Contoh Soal TOEFL Reading Comperhesion: Boston Symphony Orchestra
Artikel selanjutnya yang menjadi bahan pembelajaran adalah tentang Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Di akhir artikel, akan ada beberapa pertanyaan yang serupa dengan pola yang akan kamu temukan saat mengerjakan tes TOEFL ITP.
Kenali betul jawaban dan uji diri kamu sendiri untuk menjawab tanpa melihat kunci jawabannya terlebih dahulu. Let’s start!
The renowned Boston Symphony Orchestra gave its inaugural concert on October 22, 1881. It has continued to uphold the vision of its founder, the philanthropist, Civil War veteran, and amateur musician Henry Lee Higginson, who dreamed of founding a great and permanent orchestra in Boston for many years. The first concert was given under the direction of conductor Georg Henschel, who remained music director until 1884. For nearly twenty years, concerts were held in the Old Boston Music Hall, then in Symphony Hall from 1900, one of the world’s most highly regarded concert halls. Henschel was succeeded by a series of German born and trained conductors: Wilhelm Gericke, Arthur Nikisch, Emil Paur, and Max Fiedler – culminating in the appointment of the legendary Karl Muck, who served two terms as music director, 1906 – 08 and 1912 – 18.
Meanwhile, in July 1885, the musicians of the Boston Symphony Orchestra had given their first “Promenade” concert, offering both music and refreshments. This fulfilled Major Higginson’s with to give “concerts of a lighter kind of music.” These concerts, soon to be given in the springtime and renamed, first “Popular ” and then “Pops”, fast became a tradition. Recording, began with the Victor Talking Maching Company (predecessor to RCA Victor) in 1917, and continued with increasing frequency, as did radio broadcasts.
In 1918 Henri Rabaud was engaged as conductor; he was succeeded a year later by Pierre Monteux. There appointments marked the beginning of a French-oriented tradition which was maintained, even during the Russian-born Serge Koussevitzky’s time from 1924, with the employment of many French-trained musicians. Koussevitzky’s extraordinary musicianship and electric personality proved so enduring that he served an unprecedented term of twenty-five years. Regular radio broadcasts of Boston Symphony concerts began during Koussevitzky’s years as music director. In 1936 Koussevitzky led the orchestra’s first concerts in the Berkshires; a year later he and the players took up annual summer residence at Tanglewood. Koussevitzky passionately shared Majoy Higginson’s dream of ” a good honest school for musicians, ” and in 1940 that dream was realized with the founding of the Berkshire Music Center (now called the Tanglewood Music Center).
1. In the first paragraph, Henry Lee Higginson is described as…
Pilihan jawaban:
a. an amateur conductor
b. a war historian
c. a visionary
d. a philanthropist
Dari 4 pilihan jawaban di atas, yang paling tepat menggambarkan sosok Henry Lee Higginson adalah (D) seperti yang tercantum dalam paragraf pertama.
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2. The word “inaugural” in line 1 is closest in meaning to:
Pilihan jawaban:
a. demonstration
b. practice
c. first
d. official
Kata “inaugural” paling serupa artinya dengan kata “first” dalam pilihan jawaban (C) karena bermakna konser perdana dari Boston Symphony Orchestra.
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3. The word “legendary” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to:
Pilihan jawaban:
a. notorious
b. fabulous
c. lengthy
d. talented
Kata sifat “fabulous” dalam pilihan jawaban (B) adalah yang paling tepat untuk menggambarkan kata “legendary” di akhir paragraf 1.
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4. According to the passage, the first promenade concert was:
Pilihan jawaban:
a. conducted by Georg Henschel
b. held in Symphony Hall
c. held in the springtime
d. held with refreshments
Jawaban dari pertanyaan di atas terdapat di paragraf 2 yang menjelaskan konser promenade yang mengusung konsep lebih segar, sehingga jawaban yang tepat adalah (D).
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5. The word “did” in paragraph 2 refers to:
Pilihan jawaban:
a. recording
b. began
c. continued
d. broadcasts
Kata “did” di akhir paragraf 2 mengacu pada proses recording yang terus berkembang seiring dengan frekuensi yang kian banyak. Dengan demikian jawaban yang tepat adalah (C).
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6. The word “unprecedented” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to:
Pilihan jawaban:
a. unique
b. remarkable
c. important
d. continuous
Kata “unprecedented” yang mengacu pada karir Serge Koussetvitzky bermakna “unique” karena mencapai 25 tahun karir. Artinya, jawaban yang tepat adalah (A).
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7. Which of the following musical directors served the longest?
Pilihan jawaban:
a. Georg Henschel
b. Serge Koussevitzky
c. Karl Muck
d. Pierre Monteux
Jawaban yang tepat dari pertanyaan di atas adalah (B) Serge Koussevitzky karena berkarir selama 25 tahun, lebih lama dibandingkan dengan music director yang lainnya.
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8. What did Koussevitzky and Higginson have in common?
Pilihan jawaban:
a. they were both conductors
b. they both served as musical directors for a long time
c. neither was American born
d. they both wanted a school for musicians
Jawaban dari pertanyaan di atas ada pada bagian akhir paragraf final. Kesamaan antara Koussetvitzky dan Higginson adalah keinginannya untuk mendirikan sekolah untuk musisi seperti yang ada dalam pilihan jawaban (D).
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Belajar dunia seni, sejarah, dan mengenal sosok yang mengagumkan sekaligus dari bacaan di atas. Tak hanya itu, pertanyaan-pertanyaan kata sinonim atau antonim yang ada di bawahnya juga menjadi cara untuk melatih pemahaman kamu akan reading comprehension. Semoga bermanfaat, ya!
