Anda di halaman 1dari 49

Pengantar

Reading Comprehension ini merupakan sesi ketiga yang diujikan dalam TOEFL test
untuk menguji kompetensi test taker dalam memahami bahasa Inggris tulis. Untuk menguasai sesi
ketiga ini, calon test taker diharapkan sering membaca teks bahasa Inggris dan memperkaya
vocabulary TOEFL test.

Pada sesi ini, jumlah soal yang diujikan adalah sebanyak 50 soal, dengan waktu 55 menit.
Pada umumnya, yang disajikan pada bagian ini adalah berupa beberapa pertanyaan yang terkait
dengan suatu tema atau topik tertentu dari 5 buah teks . Tema atau topik dari teks-teks pada
TOEFL test ini beraneka ragam. Meski beranekaragam, secara umum topik-topiknya adalah
seputar dunia perkuliahan, bahasan akademik yang diajarkan di universitas-universitas di Amerika
Serikat seperti Kesusastraan, Kesenian, Sejarah, Biologi, Astronomi, Geografi, Kesehatan,
Sosiologi, Psikologi, Antropologi, Sistem Pendidikan, dan disiplin-disiplin ilmu lainnya.
Sementara, pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang muncul pada sesi ini meliputi pertanyaan-pertanyaan
mengenai main idea, hubungan antar paragraf, informasi yang jawabannya tersurat maupun tersirat,
referent (penggunaan pronoun dalam teks), vocabulary (kosakata) bacaan, tujuan (maksud)
penulisan bacaan, dan lain-lain.

Pada bimbingan sesi ketiga ini, kawan akan mendapatkan trik-trik khusus bagaimana
menjawab soal Reading Comprehension secara sistematis sekaligus dilengkapi contoh-contoh dan
pembahasannya. Bimbingan ini tidak sekedar teoritis semata-mata tetapi didukung berdasarkan
pengalaman kami belasan tahun menyelenggarakan kelas reguler TOEFL yang sudah teruji
mengantarkan ribuan siswa mencapai skor TOEFL tinggi.

Tahap pembelajaran yang kami sarankan adalah perbanyak membaca scientific texts dalam
bahasa Inggris, perkaya vocabulary bahasa Inggris, dan kuasai Reading teknik seperti
previewing, scanning, skimming, dan predicting. Setelah itu, tingkatkan skill membaca dengan
membaca dan membaca melalui Bank Soal Sesi Reading yang lain yang sudah disiapkan. Dengan
langkah-langkah ini, Reading bukan lagi hal yang “membebani” apalagi “menakutkan”, melainkan
bisa mendongkrak skor TOEFL tinggi. Amiin.

Salam, TOEFL550.com

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
1
Pengantar ................................................................................................ 1
Content .................................................................................................... 2
Reading Comprehension ......................................................................... 3
Teknik-teknik Reading Comprehension .................................................. 4
Trik 1 Kuasai Main Idea dengan Cermat .......................................... 7
Trik 2 Kuasai Hubungan antar Gagasan antar Paragraf .................... 10
Trik 3 Pahami Stated Detail Questions ............................................. 13
Trik 4 Pahami Unstated Detail Questions ......................................... 15
Trik 5 Kuasai Materi Pronoun Referent dengan Cermat ................... 18
Trik 6 Pahami Implied Detail Questions .......................................... 21
Trik 7 Pahami Transition Questions ................................................. 24
Trik 8 Kuasai Vocabulary Secara Sistematis .................................... 26
Trik 9 Gunakan Structural Clues untuk Membantu
Menentukan Definisi ............................................................. 29
Trik 10 Gunakanlah Konteks untuk Menentukan Makna
Kata Sederhana ...................................................................... 31
Trik 11 Identifikasi Word Parts untuk Membantu
Menentukan Makna Kata ....................................................... 34
Trik 12 Gunakan Intuisi ..................................................................... 36
Trik 13 Pahami Cara Menentukan Dimana Informasi
Khusus Ditemukan ................................................................ 36
Trik 14 Pahami Tone, Purpose, atau Course Questions ...................... 39
Kunci Jawaban dan Pembahasannya ....................................................... 43

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
2
Seperti yang telah kawan ketahui, Reading Comprehension terdiri dari 5 bacaan yang mana
setiap bacaan diikuti oleh sejumlah pertanyaan mengenai reading comprehension dan vocabulary.
Untuk mengerjakan sesi ini kawan perlu mengetahui strategi-strategi dalam Reading
Comprehension. Berikut ini ditampilkan general Reading Comprehension strategies yang kawan
bisa praktikkan baik pada saat latihan mengerjakan TOEFL test maupun pada saat ujian
berlangsung.

GENERAL STRATEGIES FOR READING COMPREHENSION


Berikut adalah strategi-strategi umum yang biasanya peserta tes gunakan untuk
menjawab soal-soal Reading Comprehension pada tes TOEFL:
1. Berpikirlah positif bahwa kawan bisa menjawab soal-soal tersebut.
2. Bacalah dengan tenang meski topik teks tidak sesuai dengan disiplin ilmu yang
kawan miliki.
3. Upayakan jangan terlalu lama membaca bacaan.
4. Fokuslah pada saat membaca sehingga kawan bisa memanfaatkan waktu seefisien
mungkin.
5. Tingkatkan kecepatan membaca (reading speed) kawan.
6. Pahamilah seluruh pertanyaan, temukan dan ingat key word untuk tiap soal, dan
jawab soal dengan bantuan key word tersebut.
7. Lakukan previewing untuk mengetahui topik/main idea bacaan.
8. Pahami kalimat pertama dari sebuah bacaan/paragraf untuk mengetahui main idea.
9. Lakukan scanning dan skimming untuk menemukan informasi tertentu yang sesuai
dengan permintaan soal.
10. Ketahui makna kata tertentu dengan cara memahami konteks yang ada pada bacaan.
11. Tariklah kesimpulan dengan mengumpulkan fakta dan data dalam bacaan.

Perlu kawan ketahui dan ingat pula bahwa bacaan-bacaan yang ada pada TOEFL test cukup
panjang dan tingkat kesulitan bacaannya lumayan susah. Apabila tidak memiliki kebiasaan
membaca yang baik, kawan akan mengalami kesulitan pada sesi ini. Untuk menyikapi masalah
tersebut, kawan hendaknya menguasai teknik Reading cepat (Quick Reading) yang dapat
memudahkan mengerjakan setiap butir soal Reading secara cepat dan tepat.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
3
TEKNIK-TEKNIK READING COMPREHENSION

a) Previewing

Previewing adalah suatu teknik Reading untuk melihat teks secara menyeluruh dalam
rangka menentukan main idea suatu teks. Pengarang suatu teks biasanya melakukan variasi dalam
menempatkan main idea dari suatu teks agar teks tersebut menarik dan tidak terkesan monoton.
Pelajarilah contoh soal TOEFL bagian Reading Comprehension berikut.

The passage:

Every scientific discipline tends to develop its own special language because it finds
ordinary words inadequate, and psychology is no different. The purpose of this special jargon
is not to non-psychologists; rather, it allows psychologists to accurately describe the
phenomena they are discussing and to communicate with each other effectively. Of course,
psychological terminology consists in part of everyday words such as emotion, intelligence,
and motivation, but psychologists use these words somewhat differently. For example, a non-
psychologist may use the term anxiety to mean nervousness or fear, but most psychologists
reserve the term to describe a condition produced when one fears events over which one has
no control.

The question:

The main topic of this passage is ...


(A) effective communication.
(B) the special language of psychology.
(C) two definitions of the word anxiety.
(D) the jargon of science.

Pembahasan:

Key word : ... its own special language ... (kalimat 1)


Pembahasan : Pertanyaan pada soal tersebut menanyakan tentang topik teks tersebut. Untuk
mengetahuinya, kawan harus menggunakan previewing untuk melihat gagasan
secara keseluruhan. Lihatlah kalimat utama paragraf tersebut dan pahamilah.
Pada kalimat utama disebutkan bahwa setiap disiplin ilmu cenderung
mengembangkan bahasa spesialnya sendiri karena adanya keterbatasan kata dan
Psikologi juga demikian. Jadi, topik dari teks ini adalah bahasa spesial Psikologi.
Jawaban : (B) the special language of psychology.

b) Skimming

Skimming merupakan suatu teknik membaca cepat untuk mencari informasi tertentu yang
terdapat pada teks. Oleh karena itu, kawan harus terbiasa membaca teks-teks bahasa Inggris dengan
berkonsentrasi penuh saat membaca. Pelajari contoh berikut.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
4
The passage:

Twentieth century technology is Modern Times, made in 1936. Charlie Chaplin was
motivated to make the film by a reporter who, while interviewing him, happened to describe
working conditions in industrial Detroit. Chaplin was told that healthy young farm boys were
lured to the city to work on automotive assembly lines. Within four or five years, these young
men‟s health was destroyed by the stress of work in the factories.
The film opens with a shot of a mass of sheep jammed into pens. Abruptly the scene
shifts to a scene of factory workers packed into a narrow entrance way, jostling one another on
their way to a factory. This biting tone of criticism, however, is not sustained throughout
the film. It is replaced by a gentle note of satire. Chaplin preferred to entertain rather than
lecture to the audience.
Scenes of factory interiors account for only about one third of the footage of Modern
Times, but they contain some of the most pointed social commentary as well as the funniest
comic situations. No one who has seen the film can ever forget Chaplin vainly trying to keep
pace with the fast-moving conveyor belt, almost losing his mind in the process. Another
popular scene features an automatic feeding machine brought to the assembly line so that
workers need not interrupt their labor to eat. It hurls food at Chaplin, who is strapped into his
position on the assembly line and cannot escape. This serves to illustrate people‟s utter
helplessness in the face of machines that are meant to serve their basic needs.
Clearly, Modern Times has its faults, but despite its flaws, it remains the best film
treating technology within a social context. It does not offer a radical social message, but it does
accurately reflect the sentiments of many who feel they are victims of an overmechanized
world.

The question:

According to the passage, Chaplin got the idea for the film Modern Times from a ...
(A) newspaper article.
(B) scene in a movie.
(C) job he had once held.
(D) conversation with a reporter.

