QUIZ SEMESTER GANJIL
MATA KULIAH : READING COMPREHENSION III
KELAS/SEMESTER : 08SI-1/III
DOSEN : ASIH P.DINI,S.S,M.HUM
17 DESEMBER 2009
The old boy network
It’s not why you know but you know that’s counts. People who get on in life may be successful not because they deserve it, but because of the influential friends or the right background . We say ‘ ah yes’ , he must have gone to the right school , or ‘she must come from a good family.’ We may suspect that some people in positions of authority are there because they belong to the right group of the party . to get something done – a signature on a document , or the quick decision- it helps to know someone ‘on the inside’. At least, this is the widespread belief .
It is a comforting belief too . If your boss strikes you as incompetent, it is tempting to believe that he only got the job because his father pulled some strings . If someone else gets job which you should have had ,well, the ‘old boy network’ must be operating . And yet, if we can get what we want by ‘having a word’ with so-and-so , or by getting so-and so-,to put in good word for us , which of us would not to take advantage of the opportunity ?
Often it is quite harmless. For instance , when Miguel went with Julia to visit Michelle in hospital, he bumped into someone he knew , a doctor who had been at medical school with his father. As a result of this chance meeting . , Miguel was able to find out a great deal about Michelle’s condition. Julia was not only grateful for him for making use of his connection , but delighted that she was able to learn so much by this means which she might never have found out otherwise .
At the other extreme it can be very destructive . I once met a brilliant young engineer who worked in a chemical plant. Because of her knowledge and experience , she should have been promoted to Production Manager. Instead , the job went to a man who as totally unsuited for the post. Everyone knew that he only got in because he was politically acceptable to his superiors . This injustice demoralized the young engineer and many of her colleagues. It also meant that the factory was much less efficient that it could have been .
All the same, we should not be pessimistic. More and more, the modern world depends on having people who are in the job because they are good enough, not just because their face fits. There is a story of a factory owner who sent for an engineer to see to a machine which would not go . He examined it, then took out a hammer and tapped it, once. The machine started up immediately. When he presented his bill, the owner protested ‘ This can’t be right! £100 just for tapping a machine with the hammer?’ The engineer wrote out the new bill: ‘For tapping a machine, £1; for knowing where to tap it, £99.’
Maybe it is what you know that really counts, after all .
Choose the best answer in the following questions!
1. John had had enough of his job, so he gave it up, in spite of the fact that he needed the money. He gave up his job because :
a. he was feeling tired
b. he no longer enjoyed his work
c. he thought that other things were more important than money
d. he found the work too easy
2. Miguel knew the doctor at the hospital because
a. Miguel father’s and the doctor had been students together
b. Miguel’s father was also a doctor
c. Miguel had been at school with his son
d. The doctor was an old friends of the family
3. Miguel took advantages of the fact that he knew the doctor in order to get more information about Michelle’s condition . According to the writer , Miguel’s action is
a. An example of how badly everybody behaves in using such opportunities
b. An example of how some people have an unfair advantage over others
c. An example the way you can use such opportunities without hurting anyone else
d. A good example of how to get something done by knowing someone “on the inside”
4. The engineer at the chemical plant was not promoted because
a. It is very difficult for a woman to get a promotion to a managerial position
b. Her bosses did not think she was good enough for the job
c. The man who got the promotion was more experienced than she was
d. Her bosses did not approve of her behavior or opinions .
5. The engineer who repaired the machine was right to charge £100 because
a. He was the only person who could find out what was wrong with it
b. He was charging of his knowledge and expertise
c. The factory owner could not have repaired it himself
d. He hit the machine to get it started again
The full moon that occurs nearest the equinox of the Sun has become known as the Harvest Moon. It is a bright moon which allows farmers to work late into the night for several nights; they can work when the moon is at its brightest to bring in the fall Harvest. The Harvest Moon of course occurs at different times of the year in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Harvest Moon occurs in September at the time of the autumnal equinox. In the southern Hemisphere, the Harvest Moon occurs in March at that time of the vernal equinox.
6. The pronoun “it” in line refers to 7. The pronoun “they” in line 2 refers to
a. The equinox a. farmers
b. The sun b. nights
c. The harvest moon c. times of the year
d. The night d. Northern and Southern
Mardi Gras, which means “Fat Tuesday” in French, was introduced to America by French colonists in the early eighteenth century. From that time it has grown in popularity, particularly in new Orleans and today it is actually a legal holiday in several southern states. The Mardi Gras celebration in new Orleans begins well before the actual Mardi Gras Day. Parades, parties, balls, anu numerous festivities take place throughout the week before Mardi Gras Day; tourists from various countries throughout the world flock the New Orleans for the celebration, where they take part in a week on nonstop activities before returning home for some much-needed rest.
