LITERASI BAHASA INGGRIS
Try Out Pahamify
Text for number 1-5
Covid-19 and the ugly truth about Indonesian education
(1) The disparity in Indonesian education has widened since the Covid-19 pandemic began
spreading its power. Countless schools have closed, and five months later doubts linger as to
when things will return to normal. Some schools in areas where infections are very low have
gradually resumed classes, but it does not mean the problem has gone away.
(2) Last week the Federation of Indonesian Teachers Associations said at least 42 teachers have
died due to the coronavirus and hundreds havebeen infected. It added weight to a recent study
that said over 70 percent of schools were not ready to implement social distancing protocols.
(3) A closer look, however, shows it as an additional problem but one which has laid bare
inherent failures and an ugly reality within the education system. When the government
instructed schools to switch to distance learning in March, only a few schools were ready and
most of them were in cities. For urban schools with adequate equipment and a better internet
connection, conducting online lessons was not so much an issue. It was a severe problem for
schools in remote areas that lacked internet connections or electricity and where not many people
have smartphones.
(4) A lack of quality teachers is another problem. Indonesia has over three million primary and
secondary school teachers, more than half of whom are not certified, according to government
figures. This is because in many parts of the country schools lacked teachers. To address this,
many non-permanent people were hired whose main qualification was a passion for
teaching. During the pandemic, these teachers have suffered the most as they are paid based on
classroom attendance, while full-time qualified teachers have had their pay cut.
(5) There is also an unfair distribution of basic school infrastructure in many parts of the country,
with schools in rural areas playing second fiddle to urban ones. This is something that the
government has failed to solve in the 75 years since becoming independent.
(6) For schools beleaguered by the pandemic, this is only a temporary reprieve as the underlying
problems still need addressing. Undeniably, online learning has the potential to create or widen
social and economic disparity. For the haves, it is not a problem, but for the have-nots the burden
is heavier because they will have to obtain the computers, mobile phones and internet packages
to be able to learn.
(7) On Aug. 14, President Joko Widodo said the government was committed to improving the
country’s education and would spend 37 billion USD , or 20 percent of the state budget, on
education next year, up from 34.5 billion USD this year. He said the money will be used to carry
out educational reforms through the transformation of school managers and teachers, and the
acceleration of improving the quality of educational facilities and infrastructure, especially in
disadvantaged, rural and remote areas.
1|Page
by amajicki on twt
LITERASI BAHASA INGGRIS
Try Out Pahamify
(8) One can only hope this money goes to where it is supposed to and does not fall prey to the
corrupt, which has happened so often in the past.
Adapted from [Link]
education/89321
No. 1
.... was mentioned as an example of school c. Supportive
being unprepared for applying the protocol. d. Satirical
e. Contemptuous
a. Unfair distribution of basic tools
b. Government hiring non-permanent No. 4
teachers
c. Government to spend 20% of the The word beleaguered (paragraph 6) most
national budget nearly means…
d. The fact that 42 teachers getting
infected a. Usual
e. The distance learning policy b. Principal
c. Struggling
No. 2 d. Controlling
e. Prevailing
In paragraph 8, the author implies that…
No. 5
a. There have been corruption cases in
Indonesia. If the author were to ask President Joko
b. There was a little corruption problem Widodo, he would probably be most
in the past. interested in the answer to which of the
c. There was rarely a corruption case in following questions?
Indonesia.
d. The corruption in the education a. What kind of help does the
sector has been rampant. government offer?
e. The corruption in the education b. Which school will the government
sector can be overcome. prioritize for assistance?
c. What measures will the government
No. 3 take to supervise the budget
spending?
The author’s attitude towards the current d. What technology will the
educational system in Indonesia is... government apply to address the
problem?
a. Contradictory e. Who will be involved in realizing the
b. Neutral infrastructure needed?
2|Page
by amajicki on twt
LITERASI BAHASA INGGRIS
Try Out Pahamify
Text for number 6-7
Finding Ways to Reboot Tourism
(1) Southeast Asia relies heavily on tourism. In 2019, the travel and tourism industry contributed
12.1 percent of the region’s GDP, and approximately one in ten people are employed within and
around it, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
(2) Nationwide-lockdowns and international border closures imposed to contain the pandemic
have been detrimental for the industry across the region. There are, however, some small green
shoots of recovery with a focus on domestic tourism and local spending.
