TOEFL iBT Reading Practice Set 1 - Agriculture, Iron, and the Bantu Peoples

Sep 30, 2026

Practice directions and reading passage content for the TOEFL iBT Reading section, explaining how academic passages are followed by 9–10 questions, how many passages are included, and the time limits for three versus four passages. Includes guidance on point values, using an underlined word/phrase in blue for definitions, skipping and revisiting questions, and checking the answer key. Provides Reading Practice Set 1 passage text on agriculture, iron technologies, and the Bantu peoples, followed by an example question.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Reading Section Directions

Reading Practice Set 1

Agriculture, Iron, and the Bantu Peoples

Directions: Now answer the questions

Reading Section Directions The Reading section of the TOEFL iBT® test measures your ability to understand academic passages written in English. In the actual test, each passage in the Reading section is followed by 9 OR 10 questions about that passage. You will read three or four passages and answer the questions. If you receive three passages, you will have 54 minutes to read the passages and answer the questions. If you receive four passages, you will have 72 minutes to respond. In this practice test, you will answer questions about three passages. Most questions in the Reading section are worth one point, but the last question in each set is worth more than one point. The directions indicate how many points you can receive. Some passages include a word or phrase that is underlined in blue. Choose the word or phrase to see a definition or explanation. You can skip questions and go back later. You can review the correct answer for each question by reviewing the answer key at the end of the section at any time. Reading Practice Set 1 Agriculture, Iron, and the Bantu Peoples 1. There is evidence of agriculture in Africa prior to 3000 B.C. It may have developed independently, but many scholars believe that the spread of agriculture and iron throughout Africa linked it to the major centers ofthe Near East and Mediterranean world. The drying up ofwhat is now the Sahara desert had pushed many peoples to the south into sub-Saharan Africa. These peoples settled at first in scattered hunting-and-gathering bands, although in some places near lakes and rivers, people who fished, with a more secure food supply, lived in larger population concentrations. Agriculture seems to have reached these people from the Near East, since the first domesticated crops were millets and sorghums whose origins are not African but West Asian. Once the idea of planting diffused, Africans began to develop their own crops, such as certain varieties of rice, and they demonstrated a continued receptiveness to new imports. The proposed areas of the domestication of African crops lie in a band that extends from Ethiopia across southern Sudan to West Africa. Subsequently, other crops, such as bananas, were introduced from Southeast Asia. 2. Livestock also came from outside Africa. Cattle were introduced from Asia, as probably were domestic sheep and goats. Horses were apparently introduced by the Hyksos invaders of Egypt (1780–1560 B.C.) and then spread across the Sudan to West Africa. Rock paintings in the Sahara indicate that horses and chariots were used to traverse the desert and that by 300– 200 B.C., there were trade routes across the Sahara. Horses were adopted by peoples ofthe West African savannah, and later their powerful cavalry forces allowed them to carve out large empires. Finally, the camel was introduced around the first century A.D. This was an important innovation, because the camel’s ability to thrive in harsh desert conditions and to carry large loads cheaply made it an effective and efficient means of transportation. The camel transformed the desert from a barrier into a still difficult, but more accessible, route of trade and communication. 3. Iron came from West Asia, although its routes of diffusion were somewhat different than those of agriculture. Most of Africa presents a curious case in which societies moved directly from a technology of stone to iron without passing through the intermediate stage of copper or bronze metallurgy, although some early copper-working sites have been found in West Africa. Knowledge of iron making penetrated into the forests and savannahs of West Africa at roughly the same time that iron making was reaching Europe. Evidence of iron making has been found in Nigeria, Ghana, and Mali. 4. This technological shift caused profound changes in the complexity of African societies. Iron represented power. In West Africa the blacksmith who made tools and weapons had an important place in society,

FAQs

What does the TOEFL iBT Reading section measure?

It measures the ability to understand academic passages written in English.

How are the passages structured with questions and points?

Each passage is followed by 9 or 10 questions, with most questions worth one point and the last question in each set worth more than one point.

What information can you access for a word or phrase underlined in blue?

Choose the underlined word or phrase to see a definition or explanation.

Sep 30, 2026

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