Minggu, 15 Januari 2012

READING COMPETENCY TEST FOR UAN Try Out 2012

READING COMPETENCY TEST
FOR UAN Try Out 2012

By ACHMAD BAIHAQI, MSc.
READING COMPETENCY TEST
In this part of the test, you have to choose the best answer to each question from the alternatives given.

Text 1:

A supporter of the national education bill displays a sign reading “Endorse the national education bill right now” to every motorist passing the back gate of the House of Representatives compound in Senayan, Central Jakarta. Thousands of members from Islamic groups gathered outside the compound on Thursday demanding that the bill be endorsed.


21.      The topic of the passage is about _______________.
a.    national education
b.    education bill
c.    supporters of the bill
d.    a supporter’s idea
e.    a public demand

22.      “ ……………… that the bill be endorsed.”
The word endorsed is closest in meaning to ________________.
a.    talked
b.    discussed
c.    approved
d.    decided
e.    resumed

Text 2:

There was once a man who spent all his spare time in one at his four glass-houses. Flowers was his name, and flowers were his main joy in life. He grew flowers of every color with names as long and difficult as those of the rules of Ancient Rome. He grew these flowers in order to enter them for competition. His one ambition in life was to grow a rose of on entirely new color, that would win him the silver cup for the Rose of the year.
Mr. Flowers’ glass-houses were very close to a public path. This path was always used by children walking to and from school. Boys of around thirteen year of age, in particular, were often tempted to throw a stone or two at one of Mr. Flowers’ glass-houses. They managed to resist the temptation when Mr. Flowers was about, but the temptation often proved to be too strong when he was nowhere to be seen. For this reason, mr. Flowers did his best to be in or close by his glass-house at the beginning and end of the school day.
However, it was not always convenient or possible to be on guard at these times. Mr. Flowers had tried in many ways to prevent damage to his glass; but nothing that he had done had been successful. He had been to school to the headmaster; he had hidden in the bushes and chased boys that threw stones in his garden, and had even picked up all the loose stones that he could find, so that the boys would have nothing to throw; but they soon found others, or threw lumps of earth instead.
Then, just as he was giving up hope of ever winning the battle, he had a truly marvelous idea. He put up a large notice made of good wood, some meters away from the glass-houses. He had painted on the board the words: DO NOT THROW STONE AT THIS NOTICE. After this, Mr. Flowers had no further trouble; the boys were much tempted to throw stones at the notice than at the glass-houses.

23.    What did Mr. Flowers enjoy doing?
a.    Building glass-houses in his spare time.
b.    Reading about the rulers of Ancient Rome.
c.    Thinking up long names for the roses he grew.
d.    Growing flowers and entering them for the competitions.
e.    Giving various new colors to the roses he grew.


24.    Mr. Flowers was tired to protect his glass-houses in several ways, except:
a.    he threw stones at the boys before chasing them.
b.    He guarded his glass-houses at certain times of the day.
c.    He complained to the school headmaster about the boys.
d.    He hid in the bushes, so that he could chase the boys when they came.
e.    He cleared the path all loose stones that could otherwise be used by the boys.

25.    Mr. Flowers was very annoyed with the boys because
a.    They always used the public path close to his glass-houses.
b.    They were naughty and were causing damage to his glass houses.
c.    They often played in one of his glass-houses after school.
d.    They picked up the roses that he grew in his glass-houses.
e.    They threw stones at him when he was working in his glass-houses.

26.    At last Mr. Flowers succeeded in protecting his glass-houses by
a.    putting lumps of earth in his garden instead of stones.
b.    throwing stones at the wooden notice.
c.    having somebody guard his garden all day long.
d.    picking up all the stones in front of his glass-houses.
e.    turning the boy’s attention to a wooden notice board.

27.    Mr. Flowers was hoping to
a.    grow the Rose of the year in a silver cup.
b.    enter a competition for a rose with the longest name.
c.    win a silver cup for growing a rose of a new color.
d.    build the most beautiful glass-houses in the region.
e.    grow silver-colored rose which would be the Rose of the year.