Pembahasan :

Key word : ... motivated tomake the film by a reporter, who while interviewing him ... (baris 2)
Pembahasan : Skimming teks tersebut. Pada baris ke-2 disebutkan bahwa Chaplin mendapatkan
ide untuk film Modern Times dari seorang reporter yang sedang
mewawancarainya.
Jawaban : (D) conversation with a reporter

c) Scanning

Scanning merupakan suatu teknik Reading Comprehension untuk melihat kata-kata tertentu
dengan kecepatan tinggi. Pelajarilah contoh soal dan pembahasan berikut.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
5
The passage:

Dekanawida‟s role as a supreme lawgiver in the Iroquis tribe has given him the status
of demigod within the Indian nation. Born into the Huron tribe, Dekanawida caused great
fear in his parents, who tried to drown him in his youth after a prophecy was made indicating
that he would bring great sorrow to the Huron nation. Dekanawida was to survive this
attempted drowning but later left his parents‟ home and tribe to live among the Iroquois.
One of his achievents with the Iroquois was the institution of a law among the
Iroquois that virtually ended blood feuds among the nation‟s families. Wampum, strings of
beads made of polished shells, was a valued commodity in the Iroquois culture; according to
policies established by Dekanawida, wampum had to be paid to the family of a murder
victim by the family of the killer. Since the killer was also put to death, the family of the
killer had to pay the victim‟s family in wampum for two deaths, the death of the murder
victim and the death of the killer. These strict policies implemented by Dekanawida helped
to establish him as a wise lawgiver and leader of the Iroquois nation.

The question:

According to the passage, Dekanawida was NOT ....


(A) A lawmaker
(B) A Huron by birth
(C) A near deity
(D) drowned when he was young

Pembahasan :

Key word : Dekanawida


Pembahasan : Scan teks tersebut. Pada teks disebutkan bahwa Denanawida adalah orang
Huron, setengah dewa, dan pembuat undang-undang (UU). Pada teks tersebut,
yaitu pada baris 3-6 disebutkan pula bahwa orangtua beliau MENCOBA
menenggelamkannya semasa beliau muda. Jadi, Dekanawida was NOT drowned
when he was young.
Jawaban : d) drowned when he was young

Pada tes TOEFL bagian Reading Comprehension, kawan diminta untuk mengerjakan 50
butir soal dengan materinya meliputi pertanyaan-pertanyaan seputar main idea, informasi tersirat
maupun tersurat, vocabulary, pronoun, dan organisasi paragraf dari suatu bacaan. Untuk itu, kawan
harus mempunyai kepekaan terhadap tipe-tipe pertanyaan pada soal-soal TOEFL dan harus
menguasai trik-trik khusus berikut ini.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
6
Kuasai Main Idea dengan Cermat

Pada tes TOEFL bagian Reading Comprehension ini, kawan akan sering menjumpai
pertanyaan seputar main idea suatu teks. Main idea merupakan ide pokok, gagasan utama, subyek,
topik, atau point utama dari suatu teks. Main idea ini bisa ditemukan di awal, akhir atau awal dan
akhir paragraf. Perhatikan uraian berikut.

MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS

JENIS PERTANYAAN What is the topic of the passage?


What is the subject of the passage?
What is the main idea of the passage?
What is the author‟s main point in the passage?
With what is the author primarily concerned?
Which of the following would be the best title?

LOKASI JAWABAN Jawaban untuk pertanyaan jenis ini dapat secara umum
ditentukan dengan melihat kalimat pertama tiap paragraf.

LANGKAH-LANGKAH MENJAWAB TRIK 1

 Bacalah dan pahamilah kalimat pertama pada tiap paragraf.


 Temukanlah keyword atau tema umum pada kalimat pertama pada tiap paragraf.
 Segera jawab pertanyaan tentang main idea tersebut setelah kawan yakin akan fokus
tersebut.

Contoh 1:

The passage:
Nitrogen fixation is a process by which nitrogen is continuously fed into biological
circulation. In this process, certain algae and bacteria convert nitrogen into ammonia (NH 3). This

newly created ammonia is then for the most part absorbed by plants.

The opposite process of denitrification returns nitrogen to the air. During the process of
denitrification, bacteria cause some of the nitrates from the soil to convert into gaseous nitrogen or
nitrous oxide (N2O). In this gaseous form the nitrogen returns to the atmosphere.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
7
The question:

Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
(A) The process of Nitrogen Fixation
(B) Two Nitrogen Processes
(C) The Returnof Oxygen to the Air
(D) The Effect of Nitrogen on Plant Life

Pembahasan:

Kata kunci : Kalimat utama paragraf 1: Nitrogen fixation is a process ....


Kalimat utama paragraf 2: The opposite process of denitrification ....
Pembahasan : Pahami kalimat utama masing-masing paragraf. Kalimat utama paragraf 1
membahas tentang nitrogen fixation dan yang ke-2 adalah tentang Nitrogen
denitrification. Jadi,berdasarkan kedua kalimat utama dari teks tersebut dapat
diketahui bahwa teks tersebut membahas tentang dua proses Nitrogen yaitu
Nitrogen Fixation dan Nitrogen Denitrification.
Jawaban : (B) Two Nitrogen Processes

Contoh 2:

The Passage:

Marian Anderson, the first in a succession of black divas at the Metropolitan Opera, was the
first African-American woman to break the barriers which kept blacks from the concert stage. She
encountered many racial slights, the most famous being the refusal of the Daughters of the
American Revolution to allow her to appear in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. This insult
was publicly confronted by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who arranged for Anderson to sing from
the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday of 1939.

The Question:

The paragraph mainly discusses Marian Anderson in terms of her ....


(A) Success at the Metropolitan Opera
(B) Appearance in Constitution Hall in Washington, D. C.
(C) Role in breaking barriers of racial prejudice
(D) Confrontation with first lady Eleanor Roosevelt

Pembahasan:

Kata kunci : Marian Anderson ... was the first African-American woman to break .... (baris 1)
Pembahasan : Pahami kalimat pertama paragraf tersebut. Dari kalimat tersebut dapat diketahui
bahwa Marian Anderson, Diva kulit hitam pertama di Metropolitan Opera,
merupakan wanita Afro-America pertama yang mematahkan adanya anggapan
yang menjauhkan orang-orang kulit hitam dari panggung konser. Berdasarkan

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
8
kalimat pertama paragraf tersebut dapat diketahui bahwa paragraf tersebut
membahas tentang Marian Anderson dalam hal perannya dalam mematahkan
anggapan rasial.
Jawaban : (C) Role in breaking barriers of racial prejudice

Latihan:

TEKS 1

Rangelands cover more than one billion acres of the United States, mostly in the
Western states and Alaska. They contain many natural resources--- grass and shrubs for animal
grazing, habitats for livestock and wildlife, water from vast watersheds, facilities for water
sports and other kinds of recreation, and valuable mineral and energy resources. Rangelands
also serve as areas for scientific study of the environment.

The Question:

What is the main idea of the paragraph?


(A) The United States has vast areas of rangelands.
(B) There are many benefits derived from rangelands.
(C) The natural resources of rangelands are becoming threatened.
(D) Rangelands are the subject of much scientific study.

TEKS 2

Common types of calendars can be based on the Sun or on the Moon. The solar calendar
is based on the solar year. Since the solar year is 365.242 days long. Solar calenders consist of
regular years of 365 days and have an extra day every fourth year, or leap year, to make up for
the additional fractional amount. In a solar calendar, the waxing anti of the Moon can take place
at various stages of each month.
The lunar calendar is sycnchronized to the lunar month rather than the solar year. Since
the lunar month is twenty-nine and a half days longs, most lunar calendars have alternating
months of twenty and half days long, most lunar calendars have alternating months of twenty
and thirty days. A twelve month lunar year thus has 354 days, 11 days shorter than a solar year.

The Question:

What is the main idea of the passage?


(A) All calenders are the same.
(B) The solar calender is based on the sun.
(C) Different calenders have dissimilar bases.
(D) The lunar month is twenty-nine and half days long.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
9
TEKS 3

A hoax, unlike an honest error, is a deliberately conconted plan, to present an untruth as


the truth. It can take the form of a fraud, a fake, a swindle, or a forgery, and can be
accomplished in almost any field: succesful hoaxes have been foisted on the public in fields as
varied as politics, religion, science, art, and literature.

A famous scientific hoax occured in 1912 when Charles Dawson claimed to have
uncovered a human skull and jawbone on Piltdown Common in southern England. These
human remains were said to be more than 500,000 years old and were unlike any other remains
from that period; as such they represented as an important discovery in the study of human
evolution. These remains, populary known as the Piltdown Man and scientifically named
Eoanthropus dowsoni after their discoverer, confused scientists for more than forty years.
Finally in 1953, a chemical anlysis was used to date the bones, and it was found that the bones
were modern bones that had been skillfully aged. A further twist to the hoax was the skull
belonged to a human and the jaws to an orangutan.

The Question:

1. The topic of this passage could best be described as ....


(A) The Piltdown Man
(B) Charles Dawson‟s discovery
(C) Eoanthropus dawsoni
(D) A definition and example of a hoax

2. The author‟s main point is that ....


(A) Various types of hoaxes have been perpetrated
(B) Charles Dawson discovered a human skull and jawbone
(C) Charles Dawson was not an honest man
(D) The human skull and jawbone were extremely old

3. The second paragraph includes ....


(A) An illustration to support the ideas in the first paragraph
(B) A counterargument to the ideas in the first paragraph
(C) An analogy to the ideas in the first paragraph
(D) A detailed definition of a hoax

Kuasai Hubungan antar Gagasan antar Paragraf

Kawan juga akan menjumpai pertanyaan mengenai hubungan gagasan antar paragraf (the
organization of ideas) pada bagian ini. Pertanyaan semacam ini biasanya menanyakan tentang
hubungan antara gagasan-gagasan (ide-ide) antar paragraf. Perhatikan uraian berikut ini.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
10
ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS

JENIS PERTANYAAN How is the information in the passage organized?


How is the information in the second paragraph related to the
information in the first paragraph?

LOKASI JAWABAN Pada umumnya pada kalimat pertama masing-masing


paragraf

LANGKAH-LANGKAH MENJAWAB TRIK 2

 Baca kalimat pertama pada masing-masing paragraf.


 Cari kata-kata yang menunjukkan adanya hubungan antar paragraf yang ditanyakan.

Contoh:

The passage:

IQ, or intelligence quotinent, is defined as the ratio of a person‟s mental age to


chronological age, with the ratio multiplied by 100 to remove the decimal. Chronological age is
easily determined; mental age is generally measured by some kind of standard test and is not so
simple to define.

In theory, a standardized IQ test is set up to measure an individual‟s ability to perform


intellectual operations such as reasoning and problem solving. These intellectual operations are
considered to represent intelligence.

In practice, it has been impossible to arrive at concensus as to which types of intelllectual


operations demonstrate intelligence. Furthermore, it has been impossible to devise a test without
cultural bias, which is to say that any 10 tests so far proposed have been shown to reflect the culture
of the test makers. Test takers from that culture would, it follows, score higher on such a test than
test takers from a different culture with equal intelligence.

Question:

How does the information in the third paragraph differ from that in the second paragraph?
(A) It represents a contrasting point of view.
(B) It follows chronologically from the ideas in the second paragraph.
(C) It presents real information rather than a premise.
(D) It presents an example of the ideas in the second paragraph

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
11
Explanation:

Key word : In theory, .... (kalimat 1 paragraf 2)


In practice, .... (kalimat 1 paragraf 3)
Pembahasan : Paragraf 2 membahas tentang tes IQ secara teoris dan paragraf 3 adalah tentang
tes IQ secara praktik/realita. Jadi, dari kalimat 1 paragraf 2 dan 3 dapat diketahui
bahwa paragraf 3 menampilkan sudut pandang yang bertentangan mengenai tes
IQ.

