UTBK/SNBT Bahasa Inggris: Pertanyaan, Jawaban, Latihan Soal & Pembahasan

Parents send their children to school with the best of intentions, believing that formal education is what kids need to become productive, happy adults. Many parents do have qualms about how well schools are performing, but the conventional wisdom is that these issues can be resolved with more money, better teachers, more challenging curricula, or more rigorous tests. But what if the real problem is school itself? The unfortunate fact is that one of our most cherished institutions is, by its very nature, falling our children and our society.

Children are required to be in school, where their freedom is greatly restricted, far more than most adults would tolerate in their workspaces. In recent decades, we have been compelling them to spend ever more time in this kind of setting, and there is strong evidence that this is causing psychological damage to many of them. And as scientist have investigated how children naturally learn, they have realized that kids do so most deeply and fully, and with greatest enthusiasm, in conditions that are almost opposite to those of school.

Compulsory education has been a fixture of our culture now for several generations. President Obama and Secretary of Education Ame Duncan are so enamored of it that they want even longer school days and years. Most people assume that the basic design of today's school emerged from scientific evidence about how children learn. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Schools as we know them today are a product of history, not of research. The blueprint for them was developed during the Prolestant Reformation, when schools were created to teach children to read the Bible, to believe Scripture without questioning it, and to obey authority figures without questioning them. When schools were taken over by the state, made compulsory, and directed toward secular ends, the basic structure and methods of teaching remained unchanged. Subsequent attempts at reform have falled because they have not altered basic blueprint. The top down, teach-and-test method, in which learning is motivated by a system of rewards and punishments rather than by curiousity or by any real desire to know, is well designed for indoctrination and obedience training but not much else. It is no wonder that many of the world's greatest enterpreneurs and innovators either left school early (like Thomas Edison) or said they haled school and learned despite it, not because of it (like Albert Einstein).

(Adapted from http://www.rd.com/advice/parenting/American-school-system-damaging-kids/#Fxzz2q3Slk4Hn. Accessed February 12, 2014)

Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word "qualms" (line 2)

Parents send their children to school with the best of intentions, believing that formal education is what kids need to become productive, happy adults. Many parents do have qualms about how well schools are performing, but the conventional wisdom is that these issues can be resolved with more money, better teachers, more challenging curricula, or more rigorous tests. But what if the real problem is school itself? The unfortunate fact is that one of our most cherished institutions is, by its very nature, falling our children and our society.

Children are required to be in school, where their freedom is greatly restricted, far more than most adults would tolerate in their workspaces. In recent decades, we have been compelling them to spend ever more time in this kind of setting, and there is strong evidence that this is causing psychological damage to many of them. And as scientist have investigated how children naturally learn, they have realized that kids do so most deeply and fully, and with greatest enthusiasm, in conditions that are almost opposite to those of school.

Compulsory education has been a fixture of our culture now for several generations. President Obama and Secretary of Education Ame Duncan are so enamored of it that they want even longer school days and years. Most people assume that the basic design of today's school emerged from scientific evidence about how children learn. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Schools as we know them today are a product of history, not of research. The blueprint for them was developed during the Protestant Reformation, when schools were created to teach children to read the Bible, to believe Scripture without questioning it, and to obey authority figures without questioning them. When schools were taken over by the state, made compulsory, and directed toward secular ends, the basic structure and methods of teaching remained unchanged. Subsequent attempts at reform have failed because they have not altered basic blueprint. The top down, teach-and-test method, in which learning is motivated by a system of rewards and punishments rather than by curiousity or by any real desire to know, is well designed for indoctrination and obedience training but not much else. It is no wonder that many of the world's greatest enterpreneurs and innovators either left school early (like Thomas Edison) or said they hated school and learned despite it, not because of it (like Albert Einstein).

(Adapted from http://www.rd.com/advice/parenting/American-school-system-damaging-kids/#Fxzz2q3Slk4Hn. Accessed February 12, 2014)

What is the purpose of the text?

