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Original EWS practice · EWS-TOEIC-READ-A

TOEIC-style Reading practice A

Original independent EWS practice; not an ETS test or calibrated score. Some passages are shorter than authentic test passages.

Back to TOEIC lessons · Open separate answers

100 questions · 75 minutes · Part 5: 30 · Part 6: 16 · Part 7: 54.

Attempt without a dictionary or answer guide. Select one answer per question. The timer starts only when you press Start. Notes save on this browser; they are not sent to EWS.

Part 5

101. All visitors must ___ at reception.
102. The revised schedule will be sent ___ Friday.
103. Ms Silva is responsible ___ staff training.
104. The new software runs more ___ than the previous version.
105. Please return the form with ___ signature at the bottom.
106. We have worked with this supplier ___ 2021.
107. The conference room is large ___ to seat forty people.
108. Neither the printers nor the scanner ___ working.
109. Customers can request a refund if the product is ___.
110. The manager asked us ___ the figures again.
111. ___ the heavy rain, all deliveries arrived on time.
112. The interview will begin as soon as the panel ___.
113. Please keep a copy of the receipt for future ___.
114. The safety instructions should be read ___.
115. The supplier offered a discount on orders of fifty units or ___.
116. If the technician had arrived earlier, we ___ the repair yesterday.
117. The proposal ___ we discussed yesterday has been approved.
118. Only employees with a valid access card may ___ this area.
119. The team made significant ___ during the final week.
120. Please contact reception ___ you require assistance.
121. The shipment consists ___ six sealed boxes.
122. The new policy applies to all staff, ___ their position.
123. The application must be submitted ___; incomplete forms will be returned.
124. The earlier we confirm the numbers, ___ it will be to arrange transport.
125. The chairs are being ___ in the main hall.
126. The report contains several practical ___ for reducing waste.
127. Mr Khan is away today; ___, his assistant can approve the request.
128. Please ensure that each package ___ clearly labelled.
129. We would prefer ___ the meeting until everyone is available.
130. The warranty covers repairs but does not cover damage caused by ___.

Part 6

Email: Temporary office move

To: Customer Service Team Subject: Temporary move The electrical work on the second floor will begin on Monday. During the work, our team will [131] to the training room on the ground floor. Please take your laptops with you, but leave desktop monitors in place. The IT team will provide temporary screens. The training room has a different telephone extension, 204. [132] Please use this extension from Monday morning. Incoming calls to our usual number will be forwarded automatically. The work is expected to finish on Thursday. However, we will only return upstairs after the safety officer [133] that the area is ready. We will send another message when the return date is confirmed. Thank you for your [134] during these arrangements.
131. Choose the word for [131].
132. Choose the sentence for [132].
133. Choose the word for [133].
134. Choose the word for [134].

Notice: Reusable containers

From 1 December, staff can borrow reusable lunch containers from the café. The scheme is designed to reduce packaging [135]. To borrow a container, show your staff card and pay a refundable deposit of LKR500. Return the container to the café within five working days. [136] Each returned container will be professionally cleaned before it is used again. Please do not place containers in the general recycling bins, [137] they belong to the café. If a container is damaged, bring it to the counter so that we can inspect it. The café will review the scheme after two months. Your comments will help us decide whether to [138] it to the evening service. For questions or feedback, speak to the café supervisor.
135. Choose the word for [135].
136. Choose the sentence for [136].
137. Choose the word for [137].
138. Choose the word for [138].

Email: Revised training session

Dear Participants, Thank you for registering for the customer support workshop. We have received more registrations than [139], so we have moved the session to the larger Lake Hall. The date and starting time remain the same: 21 November at 9:30 a.m. The workshop includes group activities, a short demonstration and time for questions. [140] You will receive the activity pack at registration, which opens at 9:00. Please bring a pen; laptops are not required. If you have already told us about a dietary requirement, you do not need to contact us again. Other participants should send any requirements [141] 15 November. We can arrange vegetarian lunches, but requests received after that date may not be possible. We look forward to [142] you at the workshop. Training Office
139. Choose the word for [139].
140. Choose the sentence for [140].
141. Choose the word for [141].
142. Choose the word for [142].

