Contoh Soal TOEFL Reading Comprehension: Jalur Minyak Raksasa Alaska
Salah satu bagian yang juga tidak kalah penting dalam tes TOEFL ITP adalah reading comprehension. Bagian ini akan mengukur pemahaman kamu tentang artikel singkat yang biasa ditemukan sebagai bahan pembelajaran di universitas.
Kali ini tema yang diangkat adalah tentang jalur pipa di Alaska. Di akhir artikel, akan ada beberapa pertanyaan yang jawabannya bisa kamu temukan dalam bacaan. Mari kita simak:
The Alaska pipeline starts at the frozen edge of the Arctic Ocean. It stretches southward across the largest and northernmost state in the United States ending at a remote ice-free seaport village nearly 800 miles from where it begins. It is massive in size and extremely complicated to operate.
The steel pipe crosses windswept plains and endless miles of delicate tundra that tops the frozen ground. It weaves through crooked canyons, climbs sheer mountains, plunges over rocky crags, makes its way through thick forests, and passes over or under hundreds of rivers and streams. The pipe is 4 feet in diameter, and up to 2 million barrels (or 84 million gallons) of crude oil can be pumped through it daily.
Resting on H-shaped steel racks called “bents”, long section of the pipeline follow a zigzag course high above the frozen earth. Other long sections drop out of sight beneath spongy or rocky ground and return to the surface later on. The pattern of the pipeline’s up-and-down route is determined by the often harsh demands of the arctic and subarctic climate, the tortuous lay of the land, and the varied compositions of soil, rock, or permafrost (permanently frozen ground). A little more than half of the pipeline is elevated above the ground. The remainder is buried anywhere from 3 to 12 feet, depending largely upon the type of terrain and the properties of the soil.
One of the largest in the world, the pipeline cost approximately $8 billion and is by far the biggest and most expensive construction project ever undertaken by private industry. In fact, no single business could raise that much money, so 8 major oil companies formed a consortium in order to share the costs.
Each company controlled oil rights to particular shares of land in the oil fields and paid into the pipeline-construction fund according to the size of its holdings. Today, despite enormous problems of climate, supply shortages, equipment breakdowns, labor disagreements, treacherous terrain, a certain amount of mismanagement, and even theft, the Alaska pipeline has been completed and is operating.
1. The passage primarily discusses the pipeline’s…?
Pilihan jawaban:
a. operating costs
b. employees
c. consumers
d. construction
Jawaban yang tepat dari pertanyaan pertama adalah (D) karena tema besar dari artikel adalah membahas tentang konstruksi jalur pipa, bukan tentang biaya operasional, konsumen, atau pegawainya.
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2. The word “it” in the third sentence refers to?
Pilihan jawaban:
a. pipeline
b. ocean
c. state
d. village
Kalimat yang dimaksud adalah “it is massive in size and extremely complicated to operate” masih kelanjutan dari pembahasan tentang pipeline. Jawaban yang tepat adalah (A).
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3. According to the passage, 84 million gallons of oil can travel through the pipeline each…?
Pilihan jawaban:
a. day
b. week
c. month
d. year
Penjelasan dari pertanyaan ini ada pada kalimat “and up to 2 million barrels (or 84 million gallons) of crude oil can be pumped through it daily” sehingga bisa disimpulkan bahwa 84 juta gallon minyak bisa melewati pipa setiap harinya. Jawaban yang tepat adalah (A).
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4. The phrase “resting on” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to?
Pilihan jawaban:
a. consisting of
b. supported by
c. passing under
d. protected with
Pertanyaan ini fokus pada kalimat “resting on H-shaped steel racks called “bents”, long section of the pipeline follow a zigzag course high above the frozen earth” yang artinya bagian panjang dari pipa ditopang oleh rak baja berbentuk huruf H. Jawaban yang tepat adalah “supported by” atau (B).
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5. The author mentions all of the following as important in determining the pipeline’s route EXCEPT the…
Pilihan jawaban:
a. climate
b. lay of the land itself
c. local vegetation
d. kind of soil and rock
Semua pilihan jawaban benar dan tercantum dalam artikel sebagai hal penting yang mempengaruhi jalur pipa, kecuali vegetasi lokal. Jawaban yang tepat adalah (C).
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6. The word “undertaken” in the first sentence of 4th paragraph is closest in meaning to?
Pilihan jawaban:
a. removed
b. selected
c. transported
d. attempted
Kata “undertaken” bisa ditemukan dalam kalimat “…the biggest and most expensive construction project ever undertaken by private industry” yang artinya proyek konstruksi termahal dan terbesar yang pernah diupayakan atau “attempted”, dengan demikian jawaban yang tepat adalah (D).
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7. How many companies shared the costs of construction the pipeline?
Pilihan jawaban:
a. three
b. four
c. eight
d. twelve
Jawaban dari pertanyaan ketujuh ini tertera pada kalimat “so 8 major oil companies formed a consortium in order to share the costs” sehingga jawaban yang tepat adalah 8 (C).
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8. The word “particular” in the 3rd sentence of last paragraph is closes in meaning to?
Pilihan jawaban:
a. peculiar
b. specific
c. exceptional
d. equal
Kalimat yang memuat kata “particular” adalah “each company controlled oil rights to particular shares of land in the oil fields…” yang berarti hak yang spesifik terkait hak atas minyak sehingga jawaban yang benar adalah (B).
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9. Which of the following determined what percentage of the construction costs each member of the consortium would pay?
Pilihan jawaban:
a. how much oil field land each company owned
b. how long each company had owned land in the oil fields
c. how many people worked for each company
d. how many oil wells were located on the company’s land
Biaya konstruksi yang ditanggung tiap perusahaan dijelaskan dalam kalimat “and paid into the pipeline-construction fund according to the size of its holdings” yaitu mengacu pada ukuran lahannya. Jawaban yang sesuai dengan informasi tersebut adalah (A).
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10. Where in the passage does the author provide a term for an earth covering that always remain frozen?
Pilihan jawaban:
a. Paragraph 1
b. Paragraph 2
c. Paragraph 3
d. Paragraph 4
Untuk pertanyaan terakhir, penjelasannya terdapat di paragraf 3 yaitu jawaban (C) dalam kalimat “…and the varied compositions of soil, rock, or permafrost (permanently frozen ground)” yang membahas tentang “permafrost”.
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Menarik ya? Selain berlatih TOEFL Preparation seputar reading comprehension, kamu juga mendapat ilmu baru tentang jalur minyak raksasa Alaska yang ternyata menghabiskan dana yang tidak sedikit! Sampai jumpa di latihan reading comprehension lainnya, ya!
