TOEFL Reading Practice Test #33

The correct answer is B. Predators lack places to hide from prey in grasslands.

Paragraph 1 explains that "in open grasslands there is no place for a large animal to hide" and that grazers can spot even slight movement, suggesting that hiding is a challenge for predators. This makes option B the best answer. Option A is incorrect because predators prefer grazers with their heads down. Option C is wrong since predators are described as being able to outrun prey once close enough. Option D is irrelevant; the passage does not link the size of the grazers to predator difficulty.

The correct answer is D. They can run significantly faster than most of their predators.

This is inferred from the statement that predators must get very close to successfully outrun their prey. This implies grazers are fast runners, so hunters must reduce the distance first. Option A is incorrect because the passage describes short intervals of grazing. Option B is unsupported. Option C describes predator behavior, not prey.

The correct answer is A. A team can kill animals that are much bigger and stronger than any of the predators could take on by itself.

Paragraph 2 explicitly states that team hunting “allows them to hunt animals much bigger and stronger than themselves.” Option B is partly true but incomplete. Option C is directly contradicted by the paragraph, which says even teams attack only one animal. Option D is unsupported by the passage.

The correct answer is C. To emphasize that even predators that hunt in groups cannot hunt and attack more than one prey at a time.

The purpose of describing team hunting is to support the point that all predators, even in groups, can attack only one prey animal at a time. Options A, B, and D distract from this central claim and are either false or irrelevant.

The correct answer is B. Each animal in a herd tries to protect the others from danger.

Paragraph 4 states that individuals raising the alarm are “simply protecting [themselves],” and only incidentally warning others. So B is not mentioned and is actually refuted. Options A, C, and D are all explicitly described in the paragraph as benefits of herding behavior.

The correct answer is A. if.

In context, “provided members of the herd stay together” means “if they stay together.” This conditional structure fits the meaning. Options B (“because”), C (“unless”), and D (“therefore”) change the logic of the sentence.

The correct answer is B. it becomes separated from the others.

Paragraph 5 clearly states that the hunter tries to isolate an individual from the herd to make a kill. That separation increases risk. Options A and E are partially true but not the main point. Option C is incorrect and unsupported. Option D is misleading; the danger comes from being isolated during the run, not from running itself.

The correct answer is B. Because the hunters must concentrate on eating once they make a kill the rest of the herd can then stop running and resume grazing.

This sentence best summarizes the original: once the prey is caught, the danger ends and the herd resumes normal behavior. Option A omits the cause-effect detail. Option C implies a time after eating, not immediately. Option D confuses who concentrates on eating—it’s the predators, not the herd.

The sentence should be inserted after the first sentence of paragraph 1, where the lack of hiding places is mentioned.

The added sentence explains why—grasslands lack trees and heavy bush. This makes [1] the best and most logical placement.

The correct answers are B, C, and E.

B explains how herds maintain vigilance, which reduces predator success.

C addresses how herding makes it difficult for predators to isolate a single target.

E covers the vulnerability of individuals that stray from the herd, which ties into the theme of safety in herding.

A is incorrect because it suggests grazers always have the advantage, which contradicts the text.
D introduces a detail not supported by the passage (herds running toward hunters).
F overstates the behavior of the herd; it resumes grazing but does not actively try to help others.