Latihan:

Passage one (Question 1-2):

Conflict within an organization is not always viewed as undesireable. In fact, various


managers have widely divergent ideas on the value that conflict can have.

According to the traditional view of conflict, conflict is harmful to an organization.


Managers with this traditional view of conflict see it as their role in an organization to rid the
organization of any possible sources of conflict.

The interactionist view of conflict, on the other hand, holds that conflict can serve an
important function in an organization by reducing complacency among workers and causing
positive changes to occur. Managers who hold an interactionist view of conflict may actually
take steps to stimulate conflict within the organization.

1. How is the information in the passage organized?


(A) The origin ideas about conflict is presented.
(B) Contrasting views of conflict of are presented.
(C) Two theorists discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their views on conflict.
(D) Examples of conflict within organization are presented.

2. What type of information is included in the third paragraph?


(A) A comparison of the interactionist and traditional views of conflict
(B) A discussion of the weknesses of the interactionist view of conflict
(C) An outline of the type manager who prefers interactionist view of conflict
(D) A description of one of the opposing views of conflict

Passage two:

The largest lake in the United States is the Great Salt Lake., an inland saltwater lake in
northwstern Utah, just outside the capital city of Salt Lake City. Rivers and streams feed into
the Great Salt Lake, but none drain of it; that has a major influence on both the salt content and
the size of the lake.

Although the Great Salt Lake is fed by freshwater streams, it is actually saltier than the
oceans of the world. The salt comes from the more than two million tons of mineral that flow
into the lake each year from the rivers and creeks that feed it. Sodium and Chloride-the

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
12
components of salt- comprise the large majority of the lake‟s minerarl content.

The Great Salt Lake can vary tremendously from its nomrmal size of 1,700 square miles,
depending on long-term weather conditions. During periods of heavy rains, the size of the lake
can swell tremendously from the huge amounts of water flowing into the lake from its feeder
rivers and streams; in 1990 the lake even reached a size of 2,400 square miles. During periods
of dry weather, the size of the lake decreases, sometimes drastically, due to evaporation.

3. How is the information in the passage organized?


(A) Two unusual characteristics of the Great Salt Lake are discussed.
(B) Contrasting theories about the Great Salt Lake‟s salt levels are presented.
(C) The process by which the Great Salt Lake gets its salt is outlined.
(D) The reasons for the variations in the Great Salt Lake‟s size are given.

4. The third paragraph contains information on ....


(A) How the size of the lake effects weather conditions
(B) The effects of contrasting weather conditions on the size of the lake
(C) The effects of chnages in the size of the lake
(D) The causes of varied weather condition in the size of lake

Pahami Stated Detail Questions

Pertanyaan-pertanyaan semacam ini menanyakan informasi terperinci yang ada pada suatu teks.
Jawaban untuk pertanyaan ini tertera langsung pada teks jadi kawan tidak perlu berlama-lama
mengerjakan soal-soal ini.

STATED DETAIL QUESTIONS

JENIS PERTANYAAN According to the passage ....


It is stated in the passage ....
The passage indicates that ....
The author mentions that ....
Which of the following is true ....

LOKASI JAWABAN Disebutkan secara berurutan pada bacaan.

LANGKAH-LANGKAH MENJAWAB TRIK 3

 Temukanlah key word dari pertanyaan tersebut.


 Bacalah dengan cepat teks tersebut untuk mencari informasi yang ditanyakan.
 Pahami kalimat yang berisi informasi yang ditanyakan dengan cermat.
 Carilah jawaban yang memiliki ide yang sama dari informasi yang telah ditemukan.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
13
Contoh:

The passage:

Williamsburg is a historic city in Virginia situated on a peninsula between two rivers, the
Yorks and the James. It was settled by English colonists 1633, twenty-six years after the first
permanent English colony in America was settled at Jamestown. In the beginning the colony at
Williamsburg was named Middle Plantation because of its location in the middle of the peninsula.
The site for Williamsburg has been selected by the colonists because the soil drainage was better
there at the Jamestown location, and there were fewer mosquitoes.

The question:

According to the passage, Williamsburg is located ....


(A) on an island
(B) in the middle of a river
(C) where the york and the james meet
(D) on a piece of land with rivers on two sides

Explanation:

Key word : ... a historic city in Virginia situated on peninsula between two rivers, ... (baris 1)
Pembahasan : Pada baris 1 disebutkan bahwa Williamsburg merupakan sebuah kota bersejarah
di Virginia yang berada di semenanjung yang terletak di antara 2 sungai. Pada
pilihan jawaban, kata „peninsula‟ (semenanjung) dinyatakan ulang dengan „a
piece of land with rivers on two sides‟ (tanah yang diapit oleh dua sungai).
Jawaban : (E) on a piece of land with rivers on two sides

Latihan:

Passage one:

Because all dramatic productions begin with a script, there is a constant need for
playwrights and scriptwriters. Beginning writers may work on “spec”,or speculation; they do not
know if their play or screenplay will find a buyer. Playwrights generally submit their work to a
4 teather. The theater may produce the play or hold readings of it. A few theaters have regular
positions for playwrights in residence, but in general, even established playwrights work on a
freelance, or job-by-job, basis.
This is also true of scriptwriters who write screenplays and teleplays for film and
television production companies. Estblished writers in the broadcasting industry may work
steadily for a particular television program, but many writers work on a script-by-script basis.
10 Stage and screen writers may initially learn their trade in colleges and universities that
offer degree programs in play and screenplay writing. Requirements of the programs usually
include reading the works of other writers and writing an original play or screenplay.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
14
1. According to the passage, “spec” writers sell their plays or scripts by ....
(A) Woorking for a specific theatre or production company
(B) Submitting their work to a theatre or production company
(C) First becoming established writers
(D) Holding readings of their work

2. The author makes the point that both playwrights and scriptwriters ....
(A) Usually begin working on a freelance basis
(B) Usually begin working for one theatre or production company
(C) Are required to earn a college degree
(D) Usually begin by writing plays and later writing screenplays

Passage two:

What made Native American and European subsistence cycles so different from one
another in colonial America had less to do with their use of plants than with their use of
animals. Domesticated grazing animals and the plow were the most distinguishing
characteristics of European agricultural practices. The Native Americans‟ relationship to the
deer, moose, and beaver they hunted was far different from that of the Europeans to the pigs,
cows, sheep, and horses they owned.

Where Natives had contented themselves with burning the woods and concentrating their
hunting in the fall and winter months, the English sought a much more total and year-round
control over their animals‟ lives. The effects of that control could be seen in most aspects of
New England‟s rural economy, and by the end of the colonial period were resposible for a host
of changes in the New England landscape: the endless miles of fences, the silenced voices of
the vanished wolves, the system of country roads, and the new fields covered with grass,clover,
and buttercups.

3. The author mentions the cows and sheep as examples of ....


(A) European subsistance cycles
(B) Animals owned by European settlers
(C) Animals hunted by Native Americans
(D) Animals eaten by wolves

Pahami Unstated Detail Questions

Pertanyaan-pertanyaan semacam ini menanyakan informasi yang TIDAK tertera, atau


TIDAK benar berdasarkan teks.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
15
“UNSTATED” DETAIL QUESTIONS

JENIS PERTANYAAN Which of the following is not stated ...?


Which of the following is not mentioned...?
Which of the following is not discussed ...?
All of the following are true concept ....

LOKASI JAWABAN Disebutkan secara berurutan pada bacaan.

LANGKAH-LANGKAH MENJAWAB TRIK 4

 Bacalah dengan cermat untuk menemukan informasi yang berhubungan dengan


pilihan jawaban.
 Pahami informasi yang telah ditemukan untuk menentukan informasi yang tidak
tertera/tidak benar berdasarkan teks..

Contoh:

The passage:

In English there are many different kinds of expressions that people use to give a name to
anything whose name is unknown or momentarily forgetten. The word gadget is one such word. It
was first used by British sailors in the 1850‟s and probably came from the French word gachette,
which was a small hook. In everyday use the word has a more a general meaning. Other words are
also used to give a name to something unnamed or unknown, and these words tend to be somewhat
imaginative. Some of the more commonly used expressions are a what-d‟ye-call-it, a whatsis a
thingamabob, a thingamajig, a doodad, or a doohickey.

The question:

Which of the following is NOT true about the word “gadget”?


(A) It is used to name something when the name is not known.
(B) It was used at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
(C) It mostly likely came from a word in the French language.
(D) Its first known use was by British sailors.

Explanation:

Key word : Gadget (baris 3)


Pembahasan : Pilihan (A), (C), dan (D) disebutkan dengan jelas pada bacaan jadi perlu
dieliminasi. Lagipula, pada baris 3 disebutkan bahwa gadget digunakan pertama
kali oleh para pelaut Inggris pada tahun 1850-an. Dengan kata lain, gadged
digunakan pertama kali pada pertengahan abad 19. Jadi, bahwa gadget digunakan

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
16
pada awal abad 19 adalah SALAH.
Jawaban : (A) It was used at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Latihan:

Passage one (Questions 1-2)

Blood plasma is a clear, almost colorless liquid. It consists of blood from which the red and
white bloods cells have been removed. It is often used in transfussions because a patient generally
3 needs the plasma portion of the blood more than the other components.
Plasma differs in several important ways from whole blood. Firstof all, plasma can be mixed
for plasma can be dried and stored, while whole blood cannot.

1. All of the following are true about blood plasma EXCEPT ....
(A) It is deeply colored liquid
(B) Blood cells have been taken out of it
(C) Patients are often transfused with it
(D) It is generally more important to patients.

2. Which of the following is NOT stated about whole blood?


(A) It is different from plasma.
(B) It cannot be dried.
(C) It is impossible to keep it in storage for a long time.
(D) It is a clear, colorless liquid blood.

Passage two (Questions 3-4):

Dekanawida‟s role as a supreme lawgiver in the Iroquios tribe has given him the status of
demigod within the Indian nation. Born into the Huron tribe; Dekanawida caused great fear in his
parents, who tried drown him in his youth after a prophecy was made indicating that he would
bring great sorrow to the Hurron nation. Dekanawida was to survive this attemted drowning but
later let his parents‟ home and tribe to lie among the Iroquois.
6 One of his achievements with the Iroquois was the institution of a law among the Iraquois
that virtually ended blood feuds among the nation‟s families. Wampum, strings of beads made of
polished shells, was a valued commodity in the Iroquois culture; according to policies established
by Dekanawida, wampum had to be paid (lie family of murder victim by the family of the killer.
Since the killer was also put to death, the family of the killer had to pay the victim‟s family in
11 wampum for two deaths, the death of the murder victim and the death of the killer. These strict
policies implemented by Dekanawida helped to establish him as a wise lawgiver and leader of
the Iraquois nation.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
17
3. According to the passage, Dekanawida was NOT ....
(A) A lawmaker
(B) A Huron by by birth
(C) A near deity
(D) Drowned when he was young.

