Soal reading TOEFL dan pembahasan kunci jawaban: American Indian tribes

As many as a thousand years ago in the Southwest, the Hopi and Zuni Indians of North America were building with adobe—sun-baked brick plastered with mud. Their homes looked remarkably like modern apartment houses. Some were four stories high and contained quarters for perhaps a thousand people, along with storerooms for grain and other goods. These buildings were usually put up against cliffs, both to make construction easier and for defense against enemies. They were really villages in themselves, as later Spanish explorers must have realized, since they called them pueblos, which is Spanish for towns.

The people of the pueblos raised what are called the three sisters—corn, beans, and squash. They made excellent pottery and wove marvelous baskets, some so fine that they could hold water. The Southwest has always been a dry country where water is scarce. The Hopi and Zuni brought water from streams to their fields and gardens through irrigation ditches. Water was so important that it played a major role in their religion.

The way of life of less-settled groups was simpler. Small tribes such as the Shoshone and Ute wandered the dry and mountainous lands between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. They gathered seeds and hunted small animals such as rabbits and snakes. In the Far North the ancestors of today’s Inuit hunted seals, walruses, and the great whales. They lived right on the frozen seas in shelters called igloos built of blocks of packed snow. When summer came, they fished for salmon and hunted the lordly caribou.

The Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Sioux tribes, known as the Plains Indians, lived on the grasslands between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. They hunted bison, commonly called the buffalo. Its meat was the chief food of these tribes, and its hide was used to make their clothing and the covering of their tents and tepees.

1 What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The architecture of early American Indian buildings
(B) The movement of American Indians across North America
(C) Ceremonies and rituals of American Indians
(D) The way of life of American Indian tribes in early North America

2. According to the passage, the Hopi and Zuni typically built their homes
(A) in valleys
(B) next to streams
(C) on open plains
(D) against cliffs

3. The word “They” in line 6 refers to
(A) goods
(B) buildings
(C) cliffs
(D) enemies

4. It can be inferred from the passage that the dwellings of the Hopi and Zuni were
(A) very small
(B) highly advanced
(C) difficult to defend
(D) quickly constructed

5. The author uses the phrase “the three sisters” in line 8 to refer to
(A) Hopi women
(B) family members
(C) important crops
(D) rain ceremonies

6. The word “scarce” in line 10 is closest in meaning to
(A) limited
(B) hidden
(C) pure
(D) necessary

7. Which of the following is true of the Shoshone and Ute?
(A) They were not as settled as the  Hopi and Zuni.
(B) They hunted caribou.
(C) They built their homes with adobe.
(D) They did not have many religious ceremonies.

8. According to the passage, which of the following groups lived in the grasslands?
(A) The Shoshone and Ute
(B) The Cheyenne and Sioux
(C) The Hopi and Zuni
(D) The Pawnee and Inuit

9. Which of the following animals was most important to the Plains Indians?
(A) The salmon
(B) The caribou
(C) The seal
(D) The bison

10. Which of the following is NOT mentioned by the author as a dwelling place of early North Americans?
(A) Log cabins
(B) Adobe houses
(C) Tepees
(D) Igloos

11. The author groups North American Indians according to their
(A) names and geographical regions
(B) arts and crafts
(C) rituals and ceremonies
(D) date of appearance on the continent

Pembahasan jawaban soal TOEFL reading `Way of Life of American Indian Tribes`. 

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The architecture of early American Indian buildings
(B) The movement of American Indians across North America
(C) Ceremonies and rituals of American Indians
(D) The way of life of American Indian tribes in early North America

Pembahasan jawaban:

·       Tips mudah menjawab ide pokok ialah dengan melihat keyword2 di kalimat pertama setiap paragraf

·       Kata `architecture` tidak disebutkan sama sekali di kalimat pertama tiap paragraph, maka bisa dipastikan pilihan A pasti salah. Hal ini juga berlaku u/ `ceremonies and rituals`, maka pilihan C juga salah.

·       `Movement` juga tidak secara eksplisit dijelaskan, di Paragraf 1 dibahas terkiat bahan utama (adobe) dari rumah Hopi & Zuni. Paragraf 2 membahas terkait makanan pokok, ke 3 juga di paragraph 1 tidak sama sekali, kecuali Ketika kita membaca kalima ke 2 (tidak disarankan dibaca u/ ide pokok, kecuali konteks tertentu).

·       Jadi, jelas jawabannya adalah D. Untuk mudahnya, lihat saja keyword `Indians` (P1 & 4) dan `North America` (P1), dan `new way of life` (P3.)

2. According to the passage, the Hopi and Zuni typically built their homes
(A) in valleys
(B) next to streams
(C) on open plains
(D) against cliffs

Jawabannya di kalimat ` These buildings were usually put up against cliffs`

 

3. The word “They” in line 6 refers to
(A) goods
(B) buildings
(C) cliffs
(D) enemies

 

4. It can be inferred from the passage that the dwellings of the Hopi and Zuni were
(A) very small
(B) highly advanced
(C) difficult to defend
(D) quickly constructed

Jawaban nomor 4 di Their homes looked remarkably like modern apartment houses. Some were four stories high

 
5. The author uses the phrase “the three sisters” in line 8 to refer to
(A) Hopi women
(B) family members
(C) important crops
(D) rain ceremonies

 

6. The word “scarce” in line 10 is closest in meaning to
(A) limited
(B) hidden
(C) pure
(D) necessary

`Scarce` artinya terbatas/sedikit/kurang. Kata ini wajib diketahui karena termasuk sering digunakan.

 

7. Which of the following is true of the Shoshone and Ute?
(A) They were not as settled as the Hopi and Zuni.
(B) They hunted caribou.
(C) They built their homes with adobe.
(D) They did not have many religious ceremonies.

Jawabannya di kalimat 1 paragraf 3 ` The way of life of less-settled groups was simpler`

 

8. According to the passage, which of the following groups lived in the grasslands?
(A) The Shoshone and Ute
(B) The Cheyenne and Sioux
(C) The Hopi and Zuni
(D) The Pawnee and Inuit

Di kalimat pertama paragraph akhir ` The Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Sioux tribes, known as the Plains Indians, lived on the grasslands`

 

9. Which of the following animals was most important to the Plains Indians?
(A) The salmon
(B) The caribou
(C) The seal
(D) The bison

Di kalimat `They hunted bison`. Hewan lain tidak disebutkan.

 

10. Which of the following is NOT mentioned by the author as a dwelling place of early North Americans?
(A) Log cabins
(B) Adobe houses
(C) Tepees
(D) Igloos

·       Adobe u/ Hopi & Zuni Indians (P1)

·       Igloos u/ Small tribes (e.g., Shoshone & Ute) (P3)

·       Tepees u/ Plains Indians (P4)

 

11. The author groups North American Indians according to their
(A) names and geographical regions
(B) arts and crafts
(C) rituals and ceremonies
(D) date of appearance on the continent

·       P1 & 2 - Hopi & Zuni Indians - against cliffs

·       P3 - Small tribes (e.g., Shoshone & Ute) - the dry and mountainous

·       P4 – Plain Indians –the grasslands

Share :