Contoh Soal Toefl Reading Comprehension dan Pembahasan

Ditulis oleh: Soal dan Jawaban -
Contoh Soal Toefl Reading dan Pembahasan - hari ini akan kita teruskan lagi membahas mengenai soal toefl yaitu khusus untuk sesi membaca atau Reading Comprehension. Bagi anda semua yang ingin lebih mendalami mengenai berbagai trik dalam mengerjakan Soal Toefl Reading bisa mengikuti penjelasan Contoh Soal Toefl Reading dan Pembahasan berikut.

RC atau reading comprehension ini yang sering kali tidak terjawab semua oleh peserta tes toefl. Sebagian besar peserta menjawab soal no 41 sd 50 asal-asalan.

Hal itu dikarenakan kekurangan waktu ditambah lagi otak sudah terasa diperas karena RC merupakan section terakhir. Bahkan ada peserta menjawab 50% dari jumlah soal tanpa membaca passage nya lagi.

Umumnya hampir semua pertanyaan di Section 3 reading ini bisa dijawab dengan membaca soalnya dulu, kemudian mencari jawaban yang diperlukan dalam passage atau bacaan.

Tetapi ada juga pertanyaan yang memang memerlukan detail jawaban seperti menanyakan tentang misal "what's the passage about?"

Disini kita memang perlu membaca agak lebih teliti tetapi itu semua bisa disiasati. Contoh Soal Toefl Reading dan Pembahasan akan dibahas secara umum. Secara detailnya akan membahasnnya satu persatu.

The technology of the North American colonies did not differ strikingly from that of Europe, but in one respect, the colonists enjoyed a great advantage. Especially by comparison with Britain, Americans had a wonderfully plentiful supply of wood. (Paragraph 1)

The first colonists did not, as many people imagine, find an entire continent covered by a climax forest. Even along the Atlantic seaboard, the forest was broken at many points. Nevertheless, all sorts of fine trees abounded, and through the early colonial period, those who pushed westward encountered new forests. By the end of the colonial era, the price of wood had risen slightly in eastern cities, but wood was still
extremely abundant. (Paragraph 2)

The availability of wood brought advantages that have seldom been appreciated. Wood was a foundation of the economy. Houses and all manner of buildings were made of wood to a degree unknown in Britain. Secondly, wood was used as fuel for heating and cooking. Thirdly, it was used as the source of important industrial compounds, such as potash, an industrial alkali; charcoal, a component of gunpowder; and tannic acid, used for tanning leather. (Paragraph 3)

The supply of wood conferred advantages but had some negative aspects as well. Iron at that time was produced by heating iron ore with charcoal. Because Britain was so stripped of trees, she was unable to exploit her rich iron mines. But the American colonies had both iron ore and wood; iron production was encouraged and became successful. However, when Britain developed coke smelting, the Colonies did not follow suit because they had plenty of wood and besides, charcoal iron was stronger than coke iron. Coke smelting led to technologic innovations and was linked to the emergence of the Industrial Revolution. In the early nineteenth century, the former colonies lagged behind Britain in industrial development because their supply of wood led them to cling to charcoal iron. (Paragraph 4)

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The advantages of using wood in the colonies
(B) The effects of an abundance of wood on the colonies
(C) The roots of the Industrial Revolution
(D) The difference between charcoal iron and coke iron

Dalam menjawab soal no 1 ini, kita tidak perlu membaca keseluruhan passage. Baca saja kalimat pertama masing-masing paragraph.

Hal pertama yang harus diperhatikan untuk jenis soal yang menanyakan topik adalah apakah yang ditanyakan topik passage atau masing-masing topik paragraphnya?

Soal di atas menanyakan topik passage berarti kita harus mencari jawaban yang mencakup semua paragraph yang ada di passage tersebut. 

Dalam hal ini jawaban yang benar adalah B karena passage tersebut membahas tentang the plentiful supply of wood in the colonies and the advantages and disadvantages this involved.

Jawaban A tidak benar karena cuma advantages saja sedangkan passage juga membahas tentang disadvantages (paragraph 4), jawaban C salah karena fokusnya Industrial Revolution. Jawaban D salah karena fokusnya perbedaan antara charcoal iron dengan coke iron.

2. The word strikingly in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to
(A) realistically.
(B) dramatically.
(C) completely.
(D) immediately.

Inilah gunanya membaca soal dulu baru mengacu ke passage. Soal jenis diatas menanyakan tentang vocabulary jadi fokus saja pada kalimat yg mengandung kata yang ditanyakan.

Dalam soal ini yang ditanyakan adalah kata strikingly, kalimat yg mengandung kata tersebut adalah The technology of the North American colonies did not differ strikingly from that of Europe, but in one respect, the colonists enjoyed a great advantage. 