4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage about wampum?


(A) It was used extensively by the Huron.
(B) It had a high value to the Iroquois.
(C) It was given to a murder victim‟s family.
(D) It was made of polished shells.

Kuasai Materi Pronoun Referent dengan Cermat

Pertanyaan ini menanyakan tentang pronoun yang mengacu pada kata benda atau frasa kata
benda apa pada bacaan.

a. Personal Pronoun

Pronoun adalah kata yang digunakan untuk menggantikan suatu kata benda di dalam teks
misalnya he, she, it, I, you,we, they, dan sebagainya. Pronoun digunakan dalam bahasa Inggris
agar tidak terjadi penyebutan atau penggunaan suatu kata yang sama secara berulang-ulang.

Subject Object Possesive Possesive Reflective


Pronoun Pronoun Adjectives Pronoun Pronoun
I me my Mine myself
You you your Yours yourself/ves
We us our Ours ourselves
They them their Theirs themselves
He him his His himself
She her her Hers herself
It it its - itself

b. Demonstrative Pronoun

Demonstrative pronoun adalah kata ganti penunjuk. Kata ini mewakili suatu kata atau
frase kata benda tertentu yang digunakan pada teks misalnya this, that, those, dan that.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
18
Near Far
Singular This that
Plural These those

c. Reciprocal Pronoun

Contoh: Each other Another


One another Others

REFERENCE

JENIS PERTANYAAN The Pronoun “...” in line X refers to which of the following?

LOKASI JAWABAN Kata benda yang dirujuk oleh pronoun yang dimaksud dapat
ditemukan pada kalimat sebelum pronoun tersebut.

LANGKAH-LANGKAH MENJAWAB TRIK 5

 Temukan pronoun yang ditanyakan pada bacaan.


 Lihatlah kata benda yang terdapat sebelum pronoun tersebut.
 Cocokkan pronoun yang dimaksud dengan noun yang dirujuk yang meliputi tunggal,
jamak, jenis kelamin.

Contoh:

The passage:

The fool moon that occurs nearest the equinox of the Sun has become known as the Harvest
Moon. It is a bright moon which allows farmers to work late into the night for several nights. They
can work when the moon is at its brightest to bring in the fall harvest. The Harvest Moon of course
occurs to different times of the year in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. In the Northern
5 Hemisphere, the Harvest Moon occurs in September at the time of the autumnal equinox. In the
Southern Hemisphere, the Harvest Moon occurs in March at the time of the vernal equinox.

The question:

The pronoun “it” in line 2 refers to ....


(A) the equinox
(B) the sun
(C) the harvest moon
(D) the night

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
19
Explanation:

Key word : ... known as the Harvest Moon. It is a bright moon (baris 1-2)
Pembahasan : Lihatlah kalimat yang mengawali kalimat yang ada pronoun “it” tersebut. Kata
ganti “it” pada baris ke-2 bacaan tersebut mengacu pada frase kata benda “the
Harvest Moon” yang berada pada kalimat sebelumnya.
Jawaban : (C) the Harvest Moon

Latihan:

Questions 1-2:

Digital record players and digital audio discs, or compact discs, were introduced in the United
States in 1983. The initial sales were small, but as discs and players came down in price, their sales
increased dramatically. The compact disc, or CD, is less than five inches in diameter and has only
4 one playable side. It can, however, hold more than 60 minutes of music. It is played on a digital
music player that uses a laser beam to scan the recorded surface.
In digital recording, a computer samples 44.000 bits of sound per second and assigns each a
numerical value. The numbers are then recorded in pits embedded in the disc. It is these numbers
that are read by the laser beam and changed back into sound.

1. The word “their” in line 2 refers to ....


(A) Compact discs
(B) Discs and players
(C) New recordings
(D) Laser beams

2. The word “each” in line 6 refers to ....


(A) Compact discs
(B) Computer
(C) Bit of sound
(D) Number

QUESTIONS 3-6:

When England‟s Charles II granted to William Penn the entire tract of land west of the
Delaware River between New York and Maryland, Penn became the proprietor of an immense
and fertile domain. Penn insisted on an religious toleration and welcomed all races and creeds
4 into Pennsylvania. Foreseeing the economic possibilities of the region, he offered attractive terms
to settlers and soon large numbers of immigrants came. To the original Swedes, Dutch, and
English were added Welsh, Irish, Swiss, and Germans. The population of Pensylvania jumped
from 2,000 in 1682 to 200,000 by 1750. Philadelphia was by then the greatest center of
population, wealth, and culture in the American colonies.
Penn planned his capital city of Philadelphia well. He appointed a commision to choose the
site and lay out a regular pattern of streets. There were nine broad streets between the two rivers,

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
20
and these were crossed by 21 shorter streets to divide the town into rectangular blocks. Five areas
were set aside as public squares, which in time were planted in grass. Penn also desired that each
house be placed in the middle of its lot and surrounded by gardens and shade trees.

3. The phrase “the region” in line 4 refers to ....


(A) New York
(B) Maryland
(C) Pennsylvania
(D) Philadelphia

4. The word “these” in line 11 refers to ....


(A) The commissioners
(B) The patterns
(C) Nine broad streets
(D) Two rivers

5. The word “its” in line 13 refers to ....


(A) Philadelphia
(B) A public square
(C) The grass
(D) Each house

Pahami Implied Detail Questions

Pada tes TOEFL bagian Reading Comprehension, kawan juga diminta untuk menjawab
implied detail questions (pertanyaan yang jawabannya tersirat). Pada soal-soal semacam ini, kawan
harus mahir dalam menarik kesimpulan berdasarkan informasi-informasi yang jelas sudah tertera
pada teks.

IMPLIED DETAIL QUESTIONS

JENIS PERTANYAAN It is implied in the passage that ....


It can be inferred from the passage that ....
It is most likely that ....
What probably happened ...?

LOKASI JAWABAN Disebutkan secara berurutan pada bacaan.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
21
LANGKAH-LANGKAH MENJAWAB TRIK 6

 Pilihlah keyword pada soal untuk memahami soal dengan jelas.


 Baca dengan cepat dan cermat untuk menemukan informasi yang membantu menarik
kesimpulan untuk menjawab soal tersebut.

Contoh soal dan pembahasan:

The passage:

Eskimos need efficient and adquate means to travel accross water in that the areas
where they live are surrounded by oceans, bays, and inlets and dotted with lakes and seas.
Two different types of boats have been developed by the Eskimos, each constructed to
meet specific needs.
5 The kayak is something like a canoes that has been covered by a deck. A kayak is
generally constructed with one opening in the deck for one rider; however; some kayaks
are made for two. Because the desk of a kayak is covered over except for the hole (or
holes) for its rider (or riders), a kayak can tip over in the water and in the water and roll
back up without filling water and sinking. One of the primary uses of the kayak is for
hunting.
The umiak is not closed over, as it the kayak. Instead, it is an open boat that is built
to hold ten to twelve passengers. Eskimos have numerous uses for the umiak which
reflect the size of the boat; e.g. the umiak is used to haul belongings from campsite to
campsite, and it is used for hunting larger animals that are toobig to be hunted in a kayak.

The Questions:

1. It is implied in the passage that if a kayak has two holes, then ....
(A) It accomodates two riders.
(B) It is less stable than a kayak with one hole.
(C) It is as large as an umiak.
(D) It cannot be used on the ocean.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that an example of the animal mentioned in lines 11-12
might be ....
(A) A kangaroo
(B) A snake
(C) A whale
(D) A salmon

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
22
Explanation:

1. Kata kunci : ... one opening in the deck for one rider; however; some kayaks are made for
two. (baris 5)
Pembahasan : ada baris 5 teks tersebut disebutkan bahwa „one opening in the deck for one
rider (satu lubang untuk satu pengendara) berarti kalau ada dua lubang, untuk
dua pengendara.
Jawaban : (A) It accomodates two riders.

2. Kata kunci : ... larger animals that are too big to be hunted. (baris 12)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi pada baris 12 yaitu „one opening in the deck for one
rider (hewan-hewan yang lebih besar untuk diburu)” dapat disimpulkan bahwa
hewan yang dimaksud adalah sebuah paus.
Jawaban : (A) A whale

Latihan:

1. Temporary workers often receive their assignments through temporary employment


agencies. They work for firms that require additional help on an occassional basis. In other
cases, temporary workers are hired by shops during busy reasons such as Christmas.
Temporary workers include cashiers, sales demonstrators, and marketing researchers.

It can be inferred from the paragraph that ....


(A) Temporary workers are well paid
(B) Some firms hire only temporary workers
(C) Shops need extra help at Christmas
(D) Temporary workers hope to find permanent jobs

2. Good climbers and swimmers, fishers have a large range in winter. Although the origin of
their common name is unknown, the mink‟s habit of fishing may have been mistakenly
ascribed to fishers. Fishers prefer living in hollow trees or rocky crevices, shifting sites
occassionally, and if disturbed, they are known to hiss, snarl, or spit.

It can be inferred that fishers ....


(A) Are athletic people
(B) Are rich from catching fish
(C) Are most active in winter
(D) Are wild animals

3. Middle age has been regarded as a vague interim period when one is no longer young and
not quite old. The connotations of youth are vitality, growth, and the heroic; whereas old
age connotes vulnerrability, withering, and the brink of nothingness. This overly negative
imaginary of old age adds greatly to the burden of middle age. It is terrifying to go through
middle age as though one were already very old, and it is a self-defeating illusion to live it
as though one were still simply young.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
23
The author of the paragraph implies that middle age ....
(A) Is preparation for the nothingness of old age
(B) Is when people have illusions about still being young
(C) Is defined primarily in negative terms
(D) Lasts several years

Pahami Transition Questions

Terkadang, kawan diminta untuk menjawab transition question yaitu pertanyaan yang
menanyakan ide/gagasan yang apa mungkin muncul sebelum atau setelah teks. Jawaban dari soal
yang seperti ini tidak dinyatakan secara langsung pada teks.

TRANSITION QUESTIONS

JENIS PERTANYAAN The paragraph preceding the passage probably ....


What is most likely in the paragraph?

LOKASI JAWABAN Untuk pertanyaan tentang gagasan yang mengawali suatu


paragraf (preceding questions), jawabannya terletak pada
kalimat pertama paragraf tersebut.
Untuk pertanyaan tentang gagasan yang mengikuti suatu
paragraf (following questions), jawabannya terletak pada
kalimat terakhir paragraf tersebut.

