TOEFL Reading: Practice Set

Are you looking for an opportunity to practice the reading section? Here is the Reading Passage and some questions below! You can leave your answer choices and explanations to them in the comments below. Good luck!

Are you looking for an opportunity to practice the reading section?

Here is the Reading Passage and some questions below!

You can leave your answer choices and explanations to them in the comments below.

Good luck!

Inventions of the Neolithic Era

The Neolithic Period had an important impact on the further development of various tools and the history of humans’ settlements around the world. To begin, it is essential to comprehend the main differences between the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras in order to carry out a perspective of how the revolutionary shift to agriculture was for all humanity. One of the examples which happened due to agriculture, including religion and trade, was the development of the class system. In the Paleolithic era, hunter-gatherers would divide tasks between each other like seed gathering, grinding, or toolmaking, etc. However, as the new era was coming, it started to bring more labor required projects like irrigation, plowing, and terracing to satisfy the needs of farming. Those projects called for "leaders" that would be in charge of controlling and managing inhabitants who would execute them. Task-dividing idea became old and needed a replacement as it did not meet the societies' demands. Therefore, the establishment of classes was inevitable. In the end, ruling elites appeared that were not part of the Paleolithic.

Violence was part of Paleolithic times; however, it was disorganized and haphazard. As people started to settle down and build large settlements, they became closer to each other and helped to increase population. An invention took place – organized warfare. Intensification of agriculture as well as social and economic pressures assisted with producing more food supplies and fine belongings that were wanted by the neighbors. In the 9,000s BCE period, populated settlements like Jericho began to construct defensive walls. Besides, wounds and injures from new kinds of projectiles (like the Khiam Point) were found on the skeletons unearthed in that place. Scientists believe those arms were invented during the Neolithic era.

The new period has brought changes to family life as well. Sedentary settlements began to spend less time with the community and focused more on building permanent houses that would allow nuclear families to live in. It gave them an opportunity to gather wealth and keep secrets.

The change in gender roles also took place. It has become even more pronounced that the role of women was raised and turned into an essential one during the Neolithic period comparing to the Paleolithic one. For instance, mothers needed to take care of their children, mostly breastfeeding, until their toddlers turned three or four years old. It did not let those mothers participate in hunting expeditions, especially, in long-distance ones without their young children. However, the new era brought new tasks that could be fulfilled even by breastfeeding females without leaving their houses for a long time and putting their toddlers in danger. Spinning, weaving, and sewing became ones of those that could be completed with a low concentration and repetitiveness, and with a possibility to interrupt work and take care of children. "Women's work" as we call it nowadays, including making food and clothing, was extremely essential for human survival. It is important to mention they were time-consuming too so mothers would spend most of their day completing them as well as nursing their children. Frequently, females received the men's help in accomplishing them.

Females in the period of Paleolithic learned how to distinguish between toxic and non-toxic mushrooms, assisted men in collecting eggs and berries with time. Furthermore, women became the main gatherers of mosses for sleeping mats and other plants for housings. They also helped men with the process of dressing and butchering freshly killed prey when it was delivered after the hunting expedition. Another reason why they were involved in the progress of hunting is that animals' sinews and fibers from plans that were used to rope a tie and fasten the hides and baskets. Also, those tools could be utilized to create netting for hunting and fishing, sometimes for transport too. In societies where hunting and horticulture elements were present, the female could grow and give a different variety of foods such as grains, legumes, and so on. Sewing and food gathering was a part of the activities that would be conducted outside, precisely in Mediterranean communities. They were usually associated with a preschool and apprentice system where women would take a leading role and educate young ones. It demonstrates another role of women in society such as teachers.

Directions: Highlight your answer choice.

The Neolithic Period had an important impact on the further development of various tools and the history of humans’ settlements around the world. To begin, it is essential to comprehend the main differences between the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras in order to carry out a perspective of how the revolutionary shift to agriculture was for all humanity. One of the examples which happened due to agriculture, including religion and trade, was the development of the class system. In the Paleolithic era, hunter-gatherers would divide tasks between each other like seed gathering, grinding, or toolmaking, etc. However, as the new era was coming, it started to bring more labor required projects like irrigation, plowing, and terracing to satisfy the needs of farming. Those projects called for "leaders" that would be in charge of controlling and managing inhabitants who would execute them. Task-dividing idea became old and needed a replacement as it did not meet the societies' demands. Therefore, the establishment of classes was inevitable. In the end, ruling elites appeared that were not part of the Paleolithic.

1. Which of the following can be inferred from Paragraph 1 about the agriculture shift that happened in the Neolithic Era and its impact on new inventions?

A. Due to the large-scale projects, more labor was needed to implement them which led to the formation of the ruling class and casting out others.

B. Agriculture brought a lot of new inventions to people during the Neolithic era, including trade, religion, and the class system.

