Vocabulary · Free lesson
TOEIC Reading: combine two texts for one answer
One text gives the rule. Another tells you which case it applies to. Reading only one can leave you with half the answer.
Professor Scott MendozaThe short answer
Find the relevant fact in each text and connect them explicitly. If delivery is free for orders of $60 or more and the order total is $54, the order does not qualify. Use the stated fee for orders below $60.
Link a rule to the specific case, not just to a shared word.
The delivery notice tells us how the fee depends on the order total. The order email supplies Maya’s total before delivery. Neither text alone gives her final delivery fee: the rule needs the amount, and the amount needs the rule. The requested delivery day does not affect this fee rule.
Two original texts
Orders totaling $60 or more before delivery receive free delivery. Orders below $60 have a $6 delivery fee.
My order total before delivery is $54. Please deliver it on Friday. — Maya
Maya’s order has a $6 delivery fee.
The $54 amount is explicitly before delivery. Do not add the fee first and then use that larger amount to qualify for free delivery.
Rule, fact, conclusion
Find the rule
Below $60 → $6 delivery fee.
Find the matching fact
Maya’s order before delivery → $54.
Apply the rule
$54 is below $60, so the fee is $6.
Try it now
Use both texts
Read all answers and explanations
What delivery fee applies to Maya’s order?
$6The email gives $54 before delivery, below the notice’s $60 threshold, so the fee is $6.
Which pair of facts is needed to decide that fee?
The fee rule and the order total before delivery.The rule from the notice and the amount from the email determine the fee. Name and day do not change this rule.
A different order totals $64 before delivery. Under the same notice, what follows?
It qualifies for free delivery.$64 meets the $60-or-more condition. The fee rule does not establish a delivery day.
Put it into practice
Connect a policy and a customer message
Policy: “Within 14 days, items with a receipt may be refunded; items without a receipt may only be exchanged.” Message: “I bought this six days ago, but I lost the receipt.” Which conclusion follows?
A refund is available because the purchase was six days ago.
See a model answer
An exchange is available, but the no-receipt rule does not allow a refund.
Both the timing and the receipt detail matter. This conclusion follows the policy in our original practice texts.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Is finding the same word in both texts enough?
No. Check how the facts relate: a rule and a case, an earlier plan and an update, or a question and a reply.
A delivery rule + an order amount → a fee.
What if one fact fits but another does not?
Apply all conditions relevant to the question. A valid date alone may not satisfy a receipt requirement.
Within 14 days does not mean with a receipt.
Take it into your day
Use the relevant fact from each text to justify the same conclusion.
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