SECTION 3

Fakultas Bahasa Unissula

SHORT COURSE
ON TOEFL
WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS?

1. Topic
2. Main idea.
3. Vocabularies
4. Details
5. Inference
6. EXCEPTION & true information
7. Reference: Anne has a big house. She lives in it.
8. Info Lines
 1. Pertanyaan tentang topik
Topik adalah Hal yang dibicarakan / diuraikan oleh penulis,
kemudian seandainya bacaan itu bisa diringkas dalam 1
kalimat, kalimat apa yang pas?

Bunyi pertanyaan Topik:

- What is the subject of the passage?
- What is the topic of the passage?
- What would be a good title for the passage?
 Cara menemukan Topik
Carilah hal pokok yang dibahas, kemudian pelajari alur/arah informasinya dan
sudut pandang yang diambil penulis terhadap bahasan tersebut, maka Anda
menemukan topik maupun main idea. Jika Anda ringkas dalam suatu
kalimat/statement maka Anda akan menemukannya pada salah satu pilihan
jawaban.

Periksa jawaban yg ada, adakah dari A, B, C, D, yang sesuai/sama dengan yg Anda

pikirkan ? Itulah jawabannya.
Setiap penulis boleh menulis tentang misalnya Michael Jordan, namun tiap
penulis mungkin akan mengambil sudut yang berbeda tentangya, misalnya: masa
kecilnya saja, kondisi kesehatannya saat ini saja, silsilah keluarganya saja, dst. Maka
cara menemukan statement topic yang tepat adalah: di dalamnya harus terdapat
Michael Jordan dan ditambah dengan sudut pandang penulis. Maka akan
menjadi: Masa kecil Michael Jordan, Kondisi Kesehatan Michael Jordan, dan Silsilah
Keluarga Michael Jordan. Itu semua adalah statement Topic sesuai masing-masing
penulis. Maka, begitulah cara menemukan topik (atau topic statement)
 CARA MENEMUKAN MAIN IDEA
Mencari main idea, Anda harus mengikuti arah penulis membawa Anda pada
fakta tentang topik yang dibicarakan. Misalnya tentang Kondisi Kesehatan
Michael Jordan, dari yang anda baca ternyata penulis membawa Anda
pada kesimpulan bahwa kondisi kesehatannya tidak sangat terganggu oleh
AIDS yang diidapnya. Maka main idea harus berbunyi: pertama, di
dalamnya harus tersebut Michael Jordan, kedua disebutkan kondisi
kesehatannya yang tidak sangat terganggu meskipun ia mengidap Aids.
Kira-kira akan menjadi: Michael Jordans fit condition despite AIDS atau
Despite AIDS, Michael Jordan Survives, atau semacam itu.
Misalnya tentang masa kecilnya. Setelah membaca, Anda dibawa pada
kesimpulan bahwa ia berjuang keras di masa kecilnya untuk sukses sebagai
pemain Basket, maka pertama, di dalam main idea itu harus tersebut
Michael Jordan, dan ditambah dengan perjuangannya meraih sukses
sebagai pemain basket. Kira-kira akan berbunyi: Michael Jordans struggle
for Success since Childhood, atau Michael Jordans Success Story as a
Basket Player, atau semacam itu.
 Contoh Soal:
For more than a century, despite attacks by a few opposing scientists, Charles Darwins
theory of evolution by natural selection has stood firm. Now, however, some respected
biologists are beginning to question whether the theory accounts for major
developments such as the shift from water to land habitation. Clearly, evolution has not
proceeded steadily but has progressed by radical advances. Recent research in
molecular biology, particularly in the study of DNA, provides us with a new possibility.
Not only environmental change but also genetic codes in the underlying structure of
DNA could govern evolution.

Main idea dari soal di atas harus menyebutkan Charles Darwins Theory, karena itu
adalah topic statementnya, lalu ditambahkan tentang arah/sudut pandang penulis
tentang hal itu (ternyata info-info /fakta yang disebutkan: semua mengarah pada tidak
benarnya theory tersebut), maka jawaban yang benar adalah yang berbunyi: Teori
Charles Darwin tidak benar atau senada dengan itu.
What is the main idea of the passage?
A.Charles Darwins Theory of Evolution
B.Doubts about Charles Darwins Theory
C.DNA can govern evolution
D.Molecular biology supports Charles Darwins Theory
 2. Vocabularies

Bisa jadi anda akan menemukan banyak sekali kata yg tidak

anda pahami. Tetapi tetaplah mencoba menebak persamaannya.
Untuk memahami arti kata tertentu, gunakan konteks, yaitu
menebak suatu kata dengan mengaitkannya pada makna
kalimat keseluruhan.
Contoh: The buyer refused to pay for the decaying drinking
product.
Untuk menebak makna suatu kata, maka Anda harus memahami
sebagian besar kata-kata yang lain dalam kalimat yang ada.
Bunyi Pertanyaan :
- The word refused is closest in meaning to
- The word decaying could best be replaced by
 Contoh:
At the age of sixty-six, Harland Sanders
had to auction off everything he owned in
order to pay his debts. Once the
successful proprietor of a large
restaurant, Sanders saw his business
suffering from the construction of a new
freeway that bypassed his establishment
and rerouted the traffic that had formerly
passed.
1. The word auction off is closest in meaning to ..
A. develop C. sell
B. reduce D. purchase