C. Seed gathering, grinding, and toolmaking were outdated kinds of tasks that needed to be replaced with more labor-demanding projects.

D. Development of the class system was inevitable as societies demanded to have large-scale projects and shift to agriculture.

2. The word "it" in Paragraph 1 refers to

A. Project

B. Settlement.

C. The new era.

D. Demand

3. Why does the author mention that the ruling elite appeared that were not part of the Paleolithic?

A. To support the author's idea that the establishment of ruling elites was inevitable that became a new invention of the Neolithic Era.

B. To explain why the society needed the new ruling class and what the consequences it had for the whole of humanity

C. To provide evidence that the elite class was a necessary invention for the agricultural shift in the new era.

D. To support the claim that large-scale projects were overrated, and society was not in need of the ruling class but in the end, it still occurred.

Violence was part of Paleolithic times; however, it was disorganized and haphazard. [⬛ 1] As people started to settle down and build larger settlements, which became closer to each other and with bigger population, a novel invention took place - organized warfare. [⬛ 2] In the 9,000s BCE period, populated settlements like Jericho began to construct defensive walls. [⬛ 3]Besides, wounds and injures from new kinds of projectiles (like the Khiam Point) were found on the skeletons unearthed in that place. [⬛ 4] Scientists believe those arms were invented during the Neolithic era.

4. According to Paragraph 2, all the following statements are true about the effectsthat close settlements and agriculture intensification had in the Paleolithic era EXCEPT:

A. Warfare turned into an organized one during the new era.

B. New types of arms were developed.

C. Wars became more common in the Neolithic era than before.

D. City fortification, e.g. walls, began to appear.

5. Look at the four squares [⬛] that indicate where the following sentence can be added to the passage.

Intensification of agriculture as well as social and economic pressures assisted with producing more food supplies and fine belongings that were wanted by the neighbors.

[⬛ 1]

[⬛ 2]

[⬛ 3]

[⬛ 4]

The new period has brought changes to family life as well. Sedentary settlements began to spend less time with the community and focused more on building permanent houses that would allow nuclear families to live in. It gave them an opportunity to gather wealth and keep secrets.

6. The word SEDENTARYinthepassage is closest in meaning to…

A. Unstable

B. Permanent.

C. Irregular.

D. Changeable

The change in gender roles also took place. It has become even more pronounced that the role of women was raised and turned into an essential one during the Neolithic period comparing to the Paleolithic one. For instance, mothers needed to take care of their children, mostly breastfeeding, until their toddlers turned three or four years old. It did not let those mothers participate in hunting expeditions, especially, in long-distance ones without their young children. However, the new era brought new tasks that could be fulfilled even by breastfeeding females without leaving their houses for a long time and putting their toddlers in danger. Spinning, weaving, and sewing became ones of those that could be completed with a low concentration and repetitiveness, and with a possibility to interrupt work and take care of children. "Women's work" as we call it nowadays, including making food and clothing, was extremely essential for human survival. It is important to mention they were time-consuming too so mothers would spend most of their day completing them as well as nursing their children. Frequently, females received the men's help in accomplishing them.

7. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

A. Taking care of kids was important, however, women were less concentrated because of the repetitiveness of this task.

B. New tasks like spinning, weaving, and sewing helped females to take take care of their children without interruption.

C. Tasks like spinning, weaving, and sewing required less concentration and were repetitive, so they let women take care of children.

D. With interruption from their main work, women started to take care of their children despite those tasks needing more concentration and repetitiveness.

8. The word PRONOUNCED in the passage is closest in meaning to…

A. Visible

B. Obvious

C. Important

D. Unnoticeable

Females in the period of Paleolithic learned how to distinguish between toxic and non-toxic mushrooms, assisted men in collecting eggs and berries with time. Furthermore, women became the main gatherers of mosses for sleeping mats and other plants for housings. They also helped men with the process of dressing and butchering freshly killed prey when it was delivered after the hunting expedition. Another reason why they were involved in the progress of hunting is that animals' sinews and fibers from plans that were used to rope a tie and fasten the hides and baskets. Also, those tools could be utilized to create netting for hunting and fishing, sometimes for transport too. In societies where hunting and horticulture elements were present, the female could grow and give a different variety of foods such as grains, legumes, and so on. Sewing and food gathering was a part of the activities that would be conducted outside, precisely in Mediterranean communities. They were usually associated with a preschool and apprentice system where women would take a leading role and educate young ones. It demonstrates another role of women in society such as teachers.

9. According to paragraph 5, why did Neolithic women were involved in the process of hunting along with men?

A. They were going to hunting expeditions as well as male inhabitants to provide food.

B. They took ties and hides to create netting that helped men to kill pray easier.

C. They used sinews and fibers to make housing equipment.

D. They collected all the materials they saw after hunting to bring them to their communities.

10. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE (3) 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.

The Neolithic era introduced various innovations into human society, primarily, due to the intensification of agriculture.

Answer Choices

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