Reading Comprehension Practice I

1. 1. What aspect of the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries does the passage mainly discuss?

• A. Why young women chose to move from farms to cities

• B. The number and types of manufacturing jobs created in cities

• C. Changes in settlement patterns between farms and cities

• D. The effects of mechanization on western migration

Answer explanation

Untuk mencari main idea, kalian harus menggunakan skimming skill dengan membaca kalimat pertama dari setiap paragraf untuk mendapatkan topik yang dibahas oleh teks bacaan tersebut.

2. 2. The word “expansion” in line 1 is closest in meaning to

• A. change

• B. growth

• C. population

• D. labor

Answer explanation

Expansion berasal dari kata "expand" yang berarti "bertambah". Kata yang sesuai dengan ini hanya "Growth"

3. 3. The word “abandoned” in line 3 is closest in meaning to

• A. left behind

• B. sold

• C. gave away

• D. gradually reduced the size of

Answer explanation

"Abandoned" bermakna "ditinggalkan" atau "ditelantarkan". Kata yang sesuai dengan makna ini hanya "Left behind" yang juga bermakna "ditinggalkan"

4. 4. Why does the author discuss “prosperity” in line 4?

• A. To indicate that more than one factor contributed to the movement from rural to urban settlement

• B. To support the idea that many families were able to stop farming and migrate to the cities

• C. To suggest that the migration would have happened despite the economic situation

• D. To argue against economics as the primary factor in migration

Answer explanation

"Even" di baris ke-4 digunakan untuk menekankan poin, sesuatu yang mengejutkan, tidak terduga atau ekstrim. Dalam konteks bahasa Indonesia adalah "Bahkan". Bahkan harta yang melimpah (prosperity) sekalipun tetap menyebabkan terjadinya migrasi.

5. 5. According to the first paragraph, in the late 1800s, farmland was most likely to be purchased by

• A. city businessmen seeking new investments

• B. successful landowners who had mechanized farms

• C. young farm men starting to work

• D. people who had few opportunities in cities

Answer explanation

Clue untuk soal ini bisa: “1800s”, “farmland”, dan “be purchased by” yang mengarah pada kalimat Line 6-9. “be purchased by”  menanyakan tentang orang, maka orang yang membeli adalah Landowners who are successful.

6. 6. The word “inevitably” in line 12 is closest in meaning to

• A. unexpectedly

• B. usually

• C. unavoidably

• D. possibly

Answer explanation

“Inevitably” berasal dari adjective inevitable yang berarti tidak dapat dihindari. Jadi, jawaban yang sesuai adalah “unavoidably”

7. 7. The phrase “this trend” in line 14 refers to

• A. industrial workers becoming farmers

• B. the economic development of the countryside

• C. the loss of rural population

• D. innovations in manufacturing

Answer explanation

“This” merupakan kata Ganti yang digunakan untuk merujuk “informasi/ide” yang sebelumnya sudah disebutkan. This trend merujuk pada depopulation/ lose population yang disebutkan di kalimat yang sama.

8. 8. According to the first paragraph, which of the following is true about the population of the United States after the 1880s?

• A. Fewer people lived on farms.

• B. The central part of the United States lost much of its population to rural areas in the West.

• C. Rural areas of the West became more populated than those in the central part of the country.

• D. Work opportunities in urban areas began to decline.

Answer explanation

Clue untuk soal ini adalah: First paragraph, TRUE, US, after 1880s.

Maka, pernyataan yang benar sesuai dengan isi paragraph pertama adalah semakin sedikit orang yang tinggal di desa.

9. 9. According to the second paragraph, how did migration among young women in the rural West differ from that of young men?

• A. Young women were more likely to leave rural areas to go to urban areas.

• B. Young women were more likely to take jobs on farms.

• C. Young women who migrated generally had more education.

• D. Young women generally moved more frequently from one rural area to another.

Answer explanation

Clue untuk soal ini adalah: second paragraph, TRUE, young women, migration.

Maka, pernyataan yang benar sesuai dengan isi paragraph kedua adalah lebih banyak Perempuan yang pergi bermigrasi dari desa ke kota.

10. 10. The word “constricted” in line 24 is closest in meaning to

• A. unappealing

• B. reduced

• C. low-paying

• D. disappearing

Answer explanation

“constricted” bermakna dibatasi atau terbatas. Maka sinonim untuk kata ini adalah reduced.