2. The word proprietor could best be replaced by

A. owner C. manager
B. developer D. president
 3. Details.

Details adalah semua informasi

penting terkait dengan topik yang
dibicarakan dalam bacaan. Details
meliputi info tentang : Who, What,
Where, Which, When, How, dll.
 Contoh
To prepare for a career in Engineering, a student must begin planning in
high school. For example, in a school where sixteen credit hours are
required for high school graduation, four should be mathematics, one
each
in chemistry, biology and physics. The remaining credits should include
four
in English and at least three in the humanities and social sciences. The
average entering freshman in engineering should have achieved at least
a
2,5 grade point average on a 4,0 scale in his or her high school. Although
deficiencies can be corrected during the first year, the student who
needs
additional work should expect to spend five instead of four years to
complete a degree.
1. What is the average grade point for entering freshman in
engineering?

2. When should a student begin planning for a career in

engineering?

3. How can a student correct deficiencies in preparation?

4. How many credits should a student have in English?

5. How many credits are required for a high school diploma?

 4. Inference.

Inference adalah kesimpulan yang bisa Anda

buat dengan cara mengaitkan satu fakta dengan
fakta-fakta yang lain dalam bacaan.

Inference sebenarnya sebuah detail namun

tidak Anda lihat secara fisik dalam bacaan,
Anda bisa temukan dengan cara mengaitkan
satu info dengan info lainnya.
 Contoh
When acid is dissolved in water, the acid molecule divides into two
parts, a hydrogen ion and another ion. An ion is an atom or a group
of atoms that has an electrical charge. The charge can be either
positive or negative. If hydrochloric acid is mixed with water, for
example, it divides into hydrogen ions and chlorine ions.

A strong acid ionizes to a great extent, but a weak acid does not
ionizes so much. The strength of an acid, therefore, depends on
how much it ionizes, not on how many hydrogen ions are
produced. It is interesting that nitric acid and sulfuric acid become
greatly ionizes whereas boric acid and carbonic acid do not.
1. What kind of acid is sulfuric acid?

2. What kind of acid is boric acid?

 5. EXCEPTION/Pengecualian

Pertanyaan PENGECUALIAN.

Berikut ini sifat-sifat X yaitu A, B, C.

Maka, F bukan sifat X
F adalah pengecualian.

Informasi tentang sifat-sifat/gambaran/fakta suatu hal bisa

menyebar dari awal paragraph sampai akhir. Maka Anda harus
berhasil mengumpulkannya.
 CONTOH
All music consists of two elements; expression and design.
Expression is inexact and subjective, and may be enjoyed in a
personal and instinctive way. Design, on the other hand, is exact
and must be analyzed objectively in order to be understood and
appreciated. The folk song, for example, has a definite musical
design which relies on simple repetition with a definite beginning
and ending. A folk song consists of one stanza of music repeated
for each stanza of verse.
Because of their communal, and usually uncertain origin, folk
songs are often popular verse set to music. They are not always
recorded, and tend to be passed on in a kind of musical version of
oral history, Each singer revises and prefects the song. In part as a
consequence of this continuous revision process, most folk songs
are almost perfect in their construction and design. A particular
singers interpretation of the folk song may provide an interesting
expression, but, the simple design that underlies the song itself is
stable and enduring
1. All of the following is true about a folk
song, EXCEPT

A. There is a clear start and finish.

B. The origin is often not known.
C. The design may change in the
interpretation.
D. Simple repetition is characteristic of
its design
 6. Reference
Anda diminta menemukan antecedent (asal) dari sebuah kata
Ganti/pronoun. Contoh:

Mary Anne has an expensive car. She drives it everyday to

campus.

Mary Anne adalah antecedent/asal dari pronoun She

Car adalah antecedent/asal dari pronoun it

Cara menemukan antecedent adalah dengan mengecek ke

kalimat sebelumnya karena biasanya antecedent muncul
lebih dulu daripada pronounnya.
 CONTOH
The national road, also known as the
Cumberland Road, was constructed in the
early 1800s to provide transportation between
the established commercial areas of East and
Northwest territory. By 1818, the road had
reached Wheeling, West Virginia, 130 miles
from its point of origin in Cumberland,
Maryland. The Cost was a monumental
thirteen thousand dollars per mile.
1. The word its in line 7 refers to:
A. The Northwest Territory
B. 1818
C. The road
D. Wheeling, West Virginia
 7. Letak Baris Sebuah Informasi

Pertanyaan ini meminta anda menunjukkan pada

baris berapa letak informasi yang ditanyakan.
 Contoh:
Baris 1 11
by Alzheimers. Using a group of rats with impaired memory,
the scientists gave half of the rats doses of nerve growth factor
while giving the other half a blood protein as a placebo, thus
creating a control group. At the end of the four week test, the rats
given the nerve growth factor performed equally to rats with
normal memory abilities. While the experiment

Which lines is the passage best describe the effect of nerve

growth factor on the test rats?
A. Lines 3 6 C. Lines 11 - 14
B. Lines 7 10 D. Lines 15 - 17
Full TOEFL Reading Examples

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