LANGKAH-LANGKAH MENJAWAB TRIK 7

 Bacalah kalimat pertama untuk preceding question.


 Bacalah kalimat terakhir untuk following question.
 Tariklah sebuah kesimpulan tentang gagasan yang cocok yang mengawali/mengikuti
bacaan tersebut.

Contoh:

The Passage:

Another program instrumental in the popularization of science was Cosmos. This


series, broadcast on public television, dealth with topics and issues from varied fields of
3 science. The principal writer and narrator of the program was Carl Sagan, a noted
astronomer and Pulitzer prizewinning author.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
24
The Questions:

1. The paragraph preceding this passage most probably discusses ....


(A) a different scientific television series
(B) carl sagan‟s scientific achievements
(C) the pulitzer prize won by carl sagan
(D) public television

2. The paragraph following this passage most likely contains information on what?
(A) the popularity of science
(B) the program cosmos
(C) the astronomer carl sagan
(D) topics and issues from various fields of science

Explanation:

1. Kata kunci : Another program instrumental .... (baris 1)


Pembahasan : Pada kalimat pertama paragraf tersebut dijelaskan salah satu program
instrumental pada waktu keterkenalan ilmu pengetahuan yaitu Cosmos. Berarti,
paragraf yang sebelumnya berbicara mengenai seri televisi ilmiah yang beda.
Jawaban : (C) the astronomer carl sagan

2. Kata kunci : The principal writer and narrator of the program was Carl Sagan, a noted
astronomer and Pulitzer prizewinning author
Pembahasan : Pada kalimat terakhir paragraf tersebut disebutkan tentang Carl Sagan. Jadi
paragraf yang mengikuti paragraf tersebut adalah kemungkinan tentang
seorang astronomer, Carl Sagan.
Jawaban : (C) the astronomer carl sagan

TOEFL EXERCISE

Passage one:

Various other Indian tribes also lived on the Great Plains. The Sioux, a group of seven
American Indian tribes, are best known for the fiercely combative posture against encroaching
White civilization in the 1800‟s. Although they are popularly referred to as SIOUX, these
Indian tribes did not call themselves Sioux; the name was given to them by an enemy tribe. The
seven Sioux tribes did not called themselves by some variation of the word “Dakota”, which
means “allies” in their language. Four tribes of the eastern Sioux community living in
Minnesota were known by the name “Dakota.” The Dakota includes two tribes that left the
eastern woodlands and moved out onto the plains. The Teton Sioux, or Lakota, moved even

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
25
farther west to the plains of the present-day states of North, Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming.

1. The paragraph preceding this passage most probably discusses ....


(A) How the Sioux battled the White man
(B) One of the plains Indian tribes
(C) Where the Sioux lived
(D) American Indian tribes on the East Coast

Passage one (Questions 1-2):

The most conservative sect of the Mennonite Church is the Old Order Amish with
33,000 members living mainly today in the states of Pensylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Their life-
style reflects their belief in the doctrines of separation from the world and simpicity of life. The
Amish have steadfastly rejected the societal changes that have occured in the previous three
hundred years, preferring instead to remain securely rooted that have occured in the previous
three hundred years, preferring instead to remain securely rooted in a seventeeth-century life-
style: They live on farms without radios, televisions, telephones, electric lights, and corr., They
dress in plainly styled and colored old-fashioned clothes; and they farm their lands with horses
and tools rather than modern farm equipment. They have a highly communal form of living,
with barn railings and quilting bees as commonplace.

2. The paragraph preceding this passage most probably discusses ....


(A) Other, more liberal sects of Mennonites
(B) Where Mennonites live
(C) The communal Amish life-style
(D) The most conservative Mennonites

3. Which of the following is most likely the topic of the paragraph following the passage?
(A) The effects of the communal life-style on the Old Order Amish
(B) How the Old Order Amish differ from the Mennonites
(C) The effect of modern technology on the Old Order Amish
(D) The doctrines of the Old Order Amish

Kuasai Vocabulary Secara Sistematis

Salah satu aspek lain yang diujikan pada tes TOEFL bagian Reading Comprehension adalah
mengenai vocabulary pada suatu teks dari disiplin ilmu tertentu. Untuk soal-soal yang berkaitan
dengan vocabulary suatu teks, kawan diminta untuk menemukan padanan kata (sinonim) dari suatu
kata yang terdapat pada suatu teks.
Kawan tidak perlu khawatir bila penguasaan vocabulary kawan kurang. Ada banyak trik
atau cara yang kawan bisa gunakan untuk bisa meningkatkan penguasaan vocabulary.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
26
A. Strategi Memperkaya Vocabulary

Menghafal vocabulary suatu bahasa bisa dianggap sebagai sebuah pekerjaan yang
melelahkan, membosankan, dan kurang bermakna. Ada beberapa strategi efektif untuk
memperkaya vocabulary yang kawan bisa lakukan:

1. Pelajarilah Bank Vocabulary TOEFL yang kerap muncul.

Sudah banyak buku terbitan dalam dan luar negeri yang mengupas habis tentang
vocabulary TOEFL. Salah satunya adalah “Mc Hill‟s 400 Must Have Words for the TOEFL
“ yang bisa kawan download secara free di internet.

2. Bacalah sebanyak dan sesering mungkin teks-teks bahasa Inggris.

Kawan harus mempunyai kebiasaan membaca teks-teks bahasa Inggris agar penguasaan
vocabulary bahasa Inggris kawan meningkat. Kebiasaan tersebut dapat kawan tumbuhkan
dengan rajin membaca buku-buku ilmu pengetahuan, surat kabar, artikel, makalah penelitian
dalam bahasa Inggris, dan sebagainya.

3. Buatlah Bank Vocabulary Bahasa Inggris kawan sendiri.

Kawan dapat secara mandiri membuat bank vocabulary bahasa Inggris. Beberapa
caranya adalah sebagai berikut:

a. Buatlah flashcards

Flashcards adalah sekumpulan kartu yang mana setiap kartu berisi sebuah
vocabulary bahasa Inggris, gambar yang relevan untuk vocabulary tersebut,
pengucapannya, dan makna dari vocabulary tersebut. Buatlah flashcards dengan
menggunakan kertas karton dengan ukuran yang hampir sama dengan kartu permainan
remi. Lihatlah kartu-kartu tersebut sesering mungkin. Kawan bisa juga menggunakan
flashcards tersebut untuk permainan. Kawan bisa bermain tebak-tebakan kata sekaligus
belajar bersama.

b. Buatlah buku catatan vocabulary

Buku ini berisi catatan vocabulary-vocabulary baru dan susah yang kawan jumpai
pada saat membaca teks-teks ilmiah bahasa Inggris. Selain vocabulary-vocabulary baru
dan sulit, sebaiknya buku ini berisi kelas kata, makna kata, dan penggunaan kata tersebut
dalam kalimat.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
27
c. Gunakan kertas lipat untuk membuat bank vocabulary-vocabulary TOEFL

Untuk membuat media pembelajaran ini, kawan harus menyediakan selembar


kertas kosong dan melipatnya menjadi lima bagian; bagian 1 untuk vocabulary; bagian 2
untuk pengucapannya; bagian 3 untuk kelas kata; bagian 4 untuk makna kata; dan bagian
5 untuk penggunaannya, namun buatlah spasi kosong yang seharusnya berisi vocabulary
pada bagian penggunaan tersebut.
Kawan bisa berlatih menggunakan media tersebut dengan cara: pertama lipatlah
kertas tersebut sehingga hanya vocabulary-nya yang terlihat. Terus, cek apakah kawan
masih ingat definisi dari vocabulary tersebut. Kedua, lipatlah kertas itu sehingga hanya
definisinya yang terlihat. Terus cek apakah kawan mengenali vocabulary untuk definisi
tersebut atau tidak. Ketiga, lipatlah kertas itu sehingga yang terlihat hanya bagian
penggunaan dari vocabulary dan cobalah untuk mengingat-ingat kata apa yang
seharusnya ada pada spasi kosong yang ada pada kalimat bagian penggunaan tersebut.

d. Gunakanlah kamus-kamus bahasa Inggris yang valid dan terpercaya.

Gunakan kamus-kamus yang valid dan terpercaya seperti Oxford Advanced


Learners‟ Dictionary atau Cambridge Dictionary. Kamus-kamus tersebut valid dan
terpercaya karena disusun secara khusus oleh pakar-pakar linguistik dari Inggris
KHUSUS untuk keperluan pembelajaran bahasa Inggris di luar Britania Raya.

e. Buatlah word map.

Word map adalah peta kata. Word map ini bisa secara efektif dijadikan media
pembelajaran vocabulary bahasa Inggris untuk TOEFL terutama untuk mereka dengan
tipe visual learners.

Contoh:

IDYLLIC PERFECT

BEST IDEAL MODEL

ULTIMATE SUPREME

Peta Kata Sifat (Adjective) “Ideal”

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
28
Gunakan Structural Clues untuk Membantu
Menentukan Definisi

Structural clues dapat digunakan untuk membantu menentukan makna kata pada teks.
Structural clues adalah petunjuk-petunjuk pada teks yang berkaitan dengan struktur, misalnya
berupa tanda-tanda baca seperti koma, titik koma, tanda kurung, dan sebagainya. Kawan harus
mempunyai kepekaan terhadap structural clues tersebut karena biasanya makna atau definisi suatu
kata terdapat setelah structural clues tersebut.

STRUCTURAL CLUES

JENIS PERTANYAAN What is ...?


What is the meaning of ....
What is true about ...?

JENIS PETUNJUK Tanda baca : koma, tanda kurung, spasi


Restatement : or, that, is, in, other, i.e.
Contoh : such as, for example, e.g.
LOKASI JAWABAN Setelah tanda baca, berupa pernyataan ulang, atau berupa
contoh.

LANGKAH-LANGKAH MENJAWAB TRIK 9

 Temukan kata yang ditanyakan pada teks tersebut.


 Temukan structural clues-nya.
 Bacalah bagian dari bacaan setelah structural clues tersebut dengan hati-hati.

Contoh:

The Passage:

One of the leading schools of the psychological thought of the twentieth century is
behaviorism- the belief that the role of the psychologist is to study behavior, which is
observable, rather than conscious or unconscious thought, which is not. Probably the best
known of behaviorism is B.F Skinner, who is famous for his research on how rewards and
5 punishments influence behavior. He came to believe that positive reinforcements such as
praise, food, or money were more effective in promoting good behavior than negative
reinforcements or punishment.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
29
Question:

In „behaviorism‟ in line 2, a psychologist is concerned with….