Update: Dispatch arrangements

To our business customers, Our dispatch department will introduce a new tracking system next month. Once a parcel leaves our warehouse, customers will receive an email [143] a tracking link. The link will show the parcel’s progress and its estimated arrival date. The system will be tested with a small group of customers this week. [144] During the trial, the current telephone enquiry service will remain available. Customers in the trial group will also be invited to complete a short survey. We aim to make delivery information easier to access. [145], the estimated arrival date is a guide and may change because of traffic or severe weather. If an order is urgent, please speak to our team before placing it. We appreciate your continued [146] and will share further details after the trial.
143. Choose the word for [143].
144. Choose the sentence for [144].
145. Choose the word for [145].
146. Choose the word for [146].

Part 7

Notice: Reception desk

RECEPTION ARRANGEMENTS From Monday 9 November, the main reception desk will open at 8:00 a.m., thirty minutes earlier than usual. The change is intended to help visitors attending early training sessions. General office opening hours remain 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Visitors arriving before 8:30 should wait in the ground-floor seating area after signing in. Staff members will collect their guests when their session begins. The side entrance remains for employees with access cards only.
147. Why is reception opening earlier?
148. What should visitors arriving at 8:10 do after signing in?

Email: Invoice query

To: Accounts Team Subject: Invoice 4718 Thank you for the revised invoice. The delivery address is now correct, but the quantity shown for printer cartridges is still six. We ordered four and received four, as confirmed by the delivery note attached. Please send an amended invoice with the correct quantity. Our normal payment run is on Friday, so an updated invoice received by Thursday afternoon can be included. If you need any other information, please contact me by email rather than telephone as I am attending training this week. Rani, Office Administrator
149. What still needs correction?
150. Why does Rani prefer email?

Advertisement: Meeting rooms

HARBOUR BUSINESS CENTRE Our meeting rooms can be hired by the hour or for a full day. Each room includes wireless internet, a screen and drinking water. The Cedar Room seats up to twelve people; the Palm Room seats up to twenty-four. Catering is available by prior arrangement and is charged separately. Bookings for more than four hours receive a 10% room-hire discount. To receive this discount, payment must be made at least three working days before the booking. Parking spaces cannot be reserved, but a public car park is located opposite the centre.
151. What is included in the room hire?
152. Which room can accommodate twenty people?
153. What is required for the stated discount?

Message chain: Delivery point

10:05 — Amal: The courier is due at eleven. Should I tell her to use the loading bay? 10:08 — Dina: Not today. A repair team is working there until noon. Please ask her to stop at the north gate instead. Security will let me know when she arrives. 10:10 — Amal: Certainly. Do you still want the boxes taken to the storeroom? 10:12 — Dina: Yes. I will bring a trolley to the gate and take them there myself. Please do not leave them outdoors if I am delayed.
154. Why is the loading bay unsuitable?
155. Who will move the boxes from the gate?
156. At 10:10, what does Certainly indicate?

Job advertisement: Service coordinator

SERVICE COORDINATOR Greenway Equipment seeks a service coordinator for its Battaramulla office. The role involves arranging technician visits, updating customers and maintaining service records. Applicants should have strong written English, basic spreadsheet skills and at least one year of customer service experience. Technical repair experience is helpful but not essential; training will be provided. The normal working week is Monday to Friday, with one Saturday morning per month. Send a CV and a short covering email to our recruitment team by 20 November. Shortlisted candidates will complete a practical scheduling task before an interview.
157. Which experience is required?
158. What is said about technical repair experience?
159. What will shortlisted applicants do before an interview?

Article: A library after work

The Riverside Library has introduced evening opening on Tuesdays and Thursdays after a survey showed that many local workers could not visit during the day. The extended hours are being tested for twelve weeks. During this period, the library will remain open until 8:00 p.m. on those two days. Study desks and the borrowing counter will be available, but the children’s activity room will close at its usual time of 5:00 p.m. Library manager Nisha Fernando said that staff would record attendance before deciding whether to continue the arrangement. No additional membership fee is charged for evening visits.
160. What prompted the change?
161. Which service closes at five during the trial?
162. What will help determine whether the change continues?