Non-verbal communication is defined as communication between people by means other than speech. Non-verbal communication (NVC) derives from the following major sources: (1) eye contact (amount of looking at another person's body and face); (2) mouth (especially smiling or grimacing in relation to eye contact); (3) posture (for example, sitting forwards or backwards); (4) gesture (as with the use of arm movements when talking); (5) orientation (of the body to the addressee); (6) body distance (as when we stand too close or too far away from others); (7) smell (including perfumes); (8) skin (including pigmentation, blushing and texture); (9) hair (including length, texture and style); (10) clothes (with particular reference to fashion).

Non-verbal communication is not quite the same as "body language" because any claim about a language must refer to an agreed and identifiable grammar and syntax. NVC is not always so precise or advanced; the vocabulary of non-verbal signs is more limited than speech. Even so, it is a mistake to consider NVC as isolated from speech. Instead, some complex interaction is envisage between word and body signal, and one that is not always complementary, imagine yourself interviewing job applicants. You might not offer employment to a candidate who refuses to look at you, always frowns, hunches both shoulders, sweats a lot, and has a Mohican hair cut-despite the fact that he or she gives thoughtful and intereseting replies to your questions.

Take eye contact as an example for discussion. Mutual eye contact (where both people look into each other's eyes) can be a sign of liking, but prolonged gaze leads to discomfort. The directed eye contact violates a code of looking, where eye contact is frequently broken but returne to, and leads to depersonalization of the victim because an aggressor deliberately breaks the rules which the victim adheres to. Eye contact is often enhanced by size of pupils, eyebrow inflection and movement, and smiling.

(Adapted from O'sullivan, Tim, et.al., 1994. Key concept in Communication and cultural studies. 2nd. Ed. New York: Routledge)

The word "code" (line 16) is closest in meaning to ...

Population growth occurs because there are currently three births for every death. In the past, the crude birth rates were only slightly higher than crude death rates, but with improvements in medicine and economic growth, the death rate fell more than birth rates. Much of the world's population growth is occuring in less-developed countries, which are unable to support such growth. The causal effect between poverty and population growth can be looked at in two ways. First, population growth causes poverty as the limited resources are depleted and there are too many people for the available goods, resulting in poverty. The other view is that poverty causes high population growth because lack of education, lack of health care, and lack of a reasonable standard of living cause high population growth. Also, parents believe that having many children will ensure that several of them will survive to take care of them in their old age. Cultures in which children are a form of security encourage high population growth, as children reach reproductive age and have large families.

Much of the growth is happening disproportionately in urban areas. Cities are enviromentally harmful because they import many resources for the people that live there, and they export their wastes. They also have an impact on the local and regional meteorology and are centers for social problems such as crime, homelessness, and unemployment to name a few. Cities do offer many amenities such as cultural opportunities, jobs, and education. There are some good enviromental aspects to cities, such as the promotion of efficiency in transportation, housing, utilities: the provision of necessary goods and services; and the accomodation of large numbers of people within a relatively small space. The biggest problem with cities is that people want the benefits of a city while still living in the country. This leads to urban sprawl and suburbia.

(Adapted from http://www.preservearticles.com/201103304817. Accessed February 22, 2014)

The writer organizes the ideas in the text by ...

Population growth occurs because there are currently three births for every death. In the past, the crude birth rates were only slightly higher than crude death rates, but with improvements in medicine and economic growth, the death rate fell more than birth rates. Much of the world's population growth is occuring in less-developed countries, which are unable to support such growth. The causal effect between poverty and population growth can be looked at in two ways. First, population growth causes poverty as the limited resources are depleted and there are too many people for the available goods, resulting in poverty. The other view is that poverty causes high population growth because lack of education, lack of health care, and lack of a reasonable standard of living cause high population growth. Also, parents believe that having many children will ensure that several of them will survive to take care of them in their old age. Cultures in which children are a form of security encourage high population growth, as children reach reproductive age and have large families.

