overlap. Adding curtains or padded seats can alter this pattern without changing the person who is speaking. The effect depends on the arrangement and properties of the room as well as its size.

1. observe — add erve. Organizers observe means they watch what happens in the trial.
2. participants — add ipants. Participants are the people using the trial service.
3. the — add he. The refers to the new service introduced first.
4. and — add nd. And connects observe and record.
5. difficulties — add ulties. Difficulties are the practical problems the trial reveals.
6. were — add re. Plural difficulties require were.
7. obvious — add ious. Not obvious means not apparent during planning.
8. the — add he. The specifies the original plan for this service.
9. plan — add an. Plan is the design that existed on paper.
10. only — add ly. Only restricts the earlier plan to a paper description.

Completed passage: A small trial can reveal practical problems before a new service is offered more widely. Organizers observe how participants use the service and record difficulties that were not obvious when the original plan existed only on paper. The findings can suggest useful changes, such as clearer instructions or a different booking process. However, volunteers in an early trial may differ from the people who use the service later. A successful trial is evidence to examine carefully, rather than a guarantee of success everywhere.