Policy: Staff travel claims

STAFF TRAVEL CLAIMS Claims should be submitted within ten working days of a business trip. Attach a readable receipt for each expense and state the business purpose of the journey. Taxi journeys over LKR5000 require prior approval from a department manager unless an emergency makes advance approval impossible. In that case, include a written explanation. Personal sightseeing costs are not reimbursed. Claims received by noon on Wednesday are normally processed on Friday. A claim submitted on time may still be delayed if supporting documents are missing. Keep the original receipts until your claim has been settled.
163. What should an emergency taxi claim over LKR5000 include?
164. Why might an otherwise timely claim be delayed?
165. Which expense is excluded?

Letter: Equipment maintenance

Dear Customer, Our records show that your office water dispenser is due for its annual service in November. The service includes cleaning, a filter inspection and a safety check. Replacement parts, if required, are charged separately after your approval. To reduce disruption, we can arrange a visit before 9:00 a.m. on weekdays, subject to availability. Please email two possible dates and the name of a staff member who can provide access. There is no need to disconnect the dispenser before the visit. If you have already arranged a service through another branch, please let us know so that we can update our records. Service Team
166. What happens before chargeable replacement parts are supplied?
167. What information is requested?
168. Why should customers report an existing booking with another branch?

Announcement: Staff garden

The staff garden beside Building C will reopen on Monday after improvements to its paths and seating. Employees may use it during breaks, but it is not an outdoor meeting venue: neighbouring offices need a quiet working environment. Food is permitted provided that all packaging is placed in the marked bins. The new herb beds are maintained by the gardening club. Please do not pick the herbs without permission, as the club uses them for its monthly cookery demonstration. Employees who would like to help care for the garden can attend the club’s short introductory session at 12:30 next Wednesday.
169. Why are meetings not allowed in the garden?
170. What condition applies to eating there?
171. Who is the introductory session intended for?

Review: A workplace writing workshop

I attended the Clear Messages workshop last month because my emails often led to follow-up questions. The trainer began with examples of confusing messages and asked us to identify the missing information. We then rewrote our own workplace emails in pairs. I found this more useful than simply learning a list of polite phrases. The workshop did not cover technical report writing in depth, so someone who mainly writes long reports may need a different course. It was also a little difficult to read the projected examples from the back row. Nevertheless, I left with a checklist that I now use before sending important messages: purpose, required details, action and deadline.
172. Why did the reviewer attend?
173. What activity did the reviewer especially value?
174. What limitation is mentioned?
175. What is the reviewer’s overall view?

Order and confirmation

DOCUMENT 1 — ORDER REQUEST To: Lakeside Office Supplies Please supply 18 adjustable chairs in charcoal grey for our new training room. We need delivery by 24 November. The room is on the first floor and can be reached by lift. Please confirm availability and the total price, including delivery. Our purchasing reference is TR-81. DOCUMENT 2 — SUPPLIER REPLY Thank you for order request TR-81. We have 18 charcoal-grey chairs available. The price is LKR18000 per chair. Delivery within the city is included for orders of ten chairs or more. We can deliver on 23 November between 9:00 and noon. Please confirm that someone will be available to receive them; our driver will telephone thirty minutes before arrival. We cannot give a more precise arrival time until the delivery route is finalised.
176. What is being purchased?
177. Does the proposed delivery meet the requested deadline?
178. What is the total chair price?
179. What does the supplier still need?
180. Why is a narrower arrival time unavailable?

