25 TOEFL QUESTION (READING COMPREHENSION)

Questions 1-10 refer to the following passage

Awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 1918, German physics Max Planck is best remembered as the originator of the quantum theory. His work helped user in a new era in theoretical physics and revolutionized the scientific community’s understanding of atomic and sub-atomic processes.

            Planck intriduced an idea that led to the quantum theory, which became the foundation of twentieth century physics. In December 1900, Plnck worked out an equation that described the distribution of radiation accurately over the range of low to high frequencies. He had developed a theory which depended on a model of matter that seemed very strange at the time. The model required the emission of electromagnetic radiation in small chunks or particles. These particles were later called quantums. The energy associated with each quatum is measured by multiplying the frequency of the radiation, v, by a universal constant, h. Thus, energy, or E, equals hv. The constant, h, is known as Planck’s constant. It is now recognized as one of the fundamental constant of the world.

            Planck announced his finding in 1900, but it was years before teh full consequences of his revolutionary quantum theory were recognized. Throughout his life, Planck made significant contributions to optics, thermodynamics and stastistical mechanics, physical chemistry, and other fields. In 1930, He was elected president of the Kaiser Wilhelm society, which was renamed the Max II. Though deeply opposed to the fascist regime of Adolf Hitler, Planck remained in Germany throughout teh war. He died in Gottingen on October 4, 1947.

1. In which of the following fields did Max Planck NOT make a significant contribution?
   a) Optics
   b) Thermodynamics
   c) Stastistical mechanics
   d) Biology (answer)
   Paragraf terakhir menyatakan empat bidang yang dikontribusikan oleh Planck. Biologi tidak disebut sebagai salah satu kontribusi ini.
2. Theword “revolutionary” as used in line 13, means…
   a) Dangerous
   b) Extremist
   c) Momentous (answer)
   d) Militarist
   Dalam hal ini “revolutionary” memiliki arti yang hampir sama dengan “momentous”, karena penemuan Planck bersifat positif. Sedangkan pilihan lain memiliki konotasi negatif
3. It can inferred from the passage that Planck’s work led to the development of which of the following?
   a) The rocket
   b) The atomic bomb (answer)
   c) The internal combustion engine
   d) The computer
   Paragraf pertama menyatakan bahwa temuan Planck “revolutionized the scientific community’s understanding of atomic and sub-atomic processes.” Maka bisa disimpulkan bahwa hasil karyanya memberi jalan ditemukannya bom atom. Penemuan-penemuan lainnya seperti yang tersebut dalam pilihan jawaban a, c, dan d bukan akibat langsung dari penemuan Planck.
4. The particles of electromagnetic radiation given off by matter are known as…
   a) Quantums (answer)
   b) Atoms
   c) Electrons
   d) Valences
   Bacaan diatas secara langsung menyatakan bahwa the particles of electromagnetic radiation given off by matter dinamakan quantums.
5. The word “universal”, as used in line 10 most nearly means…
   a) Planetary
   b) Cosmic
   c) Worldwide
   d) Always present (answer)
   Di dalam konteks teori Planck, arti dari “universal” adalah “always present” pilihan jawaban lain adalah berkaitan dengan istilah geografi atau astronomi yang sama sekali tidak sesuai
6. The implication in this passage is that…
   a) Only a German physics could discover such a theory
   b) Quantum theory, which led to the development of twentieth century physics, is basically a mathematical formula (answer)
   c) Planck’s constant was not discernible before 1900
   d) Radiation was hard to study
   Quantum theory pada dasarnya adalah rumus matematika seperti dinyatakan dalam kalimat, “Thus energy, or E, equal hv.”
7. “An idea” as used in line 4, refers to…
   a) A model of matter
   b) Emission of electromagnetic radiation
   c) Quantums
   d) The equation that described the distribution of radiation accurately over the range of low to high frequencies (answer)
   “Idea” merujuk pada “equation” seperti ada dalam pilihan (d). Walupun pilihan-pilihan jawaban lain disebutkan di dalam bacaan, tetapi mereka tidak mendefinisikan tentang “idea”.
8. The word “emission” as used in line 8 means…
   a) Giving off (answer)
   b) Holding on to
   c) Throwing away
   d) Taking back
   “Giving off” adalah gerakan yang digambarkan di dalam frasa, “required the emission of electromagnetic radiation in small chunks or particles.”
9. Planck’s constant, expressed in a mathematical formula, is…
   a) e = v/h (answer)
   b) E = h/v
   c) e = h-v
   d) E = hv
   “E = hv” dinyatakan dalam bentuk kata-kata, “Thus energy, or E, equals hv”
10. What is known as Planck’s constant?
    a) v
    b) h (answer)
    c) e
    d) E
    “h” adalah jawaban yang benar seperti terlihat di dalam kalimat, “The constant, h, is known as Planck’s constant.”