(A) conscious thought pattern
(B) unconscious thought pattern
(C) observable action
(D) unobservable action

Explanation:

Key word : behaviorism- the belief that ... which is observable, ... (baris 2)
Pembahasan : Pada baris 1 teks tersebut, terdapat sebuah “structural clue” yang berupa
hypenate (-) setelah kata “behaviorism”. Setelah “structural clue” tersebut
dijelaskan pengertian “behaviorism” yaitu aliran dengan anggapan bahwa peran
psikolog adalah untuk mempelajari perilaku, yang dapat diamati.
Jawaban : (C) observable action

Latihan

Passage one:

Since the 1980s, the biggest influence on business has been electronic technology.
Computers are being used for inventory control, sales analysis and forecasting, distribution
control, and budget analysis. At-home electronic shopping is becoming
commonplace. With this system, consumers view merchandise on a computer monitor and
5 then use a modem, which links the computer to a telephone line, to signal the goods they
want to order. Just at traveling salesman once brought wares to the home, electronic
technology makes it possible for modern consumers to see and select from an array of goods
in their homes.

Question:

1. The word “modem” in line 5 refers to a type of


(A) electronic shopping
(B) electronic device
(C) telephone
(D) computer screen

Passage two:

The Teddy bear is a child‟s toy a nice soft stuffed animal suitable for cuddling. It is,
however, a toy with interesting history behind it.
Theodore Roosevelt, or Teddy as he was commonly called, was president of the
United States from 1901 to 1909. He was an unusually active man with varied pastimes,
5 one which was hunting. One day the president was invited to take part in a bear hunt and
inasmuch as Teddy was president, his host wanted to ensure that he caught a bear. A

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
30
bear captured, clanked over the head to knock it out, and tied to a tree; however, Teddy
who really wanted to actually hunt, refused to school the bear and in fact demanded that
the bear be extricated from the ropes; that is, he demanded that the bear be set free.
10 The incident attracted a lot of attention among journalists. First a cartoon-drawn by
Clifford K. Berryman to make fun of this situation-appeared in the Washigton Post, and
and the cartoon was widely distributed and reprinted throughout the country. Then, toy
manufacturers began producing a toy bear which they called a “teddy bear.” The teddy
bear became the most widely recognized symbol of Roosevelt‟s presidence.

2. According to line 1 of the passage, what is “teddy bear”?


(A) A ferocious animal
(B) The president of the United States
(C) A famous hunter
(D) A plaything

3. In line 4, “pastimes” could best be replaced by ....


(A) Things that occured in the past
(B) Previous jobs
(C) Hunting trips
(D) Leisure activities

4. The word “extricted” in line 8 is closest in meaning to which of the following?


(A) Released
(B) Tied up
(C) Hunted
(D) Shot

5. In line 10, a “cartoon” could best be described as ....


(A) A newspaper
(B) A type of teddy bear
(C) A drawing with a message
(D) A newspaper article

Gunakanlah Konteks untuk Menentukan Makna


Kata Sederhana

Ketika kawan tidak mengetahui sama sekali makna atau sinonim dari suatu kata yang
ditanyakan dalam soal, tidak usah khawatir. Kawan bisa menggunakan konteks yang ada pada teks
dalam soal Reading Comprehension.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
31
VOCABULARY QUESTIONS CONTAINING DIFFICULT WORDS

CARA “What is the meaning ...?”


MENGIDENTIFIKASI Which of the following is closest in meaning to ...?
The word is a difficult word, one that you probably do not
know.

LOKASI JAWABAN Pertanyaan tersebut biasanya memberitahu kalian pada baris


mana kata tersebut dapat ditemukan

LANGKAH-LANGKAH MENJAWAB TRIK 10

 Temukan kata tersebut pada bacaan.


 Bacalah kalimat yang berisi kata tersebut dengan hati-hati.
 Lihatlah konteksnya.

Contoh:

The passage

The black widow is the most dangerous spider living in the United States. It is most common
2 in the southern parts of the country, but it can be found throughout the country. The black widow got
its name because the female has been know to kill the male after mating and, as a result, becomes a
widow.

Question:

In line 2, the word “widow” means ....


(A) A type of poison
(B) The dead male spider
(C) The human victim of the spider
(D) A female whose mate has died

Explanation:

Key word : The black widow ... (baris 2)


Pembahasan : Dari informasi pada baris 2 dan 3 teks tersebut dapat diketahui makna kata
“widow” adalah “the dead male spider”.
Jawaban : (A) The dead male spider

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
32
Latihan

The passage:

Tornadoes occur throughout the world, but for reasons that scientists are not fully able to
discern, the great majority occur in the United States. Approximately 700 toernadoes a year occur
within the United States, and this comprises three-quarters of the worldwide total. Most of the U.S.
tornadoes take place in the Middlewest and in the southern states that border the Gull of Mexico.
5 In general a tornado cuts path of a few hundred yards and lasts less than an hour; an average
tornado might propelitself at a speed of 15 or miles per hour and therefore cover a distance of 20
or so miles. Tornadoes, however, can be much worse than average. The most devastating tornado
on record occured on March 18, 1925, in the states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. The path of
this tornado was more than 200 miles long and a mile. Travelling at an average speed of miles per
10 hour, the winds at the center of the storm swirled around at considerably more than 200 miles per
hour. A total of 689 people died, and countless more were injured, at the hands of this killer storm.

Questions:

1. The word “discern” in line 2 is closest in meaning to which of the following?


(A) Present
(B) Understand
(C) Cause
(D) Misrepresent

2. The word “propel” in line 6 could best be replaced by ....


(A) Move
(B) Develop
(C) Destroy
(D) Inhibit

3. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “devastating” in line 7?


(A) Described
(B) Delicate
(C) Destructive
(D) determined

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
33
Identifikasi Word Parts untuk Membantu
Menentukan Makna Kata

Kawan perlu mempelajari word parts untuk membantu menentukan makna suatu kata,
terutama kata yang panjang.

A SHORT LIST OF WORD PARTS


Bagian Makna Contoh Bagian Makna Contoh
CONTRA (bertentangan) contrast DIC (mengatakan) Dictat
MAL (buruk) malcontent DOMIN (master) Dominate
MIS (error) Mistake JUD (hakim) Judgment
SUB (di bawah) Subway MO (kematian) Mortal
DEC (sepuluh) Decade SPEC (lihat) Spectator
Multi (banyak) Multiple TERR (bumi) Territory
SOL (satu) Solo VER (belok) Divert
TRI (tiga) triple VIV (hidup) revive

Contoh:

The passage

Ring Lardner himself was born into a wealthy, educated, and cultured family. For the bulk of his
career, he worked as a reporter for newspaper in South Bend, Boston, St. Louis, and Chicago.
However, it is for his short stories of lower middle-class Americans that Ring Lardner is perhaps
4 best known. In these stories, Lardner vividly creates the language and the ambiance of this lower class,
often using the misspelled words, grammatical errors, and incorrect diction that typified the language
of the lower middle class.

The questions:

The word “vividly” in line 4 is closest in meaning to ....


(A) in a cultured way
(B) in a correct way
(C) in a lifelike way
(D) in a brief way

Explanation:

Key word : Vividly (baris 4)


Pembahasan : Kata “vividly” memiliki word part “viv”, yang bermakna hidup. Jadi, kata
tersebut memiliki makna “in a lifelike way”.
Jawaban : (C) in a lifelike way

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
34
Latihan
The Passage:
Checks and balances are an important concept in the formation of the U.S. system of
government as presented in the Constitution of the United Stated. Under this conception of
government, each branch of government has built-in checks and limitations placed on it by one or
different more different branches of government. Under the Constitution, the United States has a
5 tripartite government, with power divided equally among the branches: the presidency the
legislature, and the judiciary. Each branch is given some authority over the other two branches to
balance the power among the three branches. An example of these checks and balances is seen in
the steps needed to pass a law. Congress can pass a law with a simple majority, but the-president
can veto such a law.
10 Congress can then counteract the veto with a two-thirds majority. However, even if Congress
passes a law with a simple majority or overrides a presidential veto, the Supreme Court can still
declare the law unconstitutional if it finds that the law is contradictory to the guidelines presented
in the Constitution.

Questions:

1. The expression “dominance over” in line 5 is closest in meaning to ....


(A) Understanding of
(B) Dispute of
(C) Authority over
(D) Rejection of

2. The word “triparte” in line 5 suggests that something is ....


(A) Divided into three
(B) Totally democratic
(C) Powerfully constructed
(D) The government

3. The “judiciary” in line 6 is ....


(A) The electorate
(B) The authority
(C) The legal system
(D) The government

4. The “counteract” in line 10 is closest in meaning to ....


(A) Vote for
(B) Debate
(C) Surpass
(D) Work against

5. “Contradictory to” in line 12 is closest in meaning to which of the following expressions?


(A) In agreement with
(B) Opposite to
(C) Supported by
(D) Similar to

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
35
Gunakanlah Intuisi

Kawan juga bisa menggunakan intuisi sendiri untuk membantu menentukan makna
vocabulary yang ditanyakan. Soal bahasa Inggris tidak sama dengan soal Matematika yang selalu
harus pakai logika untuk menjawabnya. Jadi, kawan bisa menebak atau menerka pilihan mana yang
kawan rasa benar dengan menggunakan feeling atau firasat bila merasa tidak yakin. Jangan takut
untuk menebak karena pada tes TOEFL tidak ada penalti untuk jawaban yang salah. Jangan biarkan
jawaban kosong.

Pahami Cara Menentukan Dimana


Informasi Khusus Ditemukan

Terkadang, kawan diminta pula untuk menentukan dimana informasi tertentu dapat
ditemukan pada teks. Pertanyaan ini biasanya ada pada soal-soal terakhir Reading Comprehension.

WHERE SPECIFIC INFORMATION IS FOUN

JENIS PERTANYAAN Where in the passage ...?

LOKASI JAWABAN Jawaban bisa dimana saja. Pada pilihan jawaban, jadi telitilah.

LANGKAH-LANGKAH MENJAWAB TRIK 13

 Pilihlah key word atau ide yang terdapat pada pertanyaan.


 Bacalah dengan cepat baris-baris pada teks untuk menemukan informasi khusus
tersebut.
 Temukan jawabannya dengan membaca baris yang disebutkan pada pilihan jawaban.