Dari konteks diatas, kata strikingly mendekati makna dramatically. Detail mengenai bagaimana kita bisa memgetahui makna kata akan dibahas diartikel-artikel berikutnya.

Makna kata yang tepat hanya bisa didapat dari kalimat yang menggunakan kata tersebut, Guessing Meaning from Contacts.

3. Which of the following is a common assumption about the forests of North America during the colonial period?
(A) They contained only a few types of trees.
(B) They existed only along the Atlantic seaboard.
(C) They had little or no economic value.
(D) They covered the entire continent.

Soal diatas kata kuncinya adalah common assumption, jadi kita scan dulu untuk mendapatkan kalimat yang mengandung makna tersebut baru kemudian menjawabnya.

Dari kalimat pertama paraghraph kedua "The first colonists did not, as many people imaginefind an entire continent covered by a climax forest.” ini kita bisa menentukan jawaban yang benar. Jawaban yg benar tentunya D

4. According to the passage, by the end of the colonial period, the price of wood in eastern cities
(A) rose quickly because wood was becoming so scarce.
(B) was much higher than it was in Britain.
(C) was slightly higher than in previous years.
(D) decreased rapidly because of lower demand for wood.

Soal diatas kata kuncinya price of wood, scan kalimat yang mengandung makna tersebut dan didapatlah  “By the end of the colonial era, the price of wood had risen slightly in eastern cities . . .” kalimat terakhir paragraph 2. Baru tentukan jawaban yang benar, dan jawabannya adalah CSlightly higher = had risen slightly

Masih kuat untuk melanjutkan pembahasan trik toefl di blog ini? Yuk kita lanjut saja langsung ke soal berikutnya yaitu soal nomor 5. Silahkan simak dan perhatikan baik-baik penjelasan berikut!

5. What can be inferred about houses in Britain during the period written about in the passage?
(A) They were more expensive than American houses.
(B) They were generally built with imported materials.
(C) They were typically smaller than homes in North America.
(D) They were usually built from materials other than wood

Soal ini kata kuncinya houses, jadi scan kalimat yang mengandung kata atau makna kata tersebut. Didapatlah "Houses and all manner of buildings were made of wood to a degree unknown in Britain." Jadi jawabannya D.

6. Why does the author mention gunpowder in paragraph 3?
(A) To illustrate the negative aspects of some industrial processes
(B) To give an example of a product made with wood compounds
(C) To remind readers that the colonial era ended in warfare
(D) To suggest that wood was not the only important product of the colonies

Soal ini kata kuncinya gunpowder dan paragraph 3, jadi langsung saja ke paragraph 3 dan cari kalimat yang mengandung kata tersebut. Didapatlah kalimat "wood was the source of industrial compounds, and charcoal is given as an example. Charcoal is a component of gunpowder." Jadi jawabannya B.

7. The phrase follow suit in paragraph 4 means...
(A) do the same thing.
(B) make an attempt.
(C) have the opportunity.
(D) take a risk.

Dalam menjawab soal seperti ini, langsung saja baca paragraph yang dimaksud. Soal diatas tentang paragraph 4, jadi langsung saja ke paragraph 4 dan baca dengan teliti kalimat yang ada kata follow suit nya.

However, when Britain developed coke smelting, the Colonies did not follow suit because they had plenty of wood and besides, charcoal iron was stronger than coke iron. Kalimat ini mengandung makna bertentangan dengan apa yang diungkapkan sebelumnya. Jadi jawabannya A

8. According to the passage, why was the use of coke smelting advantageous?
(A) It led to advances in technology.
(B) It was less expensive than wood smelting.
(C) It produced a stronger type of iron than wood smelting.
(D) It stimulated the demand for wood.

Soal diatas kata kuncinya coke smelting, scan kalimat yang mengandung makna atau kata tersebut. Didapatlah kalimat "Coke smelting led to technologic innovations and was linked to the emergence of the Industrial Revolution." 

Tinggal tentukan saja mana jawaban yang bermakna sama dengan kalimat tersebut. Jawaban yang benar adalah A.

Bagaimana, sebenarnya tidak terlalu sulit kan? Memang semua akan lebih mudah jikalau kita memiliki waktu yang cukup untuk berlatih seperti belajar Contoh Soal Toefl Reading dan Pembahasan yang ada disini.

Lain waktu akan dibahas lagi lebih dalam dan lebih rinci serta ditambah lagi berbagai contoh soal lainnya.


Pastikan anda semua membagikan tips ini di facebook atau twitter anda agar besok kita bisa menyediakan berbagai soal latihan toefl lain yang bisa dijadikan sumber referensi belajar. Mudah-mudahan semua yang dipaparkan di atas bisa bermanfaat bagi anda semua, terima kasih.