Joy English · Level B1 · TOEIC-stylejoy-english.com

TOEIC-style: Reading related messages

Name:Date:

Independent practice in the style of TOEIC multiple-text reading, not an official test: read a staff notice and a related email, then answer questions that connect them.

Text 1: Notice about staff development week

Professional Development Week, 6 to 10 October

This year's development week offers five free workshops for all staff. Each workshop runs from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. in the Training Suite on the second floor, unless shown otherwise.

Monday: Writing clear emails, led by Samuel Mensah

Tuesday: Planning projects with shared calendars, led by Priya Nair

Wednesday: Giving presentations with confidence, led by Elena Rossi (in the Main Hall, because of the larger group size)

Thursday: Handling difficult customer calls, led by Samuel Mensah

Friday: Looking after your health at your desk, led by Doctor Amara Diallo

Places are limited to 20 people per workshop, except Wednesday's, which can take 40. To book, send an email to the Training Coordinator, Jonas Berg, by 30 September. Please get your line manager's approval before you book. Staff who attend three or more workshops will receive a certificate of participation.

Text 2: Email to the Training Coordinator

From: Carmen Ortiz

To: Jonas Berg

Date: 26 September

Subject: Booking for development week

Dear Jonas,

I would like to book places on three of the workshops during development week. My manager, Hassan Karimi, has already agreed. First, I would like to attend the workshop on Monday, as I write a lot of emails to suppliers. I would also like to join Samuel Mensah's second workshop, because I have recently moved to the customer support team.

I would also have liked to attend the session on project planning, but I am visiting a client in another city that day. Instead, I would like to join the presentation workshop. I have to present our team's results to the directors next month, so it will be very useful.

Could you also tell me whether the workshops will be recorded? Two colleagues in my team work part-time and are not in the office in the afternoons, so they would like to watch them later.

Best regards,

Carmen Ortiz, Customer Support Team

Questions on each text

Read Text 1 and Text 2. Choose the best answer.

What is the main purpose of the notice?
- a) To advertise jobs in the training department
- b) To give information about a series of workshops
- c) To announce changes to office hours
- d) To invite staff to a company celebration
What time do the workshops finish?
- a) At 2:00 p.m.
- b) At 3:30 p.m.
- c) At 4:30 p.m.
- d) At 5:00 p.m.
According to the notice, what must staff do before they book a place?
- a) Pay a small fee
- b) Complete an online course
- c) Speak to the workshop leader
- d) Get approval from their line manager
Why is Wednesday's workshop in a different room?
- a) The Training Suite is being repaired.
- b) More people can attend it.
- c) The leader prefers the Main Hall.
- d) It starts earlier than the others.
What does Carmen ask Jonas about?
- a) Whether the workshops will be recorded
- b) How much the workshops cost
- c) Where the Training Suite is
- d) Who will lead the Friday workshop
What is suggested about Carmen?
- a) She is a new manager.
- b) She works part-time.
- c) She recently changed teams.
- d) She is leading a workshop.
In the email, the word “agreed” in “My manager, Hassan Karimi, has already agreed” is closest in meaning to
- a) argued
- b) answered
- c) approved
- d) arrived

Connect the two texts

You need information from both texts to answer these questions. Choose the best answer.

On which day will Carmen visit a client?
- a) Monday
- b) Wednesday
- c) Thursday
- d) Tuesday
Which workshop does Carmen mean by “Samuel Mensah's second workshop”?
- a) Writing clear emails
- b) Planning projects with shared calendars
- c) Handling difficult customer calls
- d) Giving presentations with confidence
Where will the presentation workshop that Carmen wants to join take place?
- a) In the Main Hall
- b) In the Training Suite
- c) In a client's office
- d) Online
Will Carmen receive a certificate if she attends all the workshops she has asked for?
- a) No, because she needs to attend all five.
- b) Yes, because she will attend three workshops.
- c) No, because she booked after the deadline.
- d) Yes, because her manager has agreed.
Why is it difficult for Carmen's part-time colleagues to attend the workshops?
- a) The workshops are only for managers.
- b) The workshops are fully booked.
- c) The workshops are in another city.
- d) The workshops take place in the afternoon.
Did Carmen send her booking in time?
- a) No, she wrote after the deadline.
- b) Yes, she wrote on the last possible day.
- c) Yes, she wrote four days before the deadline.
- d) It is not possible to know.

Answer key

Questions on each text

b) To give information about a series of workshopsThe notice lists five workshops during development week and explains how to book them.
c) At 4:30 p.m.Each workshop runs from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m.
d) Get approval from their line managerThe notice says: Please get your line manager's approval before you book. The workshops are free.
b) More people can attend it.It is in the Main Hall because of the larger group size: it can take 40 people instead of 20.
a) Whether the workshops will be recordedCarmen asks whether the workshops will be recorded, so her part-time colleagues can watch them later.
c) She recently changed teams.Carmen says she has recently moved to the customer support team. It is her colleagues who work part-time.
c) approvedHer manager has agreed to her request, which means he has approved it. The notice asks for this approval.

Connect the two texts

d) TuesdayShe visits a client on the day of the project planning session. The notice shows that this is on Tuesday.
c) Handling difficult customer callsSamuel Mensah leads two workshops: Monday and Thursday. The second one is on Thursday: Handling difficult customer calls.
a) In the Main HallThe presentation workshop is on Wednesday, and the notice says it is in the Main Hall.
b) Yes, because she will attend three workshops.She asks for Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. The notice says three or more workshops earn a certificate.
d) The workshops take place in the afternoon.The workshops run from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m., and these colleagues are not in the office in the afternoons.
c) Yes, she wrote four days before the deadline.The deadline is 30 September and Carmen wrote on 26 September, four days earlier.