Text 3:

Seismologists have devised two scales of measurement to enable them todescribe and record information about earthquakes in quantitative   terms.   The  most  widely  known  measurement is The Richter scale, a numerical logarithmic scale developed and introduced by American seismologist Charles R. Richter in 1935. The purpose of the scale is to measure the amplitude of the largest trace recorded by a standard seismograph one hundred kilometers from the epicenter of an earthquake. Tables have been formulated to demonstrate the magnitude of any earthquake from any seismograph. For example, a one-unit increase in magnitude translates into an increase of times thirty in released energy. To put that another way, each number on the Richter scale represents an earthquake ten times as strong as one of the next lower magnitude. Specifically, an earthquake of magnitude 6 is ten times as strong as an earthquake of magnitude 5.
On the Richter scale, earthquakes of 6.75 are considered great and 7.0 to 7.75 are considered major. An earthquake that reads 4 to 5.5 would be expected to have caused localized damage, and those of magnitude 2 may be felt.
The other earthquake-assessment scale, introduced by the Italian seismologist Guiseppe Mercalli, measures the intensity of shaking, using gradations from 1 to 12. Because the effects of such shaking dissipate with distance from the epicenter of the earthquake, the Mercalli rating depends on the site of the measurement. Earthquakes of Mercalli 2 or 3 are basically the same as those of Richter 3 or 4; measurements of 11 or 12 on the Mercalli scale can be roughly correlated with magnitudes of 8 or 9 on the Richter scale. In either case, the relative power or energy released by the earthquake can be understood, and the population waits to hear how bad the earthquake that just passed really was.
It is estimated that almost one million earthquakes occur each year, but most of them are so minor that they pass undetected. In fact, more than one thousand earthquakes of a magnitude of 2 or lower on the Richter scale occur every day.
(Taken from: Barron’s Educational Series)


28.    Which of the following is the main topic of the passage?
a.    Earthquake
b.    The Richter scale
c.    Charles F. Richter
d.    Seismography
e.    Seismology

29.    According to information in the passage, what does the Richter scale record?
a.    The distance from the epicenter
b.    The amplitude of the largest trace
c.    The degree of damage
d.    The location of the epicenter
e.    The preparation of epicenter

30.    The word standard (line 6) in paragraph 1 could be replaced by
a.    Reliable
b.    Complex
c.    Conventional
d.    Abandoned
e.    Abolition

31.    What is the value of tables?
a.    They allow us to interpret the magnitude of earthquakes.
b.    They help us to calculate our distance from earthquakes.
c.    They record all earthquakes.
d.    They release the energy of earthquakes.
e.    They escape from energy.

32.    How does each number on the Richter scale compare?
a.     Each number is one hundred times as strong as the previous number.
b.     Each magnitude is ten times stronger than the previous magnitude.
c.     The strength of each magnitude is one less than the previous magnitude.
d.     The scale decreases by five or six for each number.
e.     Each seismograph is different from one.

33.    The word undetected (line 26) in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to
a.     with no damage
b.     with no notice
c.     with no name
d.     with no problem
e.    with no casualty.

34.    With which of the following statements would the author most probably agree?
a.     Only the Richter scale describes earthquakes in quantitative terms.
b.     Both the Richter scale and the Mercalli scale measure earthquakes in the same way.
c.     Most earthquakes are measurable on either the Richter or the Mercalli scale.
d.     The Mercalli and the Richter scales are different but they can be compared.
e.    Every earthquake can be measured.

35.    The passage discusses all of the following in the explanation of the Richter scale EXCEPT
a.     It was introduced in 1935.
b.     It was developed by an American seismologist.
c.     It has a scale of 1 to 12.
d.     It measures the magnitude of earthquakes.
e.    It was no exact measurement of earthquake.


Text 4:

The old belief that the universe never changes is quite wrong. Even _____________(36) the invention of the telescope, astronomers noticed that bright stars suddenly ______________(37) in the sky, and then later disappeared. These stars were called ‘novae’
_______________(38) they were thought to be new. In fact we now know that they are really old stars which are slow dying. A recent case of a nova ____________________(39) in 1918, and one of the few people who saw this was the American astronomer Edward Barnard. He was driving along in a car occasionally looking up into the sky. Suddenly he noticed a star that he had never seen before, and exclaimed, “That star should not be there!” He was in fact watching the ___________________(40) of a nova.

Options:
 GRAMMAR COMPETENCY TEST
 Choose the best answer.
 SPEAKING COMPETENCY TEST: 

WRITING COMPETENCY TEST
Write down essay at least 500 words using your own words.
Use the statement below to stimulate your opinions. Don’t forget to use the discussion text.
Also, remember to use some transition words to smooth your paragraph development.

What is a very important skill a person should learn
in order to be successful in the world today?
Choose one skill and use specific reasons and
examples to support your choice!
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