Co-ordinated policy response beyond borders
(3) The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) strongly believes that further coordination amongst
ASEAN governments, as well as partnerships with industry, will determine and map the pace of
tourism recovery. Working hand in hand with industry will help accelerate the return and also
drive new innovations that can be hallmarks across the industry moving forward, and
establishing ASEAN as a role model to other parts of the world in terms of bilateral cooperation
and industry-government engagement to plot the path forward.
Building confidence throughout the journey
(4) The current situation is a public health crisis, but also a crisis of confidence at its very core. A
key component of returning confidence to the travel and tourism economy is the requirement for
coherent policies that enable the digital economy and foster innovation, underpinned by a
commitment to security and safety.
Protecting the travel and tourism workforce
(5) People working in the travel and tourism industry have been hard hit. One of the biggest
challenges for travel and tourism employees is what lays ahead and the likely requirement for
new skills to be able to succeed in the industry. Reskilling and training to be better able to
interact with the digital economy, expanded health and safety qualifications, and adapting to
different customer service requirements will be part of the mix of skills required in the future.
The unifying power of travel
(6) In an increasingly polarized world, travel brings people together. It breaks down barriers and
builds cultural understanding and connectedness. More importantly, travel and tourism are
inextricably linked to economic well-being. It is therefore important to work towards a rapid and
efficient recovery of the sector.
Adapted from [Link]
3|Page
by amajicki on twt
LITERASI BAHASA INGGRIS
Try Out Pahamify
No. 6
Which of the following statements is NOT No. 7
DISCUSSED to revive the industry after the
pandemic? The author of the passage mainly intended
to…
a. Multilateral cooperation in the region
is paramount. a. offer the kinds of cooperation
b. Ensuring tourists’ safety and security needed.
is important, b. offer solutions to the problems.
c. Improving the quality of the c. offer the primary problems in the
workforce is necessary. region.
d. Making use of technology is d. discuss the problem in depth.
undoubted beneficial. e. discuss the potential problems ahead.
e. Getting hold of the corruption is the
key
Text for number 8-10
Read the following passage carefully and choose the best answer.
(1) A number of theories have been suggested to find the reasons why vinyl records are generally
black, but each falls short of a satisfying explanation. One theory is that the carbon black
material that provides a record’s pigmentation also increases its structural integrity. In the late
19th and early 20th century, manufacturers used shellac, a brittle resin-like substance produced
by insects, to press their records. In order to ensure that the shellac held up, manufacturers would
add ground up stone and carbon black powder to the mix in order to strengthen the otherwise
brittle material. Of course, this is unnecessary in modern record pressing. Vinyl is tough enough
on its own. And even if such supplements were necessary, there simply isn’t enough carbon
black added to today’s records to make a difference on its own.
(2) Still others think carbon black could reduce friction inside the groove and improve audio
quality. Carbon is used as a dry lubricant in a variety of fields, but there is simply no
documentation of such usage in records. This theory may have come from the fact that shellac
records contained a small amount of other lubricants to ensure they were released from the mold
easily. One of the reasons that PVC is a perfect material for pressing records is its smoothness,
which minimizes friction between the record grooves and the needle and eliminates the need for
additional lubrication (although groove lubricant does exist).
(3) PVC is a natural insulator, meaning that it will build up a static charge over time as it’s
handled and interacts with other objects. Due to the fact that static electricity attracts dust, that
insulative property could be potentially disastrous for records. Any dust that accumulates in a
record’s grooves will grind in between the needle and the groove wall when played, wearing
down both the groove and the needle, and potentially even becoming permanently lodged in the
wall.
4|Page
by amajicki on twt
LITERASI BAHASA INGGRIS
Try Out Pahamify
(4) Carbon has conductive properties, so adding it to the PVC increases the overall conductivity
of the material, lessening the accumulation of static, and therefore, dust, on a record. By coloring
records black with carbon-based pigment, manufacturers ensure their records last longer and
sound better.
