Toefl Reading Example

Reading Comprehension

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Question:

There are two basic types of glaciers, those that flow outward in all directions with little regard for any underlying terrain and those that are confined by terrain to a particular path.

The first category of glaciers includes those massive blankets that cover whole continents, appropriately called ice sheets. There must be over 50,000 square kilometers of land covered with ice for the glacier to qualify as an ice sheet. When portions of an ice sheet spread out over the ocean, they form ice shelves.

About 20,000 years ago the Cordilleran Ice Sheet covered nearly all the mountains in southern Alaska, western Canada, and the western United States. It was about 3 kilometers deep at its thickest point in northern Alberta. Now there are only two sheets left on Earth, those covering Greenland and Antarctica.

Any domelike body of ice that also flows out in all directions but covers less than 50,000 square kilometers is called an ice cap. Although ice caps are rare nowadays, there are a number in northeastern Canada, on Baffin Island, and on the Queen Elizabeth Islands.

The second category of glaciers includes those of a variety of shapes and sizes generally called mountain or alpine glaciers. Mountain glaciers are typically identified by the landform that controls their flow. One form of mountain glacier that resembles an ice cap in that it flows outward in several directions is called an ice field. The difference between an ice field and an ice cap is subtle. Essentially, the flow of an ice field is somewhat controlled by surrounding terrain and thus does not have the domelike shape of a cap. There are several ice fields in the Wrangell. St. Elias, and Chugach mountains of Alaska and northern British Columbia.

Less spectacular than large ice fields are the most common types of mountain glaciers: the cirque and valley glaciers. Cirque glaciers are found in depressions in the surface of the land and have a characteristic circular shape. The ice of valley glaciers, bound by terrain, flows down valleys, curves around their corners, and falls over cliffs.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A)  Where major glaciers are located

(B)  How glaciers shape the land

(C)  How glaciers are formed

(D)  The different kinds of glaciers

Jawab  : D → The different kinds of glaciers

Pembahasan : Ide pokok teks di atas dapat ditemukan pada paragraf pertama kalimat pertama yang menjelaskan dua jenis gletser yang berbeda dan selanjutnya masing-masing dijelaskan lebih lanjut pada paragraf berikutnya.

2. It can be inferred that ice sheets are so named for which of the following reasons?

(A)  They are confined to mountain valleys.

(B)  They cover large areas of land.

(C)  They are thicker in some areas than in others.

(D)  They have a characteristic circular shape.

Jawab  : B → They cover large areas of land.

Pembahasan : Frasa whole continents pada kalimat those massive blankets that cover whole continents appropriately called ice sheet menunjukkan bahwa daratan yang tertutup gletser mencakup wilayah yang sangat luas, hampir keseluruhan daratan.

3. According to the passage, ice shelves can be found

(A)  covering an entire continent

(B)  buried within the mountains

(C)  spreading into the ocean

(D)  filling deep valleys

Jawab :  C → spreading into the ocean

Pembahasan :  Jawaban dapat ditemukan pada kalimat terakhir paragraf kedua bahwa jika ice sheet tersebar (spread out) di lautan akan terbentuk ice shelves.

4. According to the passage, where was the Cordilleran Ice Sheet thickest?

(A)  Alaska

(B)  Greenland

(C)  Alberta

(D)  Antarctica

Jawab : C → Alberta

Pembahasan : Jawaban dapat ditemukan pada baris ke-8: it was about 3 kilometers deep at its thickest point in northern Alberta.

5. The word “rare” in line 12 is closest in meaning to

(A)  small

(B)  unusual

(C)  valuable

(D)  widespread

Jawab  :  B → unusual

Pembahasan :  Rare berarti jarang atau tidak biasa ditemukan sehingga jawaban yang paling mendekati arti dari rare adalah unusual.

6. According to the passage (paragraph 5), ice fields resemble ice caps in which of the following ways?

(A)  Their shape

(B)  Their flow

(C)  Their texture

(D)  Their location

Jawab : B → Their flow

Pembahasan : Kalimat Mountain glaciers are typically identified by the landform that controls their flow dan dijelaskan lebih lanjut pada kalimat One form of mountain glacier that resembles an ice cap in that it flows outward in several directions is called an ice field menunjukkan bahwa pembentukan ice caps dipengaruhi oleh alirannya (their flow).

7. The word “it” in line 16 refers to

(A)  glacier

(B)  cap

(C)  difference

(D)  terrain

Jawab  :  A → glacier

Pembahasan :  It pada kalimat di atas merujuk pada mountain glacier atau gletser.

8. The word “subtle” in line 17 is closest in meaning to

(A)  slight

(B)  common

(C)  important

(D)  measurable

Jawab  :  A → slight

Pembahasan :  Padanan kata subtle adalah slight yang keduanya memiliki arti “tipis, halus, atau sedikit”.

9. All of the following are alpine glaciers EXCEPT

(A)  cirque glaciers

(B)  ice caps

(C)  valley glaciers

(D)  ice fields

Jawab :  B → ice caps

Pembahasan :  Jenis alpine/mountain glacier adalah ice fields, cirque glaciers dan valley glaciers yang semuanya dipengaruhi oleh aliran dan tidak memiliki domelike cap seperti ice caps.

10. Which of the following types of glaciers does the author use to illustrate the two basic types of glaciers mentioned in line 1?

(A)  Ice fields and cirques

(B)  Cirques and alpine glaciers

(C)  Ice sheets and ice shelves

(D)  Ice sheets and mountain glaciers

Jawab : D → Ice sheets and mountain glaciers

Pembahasan : Ada dua jenis gletser yaitu ice sheet yang mengalir keluar ke segala arah dan mountain glacier yang arah alirannya terbatas hanya di aliran tertentu.

Reference :

http://www.geniustoefl.com/artikel-ilmu-kunci-toefl/artikel/reading-comprehension/contoh-soal-pembahasan-reading-comprehension-tes-toefl