Much of the growth is happening disproportionately in urban areas. Cities are enviromentally harmful because they import many resources for the people that live there, and they export their wastes. They also have an impact on the local and regional meteorology and are centers for social problems such as crime, homelessness, and unemployment to name a few. Cities do offer many amenities such as cultural opportunities, jobs, and education. There are some good enviromental aspects to cities, such as the promotion of efficiency in transportation, housing, utilities: the provision of necessary goods and services; and the accomodation of large numbers of people within a relatively small space. The biggest problem with cities is that people want the benefits of a city while still living in the country. This leads to urban sprawl and suburbia.

(Adapted from http://www.preservearticles.com/201103304817. Accessed February 22, 2014)

It can be inferred from the text that ...

Population growth occurs because there are currently three births for every death. In the past, the crude birth rates were only slightly higher than crude death rates, but with improvements in medicine and economic growth, the death rate fell more than birth rates. Much of the world's population growth is occuring in less-developed countries, which are unable to support such growth. The causal effect between poverty and population growth can be looked at in two ways. First, population growth causes poverty as the limited resources are depleted and there are too many people for the available goods, resulting in poverty. The other view is that poverty causes high population growth because lack of education, lack of health care, and lack of a reasonable standard of living cause high population growth. Also, parents believe that having many children will ensure that several of them will survive to take care of them in their old age. Cultures in which children are a form of security encourage high population growth, as children reach reproductive age and have large families.

Much of the growth is happening disproportionately in urban areas. Cities are enviromentally harmful because they import many resources for the people that live there, and they export their wastes. They also have an impact on the local and regional meteorology and are centers for social problems such as crime, homelessness, and unemployment to name a few. Cities do offer many amenities such as cultural opportunities, jobs, and education. There are some good enviromental aspects to cities, such as the promotion of efficiency in transportation, housing, utilities: the provision of necessary goods and services; and the accomodation of large numbers of people within a relatively small space. The biggest problem with cities is that people want the benefits of a city while still living in the country. This leads to urban sprawl and suburbia.

(Adapted from http://www.preservearticles.com/201103304817. Accessed February 22, 2014)

The pronoun "they" (line 12) refers to ...

Population growth occurs because there are currently three births for every death. In the past, the crude birth rates were only slightly higher than crude death rates, but with improvements in medicine and economic growth, the death rate fell more than birth rates. Much of the world's population growth is occuring in less-developed countries, which are unable to support such growth. The causal effect between poverty and population growth can be looked at in two ways. First, population growth causes poverty as the limited resources are depleted and there are too many people for the available goods, resulting in poverty. The other view is that poverty causes high population growth because lack of education, lack of health care, and lack of a reasonable standard of living cause high population growth. Also, parents believe that having many children will ensure that several of them will survive to take care of them in their old age. Cultures in which children are a form of security encourage high population growth, as children reach reproductive age and have large families.

Much of the growth is happening disproportionately in urban areas. Cities are enviromentally harmful because they import many resources for the people that live there, and they export their wastes. They also have an impact on the local and regional meteorology and are centers for social problems such as crime, homelessness, and unemployment to name a few. Cities do offer many amenities such as cultural opportunities, jobs, and education. There are some good enviromental aspects to cities, such as the promotion of efficiency in transportation, housing, utilities: the provision of necessary goods and services; and the accomodation of large numbers of people within a relatively small space. The biggest problem with cities is that people want the benefits of a city while still living in the country. This leads to urban sprawl and suburbia.

(Adapted from http://www.preservearticles.com/201103304817. Accessed February 22, 2014)

In which lines does the author assume people's expectation of village life with city convenience?

Population growth occurs because there are currently three births for every death. In the past, the crude birth rates were only slightly higher than crude death rates, but with improvements in medicine and economic growth, the death rate fell more than birth rates. Much of the world's population growth is occuring in less-developed countries, which are unable to support such growth. The causal effect between poverty and population growth can be looked at in two ways. First, population growth causes poverty as the limited resources are depleted and there are too many people for the available goods, resulting in poverty. The other view is that poverty causes high population growth because lack of education, lack of health care, and lack of a reasonable standard of living cause high population growth. Also, parents believe that having many children will ensure that several of them will survive to take care of them in their old age. Cultures in which children are a form of security encourage high population growth, as children reach reproductive age and have large families.