(adapted from: [Link]
No. 8 d. Adding carbon to the PVC increases
the overall conductivity of the
The passage can be described as … material.
e. Vinyls are black because the deep
a. Analytical black color hides flaws in their
b. Critical surface.
c. Persuasive
d. Entertaining No. 10
e. Informative
What can be inferred from the passage?
No. 9
a. Carbon black has never been used in
Which of the following theories is NOT making vinyl records black.
STATED within the passage? b. Many theories regarding why vinyl
records are all black were proven
a. The color black in carbon black wrong.
could reduce friction inside the c. Vinyl records can be made into every
groove. color except black.
b. Carbon black material increases a d. Black color in vinyl records is
record’s structural integrity. favorable because it makes them
c. Carbon black generally can improve look cool.
audio quality. e. People are no longer using carbon to
make black vinyl records.
Text for number 11-13
A Tribute to NH Dini
(1) Indonesian literary legend Nurhayati Sri Hardini Siti Nukatin, renowned as NH Dini, would
have turned 84 on Saturday – an event commemorated with a Google Doodle.
(2) According to Google’s Doodle page, NH Dini “grew up listening to her mother read stories
from local magazines" and later became a famous author whose works mostly focused on gender
issues as she was known to resist "the traditional role of women established by Javanese
patriarchy".
5|Page
by amajicki on twt
LITERASI BAHASA INGGRIS
Try Out Pahamify
(3) Born in Semarang on this day in 1936, she met her husband Yves Coffin, a French consul to
Japan, in the 1950s while working as an Indonesian carrier's flight attendant. During their
marriage, the couple enjoyed living in several countries, including Japan, Cambodia, the
Philippines, France and the United States, which later inspired her to write dozens of novels,
poems and short stories.
(4) In 1984, the two separated and Dini later returned to Indonesia, got her Indonesian
citizenship back and stayed in Kampung Sekayu, Semarang, where she also established Pondok
Baca NH Dini (NH Dini’s Reading Hut).
(5) NH Dini passed away on Dec. 4, 2018, following a car crash at the age of 82. The literary
icon was survived by her two children, Marie-Claire Lintang and Pierre Louis Padang.
Adapted from [Link]
[Link]"
No. 11 No. 12
What is the main purpose of the passage? From the second paragraph, it can be
inferred that ….
a. The text explains the secret success
of NH Dini’s career. a. her mother bought a lot of
b. The text reveals what was unknown magazines.
about NH Dini. b. her mother gave strong influence on
c. The text tells the story of NH Dini’s her later life.
past life. c. her mother was from a middle-class
d. The text celebrates the life of NH family.
Dini. d. her mother was a writer for a local
e. The text justifies the reason NH Dini magazine.
got her title. e. her mother resisted the patriarchal
culture.
No. 13
The word “was survived by”, in paragraph
5, nearly means…
a. live
b. endure
c. continue
d. leave behind
e. have
6|Page
by amajicki on twt
LITERASI BAHASA INGGRIS
Try Out Pahamify
Text for number 14
The Sharing Economy
(1) If we look around us at the things we have purchased at some point in our lives, we would no
doubt notice that not everything we own is being put to good use: the thick woollen coat which
we thought looked trendy despite the fact that we live in a tropical country, the smartphone that
got put away when we bought ourselves the newest model, the car that only gets used at the
weekends, or even the guest room in our house that somehow got turned into a storeroom
(2) Those underutilised items may seem useless to some but could be an asset to others. To give
an example, busy parents previously might not have bothered with setting up a stall at the local
market or car boot sale to sell their children's old equipment, but with online marketplaces,
parents are now able to sell on those hardly worn baby clothes that their children have outgrown
and the expensive pushchairs and baby equipment they have invested in, so as to put some cash
back into their pockets.
(3) Businesses have also caught on to the profitability of the sharing economy and are seeking to
gain from making use of those underutilised resources. A business model that has rapidly risen in
popularity sees companies providing an online platform that puts customers in contact with those
who can provide a particular product or service.
(adapted from [Link])
No. 14
The sharing economy does not involve…
a. people selling their used things to others.
b. people offering their services to others.
c. companies selling their goods to people.
d. companies acting as a middleman for people who want to sell a product and people who
want to buy it.
e. companies creating platform for people to sell unused items.
