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Fakultas Ilmu Administrasi

Universitas Indonesia

English for General Academic Purposes

Mid-term Test

Name: Student Number:

_______________________________________________________________
I. READING AND VOCABULARY (50 points)
A. Read the following paragraphs carefully and answer the questions (26 points)

Paragraph 11

Pompeii was a Roman city. On 24 August, 79 AD, a volcano called Mount Vesuvius erupted and
destroyed the city and its people, killing 2,000 of them. Before the eruption, Pompeii was a
beautiful and wealthy city. At the time of the eruption, the town may have had about 11,000
people living there. It was in an area where Romans had holiday villas. Modern history professor
William Abbott said, "At the time of the eruption, Pompeii had reached its high point in society
as many Romans frequently visited Pompeii on vacations." Pompeii is now considered one of the
world's most important historical sites because of the way the volcanic ash preserved the city and
its people. This gives historians and archaeologists a vivid picture of life in the Roman Empire
around 2,000 years ago. Archaeologists have found graffiti written by the people who lived in
the town. People often wrote on walls, and archaeologists have been able to read some of what
they wrote. Pompeii is an interesting attraction for tourists from around the world and is visited
by 2.5 million people every year.

1. What is the topic of the paragraph? (1 point)

_______________________________________________________________________
2. Write a word synonymous to the word ‘vivid’ used in line 8 . (1 point)
________________________________________________________________________
3. Write the sentence from the passage which infers that residents of Pompeii had a high life
style. (1 point)
________________________________________________________________________
4. Mention two things stated or implied in the passage describes what has helped historians
and archaeologist reveal the history of Pompeii. (2 points)
:

1
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii, with adaptation, accessed 28th February 2019
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________________________________________________________________________
5. What word in the passage means writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly
on surfaces in a public place? (1 point)
_____________________________________________________

Paragraph 22

Whenever you say ‘yes’ to a request, you are doing it as a cost. That cost is usually your time.
Sometimes you have to say ‘no’, yet this is not an easy task either, since the customs to say ‘no’
vary from culture to culture. Take on example the custom of Japanese people, who hate saying
‘no’, since in their custom, saying ‘no’ emphatically causes embarrassment and loss of face to
the other person. We Indonesians are no different to the Japanese in this respect that we do not
like to cause embarrassment by giving a negative answer. In fact, Bahasa Indonesia has 12 ways
of saying ‘no’ and other ways of saying ‘yes’, when the the real meaning is actually ‘no’.
1. What is the passage mainly about? (1 point)
_______________________________________________________________________
2. What does the passage warn us about saying ‘yes’? (1 point)
________________________________________________________________________
3. What values do the Japanese and Indonesians share about saying ‘no’? (2 points)

Paragraph 33

The history of how President Suharto’s administration managed to span for a little over thirty
consecutive years has always been an interesting study in historical-political science. Coming to
power in 1966 on the heels of an alleged coup by the Indonesian Communist Party, the Suharto
government adopted policies that severely restricted civil liberties and instituted a system of rule
that effectively split power between his own Golkar Party and the military. In 1970, corruption
prompted student protests and an investigation by a government commission. Suharto responded
by banning student protest, forcing the activists underground. Only token prosecution of cases
recommended by the commission was pursued. The pattern of co-opting a few of his more
powerful opponents while criminalizing the rest became a hallmark of Suharto's rule. In order to
maintain a veneer of democracy, Suharto made a number of electoral reforms. He stood for
election before Electoral College votes every five years, beginning in 1973. According to his
electoral rules, however, only three entities were allowed to participate in the election: two
political parties and one Golongan Karya. All the previously existing political parties were
forced to be part of either the Islamist United Development Party (PPP) or the Nationalist
Democratic Party of Indonesia (PDI). Golkar, being Suharto's main political vehicle, was

2
Pearson Market Leader Third edition, Pre-intermediate Level, pp.156, audio scripts tracks 34 and 35, adapted.

3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Suharto#Dissent_under_the_New_Order, with adaptations, accessed 28th
February 2019
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officially not a political party. This was done because public servants were not allowed to join
any political parties, thus legitimizing their forced membership of Golkar. In a political
compromise with the powerful military, he banned its members from voting in elections, but set
aside 100 seats in the Electoral College for their representatives. As a result, he won every
election in which he stood, in 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, and 1998.