Workshop programme and participant email

DOCUMENT 1 — PROGRAMME Customer Care Workshop — 30 November, Lotus Hall 09:00 Registration 09:30 Handling enquiries — Mira Silva 10:30 Break 10:45 Managing difficult conversations — Arun Khan 12:00 Lunch 13:00 Written responses — Mira Silva 14:15 Group practice 15:00 Close Lunch is included. Participants should bring one anonymous workplace example for the group practice. DOCUMENT 2 — EMAIL Dear Training Office, I am registered for the workshop on 30 November. A work commitment means I cannot arrive before 10:30. I understand that I will miss the first session. Please keep my registration active; I will join after the break and remain until the end. I have prepared a customer complaint with all names removed for the afternoon activity. Please let me know if I need to complete any separate sign-in procedure when I arrive. Thank you, Priya
181. Who presents the first session Priya can attend after the break?
182. What session will Priya miss?
183. What has Priya done to meet the practice requirement?
184. What does Priya ask about?
185. Which statement is supported?

Advertisement, booking and change confirmation

DOCUMENT 1 — VEHICLE HIRE CityLink offers 12-seat minibuses with a driver for local business journeys. A half-day booking covers up to four hours; additional time is charged by the hour. Bookings must state the number of passengers, collection address and journey times. Child seats are not included and must be requested separately. DOCUMENT 2 — CUSTOMER BOOKING Please reserve a minibus for ten employees on 26 November. Collection is from our Nawala office at 8:00 a.m. We expect to return at 11:30 a.m. No child seats are needed. Please confirm the half-day price. DOCUMENT 3 — CUSTOMER CHANGE AND SUPPLIER REPLY Customer: Our return is now likely to be at 1:00 p.m. The collection time and passenger count remain unchanged. CityLink: The minibus remains available. We have updated the return time to 1:00 p.m. This makes the booking five hours, so one additional hour will be charged. The driver will meet your group outside the Nawala office at the original time.
186. How many employees will travel?
187. What changed?
188. Why is there an additional charge?
189. When should the group meet the driver?
190. Which information is not supplied?

Product notice, customer question and reply

DOCUMENT 1 — PRODUCT NOTICE BrightDesk rechargeable task lamps have three brightness settings and a two-year warranty covering manufacturing faults. Normal battery wear and accidental damage are excluded. Customers should keep their purchase receipt. Contact support before sending a lamp for inspection. DOCUMENT 2 — CUSTOMER EMAIL I purchased two lamps on 12 March last year. One no longer switches on, although it has not been dropped or exposed to water. The other works normally using the same charging cable. I still have the receipt. Should I send both lamps to you? DOCUMENT 3 — SUPPORT REPLY Please send only the lamp that is not working, together with a copy of the receipt and your reference BD-604. We will inspect it before deciding whether the fault is covered. Do not send the working lamp or the charging cable. An inspection normally takes five working days after arrival. If the issue is covered, we will repair or replace the lamp without a repair charge. Please note that return packaging instructions are attached.
191. What evidence helps distinguish the problem from a faulty charging cable?
192. What should the customer send?
193. Has free replacement already been guaranteed?
194. How long does inspection normally take after arrival?
195. What should appear with the returned item?

Room policy, request and final arrangement

DOCUMENT 1 — ROOM POLICY The Elm Room accommodates sixteen seated participants. The larger Oak Room accommodates thirty. Both include a projector. Food must be ordered from the centre; outside catering is not permitted. Room changes depend on availability, and the final confirmation email takes precedence over earlier requests. DOCUMENT 2 — ORGANISER’S REQUEST We initially booked Elm for fourteen people on 28 November. Attendance has now increased to twenty-two. Please move us to Oak if it is available. We would also like vegetarian sandwiches for twelve people and standard sandwiches for ten. We plan to bring our own bottled water; please tell us whether that is permitted. DOCUMENT 3 — FINAL CONFIRMATION Oak is unavailable on 28 November. We can instead offer the Maple Suite, which seats twenty-four and includes a projector, at the same room-hire price as Elm. Your representative accepted this alternative by telephone today, so we have confirmed Maple. The requested sandwiches have been ordered. Sealed bottled water is permitted, although outside food remains prohibited. Your start and finish times remain 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
196. Which room is finally confirmed?
197. Why was the original room unsuitable?
198. How many vegetarian sandwich orders are confirmed?
199. Which outside item is specifically permitted?
200. What is true about the substitute room?

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