8. The pronoun “it” in line 2 refers to 9. The pronoun “they” in line 6 refers to
a. Mardi grass a. numerous festivities
b. French b. tourists
c. That time c. various countries
d. New Orleans d. nonstop activities
The financial firm Bow Jones and Company computes business statistic every hour on the hour of each of the business days of the year, and these statistics are known as the Down Jones averages. They are based on a select group of stocks and bonds that are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones averages are composed of four different types of averages price of the common stock of thirty industrial firms, the average prices of the common stock prices of twenty transportation companies, the average price of the common stock prices of fifteen utility companies, and an overall average of all the sixty five stock used to compute the first three averages. Probably the average that is the most commonly used is the industrial average; it is often used by an investor interested in checking the state of the stock market before making an investment in an industrial stock.
10. The pronoun “they” in line 3 refers to 11. The pronoun “it” in line 8 refers to
a. The business days a. the industrial “it” in line 8 refers to
b. These statistics b. an investor
c. Stocks and bonds c. the state of the stock market
d. Four different types d. an investment
The United States does not have a national university, but the idea has been around for quite some time. George Washington first recommended the idea to congress; he even selected an actual site in Washington, D.C., and then left an endowment for the proposed national university in his will. During the century following the revolution, the idea of a national university continued to receive the support of various U.S. presidents, and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie pursued the cause at the beginning of the present century. Although the original idea has not yet been acted upon. It continues to be purposed in bills before Congress.
12. According to the passage, the national university of the United States
a. Has been around for a while
b. Does not exist
c. Is a very recent idea
d. Is an idea that developed during the present century
13. The passage indicates that George Washington did NOT do which of the following?
a. He suggested the concept for a national university to congress
b. He chose a location for the national university
c. He left money in his will for national university
d. He succeeded in establishing a national university.
14. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage about Andrew Carnegie?4
a. He was interested in doing charity work and good deeds for the public
b. He was member of congress
c. He was interested in the idea of a national university.
d. He was active in the early twentieth century.
15. The pronoun “it” in line 6 refers to
a. The cause
b. The beginning of the present century
c. The original idea
d. Congress
The La Brea tarpits, located in Hancock Park in the Los Angeles area, have proven to be an extremely fertile source of ice age fossils. Apparently, during the period of the ice age, the tarpits were covered by shallow pools of water; when animals came there to drink, they got caught in the sticky tar and perished. The tar not only trapped the animals, leading to their death, but also served as a remarkably effective preservant, allowing near-perfect skeletons to remain hidden until the present area.
In 1906, the remains of a huge prehistoric bear discovered in the tarpits alerted archeologists to the potential treasure lying within the tar. Since then thousands and thousands of well-preserved skeletons have been uncovered, including the skeletons of camel, horses, wolves, tigers, sloth, and dinosaurs.
16. Which of the following is NOT true about La Brea tarpits?
a. They contain fossils that are quite old
b. They are found in Hancock Park
c. They have existed since the Ice Age
d. They are located under a swimming pool.
17. The pronoun “they” in line 3 refers to
a. The La Brea tarpits
b. Ice Age fossils
c. Shallow pools of water
d. Animals
18. According to the passage, how did the Ice Age animals die?
a. The water poisoned them
b. They got stuck in the tar
c. They were attacked by other animals
d. They were killed by hunters
19. When did archeologists become aware of the possible value of the contents of the tarpits?
a. During the Ice Age
b. Thousands and thousands of the year
c. Early in the twentieth century
d. Within the past decade
20. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an example of a skeleton found in the tarpits?
a. A bear
b. A sloth
c. A horse
d. A snake
When the president of the United States wants to get away from the hectic pace in Washington D.C., Camp David is the place to go. Camp David, in a wooded mountain area about 70 miles from Washington, D.C,. is the official retreat of the president of the United States. It consists of living space for the president, the first family, and the presidential staff as well as sporting and recreational facilities.
Camp David was established by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1942. He found the site particularly appealing in that its mountain air provided relief from the summer heat of Washington and its remote location offered a more relaxing environment than could be achievement in the capital city.
When Roosevelt first established the retreat, he called in Shangri-La, which evoked the blissful mountain kingdom in James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon. Later, President Dwight David Eisenhower renamed the location Camp David after his grandson David Eisenhower.
Camp David has been used for a number a significant meetings. In 1943 during World War II, President Roosevelt met there with Great Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In 1959 at the height of the cold War, President Eisenhower met there with soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev; IN 1978 President Jimmy Carter sponsored peace talks between Israel’s Prime Minister Menacheme Begin and Egypt’s President Anwar el-Sadat at the retreat at Camp David.
21. Which of the following is NOT discussed about Camp David?
a. Its location
b. Its cost
c. Its facilities
d. Its uses
22. According to the passage, who founded Camp David?
a. George Washington
b. The first family
c. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
d. D. David Eisenhower
23. The pronoun “he” in line 10 refers to
a. Camp David
b. Roosevelt
c. James Hilton
d. President Dwight David Eisenhower
24. Which of the following is NOT true about President Eisenhower
a. He had a grandson named David
b. He attended a conference with Nikita Khrushchev
c. He named the presidential retreat Shangri-La
d. He visited Camp David
25. Khrushchev was at Camp David in