1

Questions 11-20

There are two basic types of glaciers, those that flow outward in all directions with little regard for any underlying terrain and those that are confined by terrain to a particular path.

The first category of glaciers includes those massive blankets that cover whole continents, appropriately called ice sheets. There must be over 50,000 square kilometers of land covered with ice for the glacier to qualify as an ice sheet. When portions of an ice sheet spread out over the ocean, they form ice shelves.

About 20,000 years ago the Cordilleran Ice Sheet covered nearly all the mountains in southern Alaska, western Canada, and the western United States. It was about 3 kilometers deep at its thickest point in northern Alberta. Now there are only two sheets left on Earth, those covering Greenland and Antarctica.

Any domelike body of ice that also flows out in all directions but covers less than 50,000 square kilometers is called an ice cap. Although ice caps are rare nowadays, there are a number in northeastern Canada, on Baffin Island, and on the Queen Elizabeth Islands.

The second category of glaciers includes those of a variety of shapes and sizes generally called mountain or alpine glaciers. Mountain glaciers are typically identified by the landform that controls their flow. One form of mountain glacier that resembles an ice cap in that it flows outward in several directions is called an ice field. The difference between an ice field and an ice cap is subtle. Essentially, the flow of an ice field is somewhat controlled by surrounding terrain and thus does not have the domelike shape of a cap. There are several ice fields in the Wrangell. St. Elias, and Chugach mountains of Alaska and northern British Columbia.

Less spectacular than large ice fields are the most common types of mountain glaciers: the cirque and valley glaciers. Cirque glaciers are found in depressions in the surface of the land and have a characteristic circular shape. The ice of valley glaciers, bound by terrain, flows down valleys, curves around their corners, and falls over cliffs.

12. What does the passage mainly discuss?
    (A)  Where major glaciers are located
    (B)  How glaciers shape the land
    (C)  How glaciers are formed
    (D)  The different kinds of glaciers (answer)
    Ide pokok teks di atas dapat ditemukan pada paragraf pertama kalimat pertama yang menjelaskan dua jenis gletser yang berbeda dan selanjutnya masing-masing dijelaskan lebih lanjut pada paragraf berikutnya.
13. The word “massive” in line 3 is closest in meaning to
    (A)  huge (answer)
    (B)  strange
    (C)  cold
    (D)  recent
    Padanan kata massive adalah huge (sangat besar).
14.  It can be inferred that ice sheets are so named for which of the following reasons?
    (A)  They are confined to mountain valleys.
    (B)  They cover large areas of land. (answer)
    (C)  They are thicker in some areas than in others.
    (D)  They have a characteristic circular shape.
    Frasa whole continents pada kalimat those massive blankets that cover whole continents appropriately called ice sheet menunjukkan bahwa daratan yang tertutup gletser mencakup wilayah yang sangat luas, hampir keseluruhan daratan.
15. According to the passage, ice shelves can be found
    (A)  covering an entire continent
    (B)  buried within the mountains
    (C)  spreading into the ocean  (answer)
    (D)  filling deep valleys
    Jawaban dapat ditemukan pada kalimat terakhir paragraf kedua bahwa jika ice sheet tersebar (spread out) di lautan akan terbentuk ice shelves.
16. According to the passage, where was the Cordilleran Ice Sheet thickest?
    (A)  Alaska
    (B)  Greenland
    (C)  Alberta (answer)
    (D)  Antarctica
    Jawaban dapat ditemukan pada baris ke-8: it was about 3 kilometers deep at its thickest point in northern Alberta.
17. The word “rare” in line 12 is closest in meaning to
    (A)  small
    (B)  unusual (answer)
    (C)  valuable
    (D)  widespread
    Rare berarti jarang atau tidak biasa ditemukan sehingga jawaban yang paling mendekati arti dari rare adalah unusual.
18. According to the passage (paragraph 5), ice fields resemble ice caps in which of the following ways?
    (A)  Their shape
    (B)  Their flow (answer)
    (C)  Their texture
    (D)  Their location
    Kalimat Mountain glaciers are typically identified by the landform that controls their flow dan dijelaskan lebih lanjut pada kalimat One form of mountain glacier that resembles an ice cap in that it flows outward in several directions is called an ice field menunjukkan bahwa pembentukan ice caps dipengaruhi oleh alirannya (their flow).
19. The word “it” in line 16 refers to
    (A)  glacier (answer)
    (B)  cap
    (C)  difference
    (D)  terrain
    It pada kalimat di atas merujuk pada mountain glacier atau gletser.
20. The word “subtle” in line 17 is closest in meaning to
    (A)  slight (answer)
    (B)  common
    (C)  important
    (D)  measurable
    Padanan kata subtle adalah slight yang keduanya memiliki arti “tipis, halus, atau sedikit”.