Text for number 15-16
Asteroids
(1) In 2010, the planetary defence team at NASA had identified and logged 90 per cent of the
asteroids near Earth measuring 1km wide. With an estimated 50 left to log, NASA says none of
the 887 it knows about are a significant danger to the planet.
7|Page
by amajicki on twt
LITERASI BAHASA INGGRIS
Try Out Pahamify
(2) Now NASA is working towards logging some of the smaller asteroids, those measuring 140
metres wide or more. Considering that a 19-metre asteroid that exploded above the city of
Chelyabinsk in Russia in 2013 injured 1,200 people, these middle-sized asteroids would be a
danger if they enter Earth's orbit.
(3) Whether NASA can find the remaining middle-sized NEOs depends on getting the money to
build NEOCam, a 0.5-metre space telescope which would use infrared light to locate asteroids.
Once logged, the planetary defence team would still need to work out how to defend the planet
against being hit by the truly worrying asteroids – the PHAs.
(4) 'Potentially Hazardous Asteroids' (PHA) are rocks close enough to pass within 7.5 million
kilometres of Earth's orbit. With technology already available, NASA can track these objects and
make predictions about possible impact, at which point two defence solutions could be launched.
(5) The first is DART – the Double Asteroid Redirection Test. It may sound like a plot from a
film, and it was the subject of the 1998 film Armageddon, but the Hypervelocity Asteroid
Mitigation Mission for Emergency Response (HAMMER) is a genuine NASA proposal.
(adapted from [Link] - SAT Reading Passage)
No. 15 No. 16
Which choice best summarizes the first Which of the following information is NOT
paragraph? SUITABLE according to the passage?
a. Information about a plan that needs a. We have the technology to record
finance before it can happen asteroids orbiting the Earth.
b. Information about middle-size b. Didymoon's orbit is not stable.
asteroids that can be dangerous to c. PHAs are the biggest concern, but
Earth they are still not an immediate threat.
c. Information about the numbers of d. We need to worry about small
unidentified asteroids around Earth asteroids even one under 20 meters
d. Information about the NASA's wide
technology to record asteroids e. A special telescope will help us in a
around Earth defense against asteroid
e. Information about a set of solution to
avoid the problem of an asteroid
crashing into Earth
8|Page
by amajicki on twt
LITERASI BAHASA INGGRIS
Try Out Pahamify
Text for number 17-18
Read the text below and choose the correct answer to the following question
(1) Not liking the sound of your own voice is so common that there’s a term for it: voice
confrontation. A common explanation as to why it is so frequent often found in popular media is
that because we normally hear our own voice while talking, we receive both sound transferred to
our ears externally by air conduction and sound transferred internally through our bones. This
bone conduction of sound delivers rich low frequencies that are not included in air-conducted
vocal sound. So when you hear your recorded voice without these frequencies, it sounds higher –
and different. Basically, the reasoning is that because our recorded voice does not sound how we
expect it to, we don’t like it.
(2) A 2013 study asked participants to rate the attractiveness of different recorded voice samples.
When their own voice was secretly mixed in with these samples, participants gave significantly
higher ratings to their voice when they did not recognise it as their own. Through their
experiments, the late psychologists Phil Holzemann and Clyde Rousey concluded in 1966 that
voice confrontation arises not only from a difference in expected frequency, but also a striking
revelation that occurs upon the realisation of all that your voice conveys. Not only does it sound
different than you expect; through what are called “extra-linguistic cues”, it reveals aspects of
your personality that you can only fully perceive upon hearing it from a recording. These include
aspects such as your anxiety level, indecision, sadness, anger, and so on.
(3) The complexity of vocal coordination is enormous and we simply don’t have complete,
conscious, “online” control. Indeed, the vocal larynx contains the highest ratio of nerve to
muscle fibres in the human body. Moreover, when hearing a recording, we have none of the
control of our speaking that we usually do; it’s as though our voices are running wild.
(4) So, even though we may be surprised by the “Mickey Mouse” quality of what we actually
sound like, it is the extralinguistic content of what our voices may reveal that could be more
disconcerting. Yet it is unlikely that others are similarly surprised by a high-pitched aspect of
your voice, and moreover others probably aren’t making the same evaluations about your voice
that you might. We tend not to be critical of other people’s voices, so the chances are you’re the
only person thinking about your own.