Contoh:

The passage:

Meteor Crater, a great crater approximately 40 miles east of Flagstaff, Arizona, is generally
thought by scientists to have formed as result of the impact of a 60,000 ton meteor about 50,000 years
ago. The meteor, made of nickel and iron, disintegratted on impact and spread half a billion sons of
rock over the surface of the land.
5 The massiveness of the meteor can only be imagined from the mammoth size of the crater which
measures a mile in diameter and 3 miles around the topic. The rim of the crater rises more than 150
feet above the plain where the meteor impacted and is visible for more than 10 miles on a clear day.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
36
Questions:

1. Where in the passage does the author discuss the composition of the meteor?
(A) Lines 1-2
(B) Lines 3-4
(C) Lines 5-6
(D) Lines 6-7

2. Where in the passage does the author mention the distance from which the crater can be seen?
(A) Lines 1-2
(B) Lines 3-4
(C) Lines 5-6
(D) Lines 6-7

1. Kata kunci : The compoisition of the meteor (pada pertanyaan)


Pembahasan : Informasi khusus tentang komposisi meteor tersebut dapat ditemukan pada baris 3-
4. Kata “made of” yang menunjukkan informasi khusus tersebut.
Jawaban : (B) Lines 3-4

2. Kata kunci : The distance from which the crater can be seen (pada pertanyaan)
Pembahasan : Informasi khusus tentang dari jarak berapakah kawah tersebut dapat dilihat dapat
ditemukan pada baris 6-7.
Jawaban : (D) Lines 6-7

Latihan

The passage:

Beavers generally live in family clusters consisting of six to ten members. One cluster would
probably consist of two adults, one male and one female, and four to eight young beavers, or kits. A
female beaver gives birth each spring two to four babies at a time. These baby beavers live with their
parents until they are two years old. In the springtime of their second year they are forced out of the
5 family group to make room for the new babies. These two-year-old beavers then proceed to start new
family clusters of their own.

Questions:

1. Where in the passage does the author mention the time of year when new time of year when
new baby beavers are born?
(A) Line 1
(B) Line 2
(C) Line 3
(D) Line 4-6

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
37
2. Where in the passage does the author state the age at which beavers must go out on their
own?
(A) Line 1
(B) Line 2
(C) Line 3-4
(D) Line 4-6

3. Where in the passage does the author indicate why the young beavers must leave their
parents‟ home?
(A) Line 1
(B) Line 2
(C) Line 3-4
(D) Line 4-6

Pahami Tone, Purpose, atau Course Questions

Pada tes TOEFL bagian ini, kawan juga terkadang diminta untuk menjawab pertanyaan
mengenai tone, purpose, atau course questions.
a. Tone, yaitu emosi pengarang pada teks tersebut. Contoh: informational, explanatory, factual,
humorous, sarcastics, impassioned, dan sebagainya. Namun, kebanyakan tone pengarang pada
teks-teks pada tes TOEFL adalah neutral.
b. Purpose menanyakan apa yang sedang pengarang coba lakukan melalui suatu teks atau apa
maksud pengarang menulis teks tersebut.
c. Course menanyakan tentang pada perkuliahan atau subyek apa tulisan atau teks semacam ini
biasa ditemukan.

TONE, PURPOSE, OR COURSE

JENIS PERTANYAAN TONE: What is the tone of the passage?


PURPOSE: What is the author‟s purpose in this passage?
COURSE: In which course would this reading be assigned?

LOKASI JAWABAN TONE: Akan ada clues diseluruh teks bahwa pengarang
menunjukkan emosinya daripada menampilkan fakta-fakta.
PURPOSE: Tariklah kesimpulan mengenai purpose dari
main idea dan detail-detail pendukung yang ada.
COURSE: Tariklah kesimpulan tentang perkuliahan atau
subyek dari topik dan detail-detail pendukung yang ada pada
teks tersebut.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
38
LANGKAH-LANGKAH MENJAWAB TRIK 14

TONE :
 Skim teks tersebut untuk mencari clues yang menunjukkan emosi dari pengarang
tersebut.
 Pilihlah jawaban yang menunjukkan emosi tersebut.

PURPOSE :
 Pelajari main idea pada kalimat topik dan detail yang digunakan untuk mendukung
main idea tersebut.
 Tariklah sebuah kesimpulan tentang purpose tersebut.

COURSE :
 Pelajari main idea pada kalimat topik tersebut dan detail-detail yang digunakan untuk
mensupport main idea tersebut.
 Tarik sebuah kesimpulan tentang course tersebut.

Contoh :

The passage

Millitary awards have long been considered symbolic of royalty, and thus when the United
States was a young nation just finished with revolution and eager to distance itself from anything
tasting of monarchy, there was strong sentiment against military decoration. For a century, the United
States awarded no military honours. The institution of the Medal of Honor in 1861 was a source of
5 great discussion and concern. From the Civil War until World War I the Medal of Honor was the only
military award given by the United States government, and today it is awarded only in the most
extreme cases of heroism. Although the United States is still somewhat wary of granting military
awards, several awards have been instituted since World War I.

Questions:

1. The tone of the passage is ....


(A) Angered
(B) Humorous
(C) Outraged
(D) Informational

2. The author‟s purpose in this passage is to ....


(A) Describe the history of military awards from the Revolutionary War to the Civil war
(B) Demonstrate an effect of America‟s attitude toward royalty
(C) Give an opinion of military awards
(D) Outline various historical symbols of royalty

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
39
3. The passage would probably be assigned reading in a course on ....
(A) Military science
(B) Psychology
(C) American history
(D) Interior decoration

Explanation:

1. Kata kunci : Historical facts (di seluruh teks)


Pembahasan : Pada teks tersebut tidak „tercium‟ emosi „anger‟, „humorous‟, dan „outraged‟.
Yang ada adalah fakta-fakta historis tentang military awards Amerika Serikat.
Jadi, tone dari teks tersebut adalah informational.
Jawaban : (A) Informational

2. Kata kunci : There has been a strong sentiment against military freedom.... (main idea).
Pembahasan : Untuk mengetahui purpose dari pengarang teks tersebut adalah dengan
memahami main idea-nya dan detail-detailnya. Disebutkan bahwa ada sentimen
yang kuat pada penghargaan militer karena penghargaan tersebut merupakan
simbol royalty. Pengarang juga memberikan fakta-fakta historis untuk mendukung
main idea tersebut. Jadi, tujuan pengarang menulis teks tersebut adalah untuk
mendeskripsikan, menjelaskan, dan mendemonstrasikan bahwa sentimen orang-
orang Amerika terhadap penghargaan militer tersebut adalah karena adanya
sentimen negatif terhadap royalty.
Jawaban : (A) demonstrate an effect of America‟s attitude toward royalty

3. Kata kunci Millitary awards have long been considered symbolic of royalty.... (baris 1)
Pembahasan Topik dari teks tersebut adalah tentang penghargaan militer di Amerika Serikat.
Berdasarkan main idea dan detail-detail yang ada pada teks yaitu tentang fakta-
fakta historis penghargaan militer di Amerika Serikat tersebut dapat diketahui
bahwa teks tersebut dibuat untuk bacaan pada perkuliahan Military Science.
Jawaban (A) military science

Latihan

The passage:

Truman Capote‟s in Cold Blood (1966) is a well-known example example of the “nonfiction
novel,” a popular type of writing based upon factual events in which the author attempts to
describe the underlying forces, thoughts, and emotions that lead to actual events. In Capote‟s book,
4 the author describes the sadistic murder of a family on Kansas farm, often showing the point of
view of the killers. To research the book, Capote interviewed the murderers, and he maintains that
his book presents a faithful reconstruction of the incident.

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
40
Questions:

1. The purpose of this passage is to ....


(A) Discuss an example of a particular literary genre
(B) Tell the story of in Cold Blood
(C) Explain Truman Capote‟s reasons for writing in Clood Blood
(D) Describe how Truman Capote researched his nonfiction novel

2. Which of the following best describes the tone of the passage?


(A) Cold
(B) Sadistic
(C) Emotional
(D) Descriptive

3. This passage would be probably be assigned reading in which of the following courses?
(A) Criminal Law
(B) American history
(C) Modern Americas Novels
(D) Literary Reseach

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
41
KUNCI JAWABAN
dan Pembahasannya

Trik 1 : Kuasai Main Idea dengan Cermat

1. Key word : Rangelands cover more than one billion acres of the United States, ... (kalimat
pertama)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan kalimat pertama tersebut dapat diketahui bahwa main idea dari
paragraf tersebut adalah bahwa Amerika Serikat mempunyai wilayah
Rangelands yang sangat luas.
Jawaban : Rangelands cover more than one billion acres of the United States.

2. Key word : Common types of calendars can be based on the Sun or on the Moon. (kalimat
pertama)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan kalimat pertama tersebut dapat diketahui bahwa main idea dari
teks tersebut adalah bahwa kalender-kalender yang berbeda mempunyai
pendasaran penanggalan yang beda.
Jawaban : (C) Common types of calendars can be based on the Sun or on the Moon.

3. Key word : Kalimat pertama 1: A hoax, unlike an honest error, ....


Kalimat pertama 2: A famous scientific hoax occured in 1912 ....
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan ke dua kalimat pertama tersebut dapat diketahui bahwa topik dari
teks tersebut adalah definisi dan contoh sebuah berita bohong.
Jawaban : (D) A definition and example of a hoax

Trik 2 : Kuasai Hubungan antar Gagasan antar Paragraf

1. Key word : Paragraf 1: Conflict within an organization is not always viewed as


undesireable.
Paragraf 2: According to the traditional view of conflict, conflict is harmful to
an organization.
Paragraf 3: The interactionist view of conflict, on the other hand, holds that
conflict can serve an important function in an organization ....
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan kalimat utama dari ketiga paragraf tersebut dan adanya transition
signal “on the other hand” yang terletak pada anak kalimat 3 dapat diketahui
bahwa informasi pada paragraf –paragraf tersebut diorganisasikan dengan
cara menampilkan pandangan yang bertolak belakang mengenai konflik.
Jawaban : : (B) Contrasting views of conflict of are presented.

2. Key word : A comparison of the interactionist and traditional views of conflict .... (kalimat 1
paragraf 3)

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
42
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi pada kalimat pertamanya dapat diketahui bahwa jenis
informasi pada paragraf tersebut dalah berupa perbandingan antara
pandangan interaksionis dan tradisional mengenai konflik.
Jawaban : (A) A comparison of the interactionist and traditional views of conflict

3. Key word : Paragraf 1= the largest lake in the western United Sates is the Great Salt Lake
...
Paragraf 2 = ..., it is actually saltier than the oceans of the world.
Paragraf 3= the Great Salt Lake can vary tremendously from its normal size ...
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan ke tiga kalimat pertama tersebut dapat diketahui bahwa informasi
pada teks tersebut disusun dengan cara pendiskusian dua karakteristik tidak
biasa dari the Great Salt Lake.
Jawaban : (A) Two unusual characteristics of the Great Salt Lake are discussed.