Much of the growth is happening disproportionately in urban areas. Cities are enviromentally harmful because they import many resources for the people that live there, and they export their wastes. They also have an impact on the local and regional meteorology and are centers for social problems such as crime, homelessness, and unemployment to name a few. Cities do offer many amenities such as cultural opportunities, jobs, and education. There are some good enviromental aspects to cities, such as the promotion of efficiency in transportation, housing, utilities: the provision of necessary goods and services; and the accomodation of large numbers of people within a relatively small space. The biggest problem with cities is that people want the benefits of a city while still living in the country. This leads to urban sprawl and suburbia.

(Adapted from http://www.preservearticles.com/201103304817. Accessed February 22, 2014)

The purpose of the text is to ...

Population growth occurs because there are currently three births for every death. In the past, the crude birth rates were only slightly higher than crude death rates, but with improvements in medicine and economic growth, the death rate fell more than birth rates. Much of the world's population growth is occuring in less-developed countries, which are unable to support such growth. The causal effect between poverty and population growth can be looked at in two ways. First, population growth causes poverty as the limited resources are depleted and there are too many people for the available goods, resulting in poverty. The other view is that poverty causes high population growth because lack of education, lack of health care, and lack of a reasonable standard of living cause high population growth. Also, parents believe that having many children will ensure that several of them will survive to take care of them in their old age. Cultures in which children are a form of security encourage high population growth, as children reach reproductive age and have large families.

Much of the growth is happening disproportionately in urban areas. Cities are enviromentally harmful because they import many resources for the people that live there, and they export their wastes. They also have an impact on the local and regional meteorology and are centers for social problems such as crime, homelessness, and unemployment to name a few. Cities do offer many amenities such as cultural opportunities, jobs, and education. There are some good enviromental aspects to cities, such as the promotion of efficiency in transportation, housing, utilities: the provision of necessary goods and services; and the accomodation of large numbers of people within a relatively small space. The biggest problem with cities is that people want the benefits of a city while still living in the country. This leads to urban sprawl and suburbia.

(Adapted from http://www.preservearticles.com/201103304817. Accessed February 22, 2014)

Which of the following is true according to the text?

Ecotourism is defined 'purposeful travel that creates an understanding of cultural and natural history, while safeguarding the integrity of the ecosystem and producing economic benefits that encourage conservation'. The definition recognizes that ecotourism is an important educational tool. Real life exposure to a natural situation in the accompaniment of an experienced guide leads a greater increase in knowledge than real life exposure without a guide, or exposure to a knowledgeable guide in artificial setting.

More than 50 years ago, Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget studied the development of human cognitive capability and its dynamic relationship with the physical world. He viewed cognitive development as an interaction between physical maturation of the brain and enviromentally induced changes in learning. He observed that, as children grow, they proceed through a series of increasingly abstract thinking styles. Piaget demonstrated that a primary motivation for learning is resolution of cognitive conflict, which he described as 'disequilibrium'.

Borrowing upon principles of cognitive psychology, my colleagues and I have developed an interpretive model for presenting information about marine mammals and their ocean environment during whale-watch excursions in Hawaii and Ausralia. The model has more recently been extended to include snorkeling excursions to coral reef areas near Maui, Hawaii.

Its application can be examined in the context of a typical 2,5 h commercial whale-watch trip aboard a Pacific Whale Foundation passenger vessel to observe humpback whales in Hawaii. Each whale-watch trip is  a different venture, controlled by such variable factors as the number and type of passengers, weather conditions, what the whales choose to do (or not to do, as the case may be), the type of vessel, and the experience of the captain. Nonetheless, it is posible to view the trip as structured experience, and to guide participants through an educational sequence that has very clear goals and objectives that can be monitored and evaluated over time.

(Adapted from Ocean&Coastal Management 20, 1993, pp 267-282)

Paragraph 4 implies that ...