Questions 21-25

A distinctively American architecture began with Frank Lloyd Wright, who had taken to heart the admonition that form should follow function and who thought of buildings not as separate architectural entities but as parts of an organic whole that included the land, the community, and the society. In a very real way the houses of colonial New England and some of the southern plantations had been functional, but Wright was the first architect to make functionalism the authoritative principle for public as well as for domestic buildings. As early as 1906 he built the Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois, the first of those churches that did so much to revolutionize ecclesiastical architecture in the United States. Thereafter he turned his genius to such miscellaneous structures as houses, schools, office buildings, and factories, among them the famous Larkin Building in Buffalo, New York, and the Johnson Wax Company building in Racine, Wisconsin.

1.       The phrase “taken to heart” in line 1 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A)  Taken seriously (answer)
(B)  Criticized
(C)  Memorized
(D)  Taken offence
Frasa taken to heart adalah bentuk ungkapan idiomatik dan memiliki arti “melakukan dengan sepenuh hati/serius”.

2.      In what way did Wright’s public buildings differ from most of those built by earlier architects?
(A)  They were built on a larger scale.
(B)  Their materials came from the southern United States.
(C)  They looked more like private homes.
(D)  Their designs were based on how they would be used. (answer)
Pada kalimat “…that form should follow function…” menunjukkan bahwa desain seharusnya berdasarkan pada fungsinya, untuk apa nantinya bangunan itu digunakan dan jawaban yang demikian ditemukan di pilihan D.

3.      The author mentions the Unity Temple because, it
(A)  was Wright’s first building
(B)  influenced the architecture of subsequent churches (answer)
(C)  demonstrated traditional ecclesiastical architecture
(D)  was the largest church Wright ever designed
Pada kalimat “…the first of those churches that did so much to revolutionize ecclesiastical architecture in the United States” menyatakan bahwa bangunan itu sangat mempengaruhi desain bangunan-bangunan selanjutnya. Jawaban yang mengandung ide serupa ada pada pilihan B.

4.      The passage mentions that all of the following structures were built by Wright EXCEPT
(A)  factories
(B)  public buildings
(C)  offices
(D)  southern plantations (answer)
Pada kalimat terakhir jelas bahwa offices, factories dan public building, termasuk churches adalah karyanya. Sedangkan South Plantations bukanlah hasil karyanya karena sudah didesain oleh orang terdahulu seperti yang disebutkan dalam bacaan.

5.      Which of the following statements best reflects one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural principles?
(A)  Beautiful design is more important than utility.
(B)  Ecclesiastical architecture should be derived from traditional designs.
(C)  A building should fit into its surroundings. (answer)
(D)  The architecture of public buildings does not need to be revolutionary
Kalimat “…as parts of an organic whole that included the land, the community, and the society” menyatakan bahwa bangunan seharusnya dianggap sebagai bagian dari keseluruhan lingkungan dan masyarakat sekitarnya sehingga dengan kata lain bangunan tersebut harus sesuai dengan lingkungannya.

Sumber:

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