4. Key word : The Great Salt Lake can vary tremendously from its normal size
... depending on long-term weather conditions.(Baris 1)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan kalimat pertama tersebut dapat diketahui bahwa paragraf 3 berisi
informasi tentang efek kondisi cuaca yang berlawanan pada ukuran the Great
Salt Lake.
Jawaban : (B) The effects of contrasting weather conditions on the size of the lake

Trik 3 : Pahami Stated Detail Questions

1. Key word : Playwrights generally submit their work to a theather. (Baris 3)


Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi pada baris 3 dari teks tersebut dapat diketahui bahwa
penulis drama menjual drama-drama atau skrip-skripnya dengan
mengajukannya pada suatu teater atau rumah produksi.
Jawaban : (B) Submitting their work to a theatre or production company

2. Key word : usually begin by writing plays and later writing screenplays (Baris 1)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan kalimat pertama dari teks tersebut dapat disimpulkan bahwa
penulis teks tersebut membuat point bahwa baik penulis drama dan naskah
memulai kariernya dengan menulis naskah drama dan kemudian menulis
naskah film.
Jawaban : (D) usually begin by writing plays and later writing screenplays

3. Key word : that of the Europeans to the pigs, cows, sheep, and horses they owned.
(baris 5)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi pada baris 5 teks tersebut diketahui bahwa sapi dan
domba adalah hewan-hewan yang dimiliki penduduk Eropa.
Jawaban : (B) Animals owned by European settlers

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
43
Trik 4 : Pahami Unstated Detail Questions

1. Key word : Blood plasma is a clear, almost colorless liquid. (baris 1)


Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi pada baris 1 diketahui bahwa plasma darah itu cairan
yang hampir tidak berwarna. Jadi, dari ke empat pilihan tersebut pilihan yang
tidak benar adalah (A) Plasma darah merupakan cairan yang sangat berwarna.
Jawaban : (A) It is deeply colored liquid.

2. Key word : Blood plasma is a clear, almost colorless liquid. (kalimat pertama)
Pembahasan : Disebutkan pada kalimat pertama bahwa yang merupakan cairan darah yang
hampir tanpa warna adalah BLOOD PLASMA, bukan WHOLE BLOOD. Jadi,
yang bukan merupakan pernyataan yang benar mengenai whole blood adalah
pernyataan (D).
Jawaban : (D) It is a clear, colorless liquid blood.

3. Key word : Dekanawida was to survive this attempted drowning ... (baris 4)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi pada baris 4 diketahui bahwa Dekanawida bertahan
ketika orangtuanya berusaha untuk menenggelamkannya. Jadi, pernyataan
bahwa beliau tenggelam saat muda adalah SALAH.
Jawaban : (D) Drowned when he was young.

4. Key word : Wampum, strings of beads made of polished shells, was a valued commodity in
the Iroquois culture. (baris 7-8)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi pada baris 7-8 diketahui bahwa Wampum merupakan
komoditas berharga di dalam kebudayaan Irak. Jadi, pernyataan bahwa
Wampum digunakan secara ekstensif oleh orang-orang Huron adalah SALAH.
Jawaban : (A) It was used extensively by the Huron.

Trik 5 : Kuasai Materi Pronoun Referent dengan Cermat

1. Key word : ... as discs and players came down in price, their sales increased dramatically.
(Baris 2)
Pembahasan : Pronoun “their” pada baris 2 mengacu pada frase kata benda discs dan players
yang terdapat pada klausa sebelumnya.
Jawaban : (B) Discs and players

2. Key word : ...a computer samples 44.000 bits of sound per second and assigns each a
numerical value. (baris 6)
Pembahasan : Pronoun “each” pada baris 6 mengacu pada frase kata benda “bits of sound”
Jawaban : (C) Bits of sound

3. Key word : ... into Pennsylvania. Foreseeing the economic possibilities of the region, ...
(baris 6)

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
44
Pembahasan : Kata “the region” pada baris 6 mengacu pada kata Pennsylvania.
Jawaban : Pennsylvania

4. Key word : There were nine broad streets between the two rivers, and these were crossed by
21 shorter streets (baris 10-11)
Pembahasan : Kata “these” pada baris 11 mengacu pada “the two rivers”.
Jawaban : (D) two rivers

5. Key word : each house be placed in the middle of its lot ... (baris 13)
Pembahasan : Pronoun “its” pada baris ke-13 mengacu pada kata “each house”.
Jawaban : (D) each house

Trik 6 : Pahami Implied Detail Questions

1. Key word : ..., temporary workers are hired by shops during busy seasons such as
Christmas. (baris ke-3)
Pembahasan : Dari informasi pada baris ke-3 dapat ditarik sebuah kesimpulan bahwa toko-
toko memerlukan bantuan extra ketika Natal.
Jawaban : (C) Shops need extra help at Christmas

2. Key word : if disturbed, they are known to hiss, snarl, or spit. (Baris 4)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi pada baris 4 tersebut dapat disimpulkan bahwa fisher
adalah hewan liar.
Jawaban : (D) are wild animals

3. Key word : Middle age has been regarded as a vague interim period .... (Kalimat pertama)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi pada kalimat pertama dapat disimpulkan bahwa usia
pertengahan berlangsung beberapa tahun.
Jawaban : (D) Lasts several years

Trik 7 : Pahami Transition Questions

1. Key word : Various other Indian tribes also lived on the Great Plains.
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi pada kalimat pertama tersebut dapat diketahui bahwa
paragraf sebelum paragraf tersebut adalah tentang suku-suku Indian Amerika
di East Coast.
Jawaban : (D) American Indian tribes on the East Coast

2. Key word : The most conservative sect of the Mennonite Church, ... (Kalimat 1)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan kalimat pertama tersebut dapat diketahui bahwa paragraf

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
45
sebelumnya adalah tentang sekte (mahzab) yang lebih bebas lainnya.
Jawaban : (A) Other, more liberal sects of Mennonites

3. Key word : They have a highly communal form of living, with barn railings and quilting
bees as commonplace. (Kalimat terakhir paragraf ke-2)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi pada kalimat pertama paragraf dua dapat disimpulkan
bahwa topik untuk paragraf berikutnya adalah tentang efek-efek gaya hidup
yang sangat komunal.
Jawaban : (A) The effects of the communal life-style on the Old Order Amish.

Trik 9 : Gunakan Structural Clues untuk Membantu Menentukan Definisi.

Passage One:
1. Key word : a modem,which links the computer to a telephone line (baris 4-5
Pembahasan : Setelah structural clue pada baris 4-5 (i.e. tanda komma [,]). Dijelaskan bahwa
modem menghubungkan komputer ke sambungan (kawat) telepon. Jadi, modem
merupakan perlengkapan elektronik.
Jawaban : (B) Elektronic device

Passage two :
2. Key word : The Teddy bear is a child‟s toy, a nice soft stuffed animal suitable for cuddling.
(baris 1)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi setelah structural clue yang terdapat pada baris
pertama dapat diketahui bahwa Teddy Bear adalah permainan.
Jawaban : (D) alamat permainan

3. Key word : varied pastimes, one which was hunting. (baris 4)


Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi pada baris 4 dapat diketahui salah satu contoh dari
“pastimes” adalah “hunting”. Berarti, “pastimes” adalah aktivitas pada
waktu-waktu luang.
Jawaban : (D) Leisure activities

4. Key word : be extricated from the ropes; that is, he demanded that the bear be set free.
(baris ke 6)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan informasi pada setelah structural clue yang berupa (;) tersebut
dapat diketahui bahwa kata “extricated” mempunyai makna yang hampir sama
dengan kata “released”.
Jawaban : (A) Released

5. Key word : a cartoon-drawn by Clifford K. (baris 10)


Pembahasan : Perhatikan structural clue kalimat tersebut. Berdasarkan informasi setelah
structural clue tersebut dapat diketahui bahwa yang dimaksud dengan

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
46
“cartoon” adalah “A drawing with a message”.
Jawaban : (C) A drawing with a message

Trik 10 : Gunakanlah Konteks untuk Menentukan Makna Kata Sederhana

1. Key word : ... that scientists are not fully able to discern, ... (kalimat 1)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan konteks pada kalimat pertama tersebut, kata “discern”
mempunyai makna yang hampir sama dengan “understand”.
Jawaban : (B) Understand

2. Key word : ... lasts less than an hour; an average tornado might propelitself at a speed of
15 or miles (baris 5-6)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan konteks pada baris (5-6) dapat diketahui bahwa kata „propel”
bermakna menggerakkan/memindahkan.
Jawaban : (A) move

3. Key word : The most devastating tornado on record occured on March 18, 1925, .... (baris
7)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan konteks pada baris tersebut dapat diketahui bahwa kata
“devastating” mempunyai makna yang sama dengan kata “destructive”.
Jawaban : (C) Destructive

Trik 11 : Identifikasi Word Parts untuk Membantu Menentukan Makna Kata

1. Key word : dominance over


Pembahasan : Frase “dominance over” berasal dari word part “domin” yang bermakna
“dominate” (mendominasi). Jadi, makna kata “dominance over” adalah
“authority over”.
Jawaban : (C) Authority over

2. Key word : Triparte


Pembahasan : Perhatikan word part yang membentuk kata “triparte”. Ada word part “tri”
yang bermakna “tiga”. Jadi, makna “triparte” adalah “divided into three”.
Jawaban : (A) Divided into three

3. Key word : judiciary


Pembahasan : Perhatikan word part yang ada pada kata “judiciary”. Terdapat bagian kata
“jud” yang bermakna “hakim”. Jadi, makna kata “judiary” adalah “authority”
(kekuasaan, kewenangan).
Jawaban : (C) The authority

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
47
Trik 13 : Pahami Cara Menentukan Dimana Informasi Khusus Ditemukan

1. Key word : the distance from which the crater can be seen
Pembahasan : Informasi mengenai waktu dalam tahun ketika berang-berang melahirkan anak
ada pada baris 3.
Jawaban : (C) Line 3

2. Key word : the age at which beavers must go out on their own
Pembahasan : Informasi mengenai usia ketika berang-berang harus meninggalkan
keluarganya terdapat pada baris 3-4.
Jawaban : (C) Line 3-4

3. Key word : why the young beavers must leave their parents‟ home
Pembahasan : Informasi mengenai mengapa berang-berang muda harus meninggalkan rumah
orang tua mereka terdapat pada baris 4-6.
Jawaban : (D) Lines 4-6

Trik 14 : Pahami Tone, Purpose, atau Course Questions

1. Key word : ... in Cold Blood (1966) is a well-known example of the “nonfiction novel, ....
(Kalimat pertama)
Pembahasan : Pada kalimat pertama paragraf tersebut diketahui bahwa tujuan pengarang
menulis teks tersebut adalah untuk mendiskusikan sebuah contoh genre literatur
tertentu.
Jawaban : (A) Discuss an example of a particular literary genre

2. Key word : the author describes the sadistic murder (baris 3-4)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan detail pada baris 3-4 tersebut dapat diketahui “tone” yang
digunakan pengarang adalah deskripsi.
Jawaban : (D) Descriptive

3. Key word : ... in Cold Blood (1966) is a well-known example of the “nonfiction novel, ....
(Kalimat pertama)
Pembahasan : Berdasarkan kalimat pertama teks tersebut dapat diketahui bahwa bacaan
tersebut ditemukan pada perkuliahan Literasi Amerika Modern.
Jawaban : (C) Modern Americas Novels

Trik Jitu Pendongkrak Skor TOEFL Tinggi


www.TOEFL550.com
48

Anda mungkin juga menyukai