(adapted from: [Link]
No. 17
What can be inferred about voice confrontation?
a. Voice confrontation can be considered as people’s personal matters.
b. It appears only when people have anxiety levels, indecision, or anger issues.
c. Not liking one’s voice means not liking one’s personality.
d. Voice confrontation exists in relation to people’s poor vocal coordination.
e. The studies about voice confrontation are yet to be sufficient.
9|Page
by amajicki on twt
LITERASI BAHASA INGGRIS
Try Out Pahamify
No. 18
The best paraphrase for ‘Yet it is unlikely that others are similarly surprised by a high-pitched
aspect of your voice’ is …
a. Other people pay more attention to your voice than you do.
b. You may be the only one concerned about how high your voice sounds.
c. Your high-pitched voice startles both you and people who listen to it.
d. How high your voice sounds may be affected by other people.
e. You as well as other people produce similar high-pitched voices.
Text for number 19-20
Read the text below and choose the correct answer to the following question
(1) On June 29, 1995, the American space shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station
Mir to form the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth. This historic moment of
cooperation between former rival space programs was also the 100th human space mission in
American history. At the time, Daniel Goldin, chief of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), called it the beginning of “a new era of friendship and cooperation”
between the U.S. and Russia. With millions of viewers watching on television, Atlantis blasted
off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida on June 27, 1995.
(2) Just after 6 a.m. on June 29, Atlantis and its seven crew members approached Mir as both
crafts orbited the Earth some 245 miles above Central Asia, near the Russian-Mongolian border.
When they spotted the shuttle, the three cosmonauts on Mir broadcast Russian folk songs to
Atlantis to welcome them. Over the next two hours, the shuttle’s commander, Robert “Hoot”
Gibson expertly maneuvered his craft towards the space station. To make the docking, Gibson
had to steer the 100-ton shuttle to within three inches of Mir at a closing rate of no more than one
foot every 10 seconds.
(3) The docking went perfectly and was completed at 8 a.m., just two seconds off the targeted
arrival time and using 200 pounds less fuel than had been anticipated. Combined, Atlantis and
the 123-ton Mir formed the largest spacecraft ever in orbit. It was only the second time ships
from two countries had linked up in space; the first was in June 1975, when an American Apollo
capsule and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft briefly joined in orbit.
(4) Once the docking was completed, Gibson and Mir’s commander, Vladimir Dezhurov, greeted
each other by clasping hands in a victorious celebration of the historic moment. A formal
exchange of gifts followed, with the Atlantis crew bringing chocolate, fruit and flowers and the
Mir cosmonauts offering traditional Russian welcoming gifts of bread and salt. Atlantis remained
docked with Mir for five days before returning to Earth, leaving two fresh Russian cosmonauts
on the space station. The three veteran Mir crew members returned with the shuttle, including
two Russians and Norman Thagard, a U.S. astronaut who rode a Russian rocket to the space
station in mid-March 1995 and spent over 100 days in space, a U.S. endurance record. NASA’s
10 | P a g e
by amajicki on twt
LITERASI BAHASA INGGRIS
Try Out Pahamify
Shuttle-Mir program continued for 11 missions and was a crucial step towards the construction
of the International Space Station now in orbit.
(source: [Link]
No. 19
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
a. Robert “Hoot” Gibson required two more minutes than the estimated time to maneuver
his craft towards the space station.
b. The docking between Atlantis and Mir was regarded as a new era of friendship and
cooperation between the U.S. and Russia.
c. The US space shuttle docked with Russia’s space station in an attempt to strengthen their
political agreement.
d. A gift trade between the US crew and Russian cosmonauts was deemed necessary by
both countries.
e. After successfully docking with Mir, Atlantis spent six days in space before finally
failing to return to earth.
No. 20
What is the purpose of the passage?
a. To encourage more cooperation between conflicted countries
b. To commemorate the relationship between US and Russia
c. To entertain readers with story about space
d. To recite the important history in space-related development
e. To provide information about space shuttle and space station
11 | P a g e
by amajicki on twt