1. What is the main idea of the paragraph? (2 points)

________________________________________________________________________
2. According to the passage, what were the policies that made it possible for the Suharto
administration to last for over three decades? (3 points)
________________________________________________________________________
3. What is word ‘hallmark’ in line 9 mean? (1 point)
________________________________________________________________________

4. The word ‘their’ in line 17 refer to? (1 point)

________________________________________________________________________

5. What does ‘to set aside’ in line 18-19 mean? (1 point)

________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 44

Recent imprisonment of musician Ahmad Dhani on political grounds, or without trial, has
actually had more than 60 years of history in the Indonesian political stage. From June 29th to
September 29th, 1965, four musicians from an Indonesian band called Koes Bersaudara had to
do time, also without trial. These musicians were arrested not long after performing one song
written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney from The Beatles, entitled “I Saw Her Standing
There”, in a private party. A daily newspaper Harian Berita Yudha dated July 1st 1965, wrote
that “the Government has announced an official indictment that the Koes Bersaudara’s
performance of a Beatles song is an act of cultural subversion.” As of October 1959 then, Radio
Republik Indonesia was obliged not to air any sort of music which might be interpreted as such
by the Government. It was, however, difficult not to construe that the orders to arrest Koes
Bersaudara must have came from Soekarno himself, then was the President at that time. One
excerpt from the President’s speech on 17th August 1959 reads “Jangan seperti kawan-
kawanmu, Koes Bersaudara. Masih banyak lagu-lagu Indonesia, kenapa mesti Elvis-elvisan?”
katanya (Free translation: “Do not do as what your friends Koes Bersaudara are doing. There are
still lots of Indonesian songs out there, why must you all [be] some sort of an Elvis?” said
4
Adapted from (accessed during various dates in December 2018):
- CNN Indonesia – Hiburan, 2018
- tirto.id, 2018
- merah.putih.com 2017
- m.compusicuannews.com 2017
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Soekarno). President Soekarno was very serious about eradicating any activity construed as
subversive. In 1963, the presidential decree on eradication of subversive activities (Penetapan
Presiden No.11 /1963) was issued. The president was in the opinion that this sort of what he
called “western imperialist music” is capable of weakening the morale of the young generation
of Indonesia, in such a way that they would prefer to party rather than to work or to study.

1. What is the passage mainly about? (2 points)

2. What problem does President Soekarno foresee on Koes Bersaudara’s performance? (1

point)

________________________________________________________________________
3. Within political contexts this passage suggests, what could be inferred from the
imprisonments of Indonesian musicians without trial cases? (2 points)
________________________________________________________________________
4. What does the phrase in line 3 ‘to do time’ mean? (1 points)
________________________________________________________________________
5. The phrase in line 9 ‘as such’ refers to? (2 point)
________________________________________________________________________

B. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow5. (9 points)

Peranakan Chinese or Straits-born Chinese, are the descendants of Chinese immigrants from the
southern provinces who came to the Malay archipelago including British Malaya (now Malaysia
and Singapore, where they are also referred to as Baba-Nyonya) and Dutch East Indies (now
Indonesia; where they are also referred as Kiau-Seng) and southern Thailand, primarily in Phuket
and Ranong between the 15th and 17th centuries. The following are typical to Peranakan
wedding customs.

It was not uncommon for early Chinese traders to take Malay women from Peninsular Malaya or
Sumatra as wives or concubines. Consequently, the Baba Nyonya possessed a synergistic mix of
Sino-Malay cultural traits.

Written records from the 19th and early 20th centuries show that Peranakan men usually took
brides from within the local Peranakan community. Peranakan families occasionally imported
brides from China and sent their daughters to China to find husbands.

5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peranakan with adaptuibs, accessed on 28th February, 2019 at 12.08 PM
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Marriages within the community and of similar stature were the norm during that time. Wealthy
men prefigured to marry a chin choay: or matrilocal marriage where husband moved in with
wife's family.

Proposals of marriage were made by a gift of a pinangan, in a 2-tiered lacquered basket known
as Bakul Siah in Malaysia or Tenong Keranjang in Indonesia, to the intended bride's parents
brought by a go-between who speaks on behalf of the suitor. There are rare cases where wealthy
Peranakans in the past used highly decorative glided pagoda trays (Botekan Candi in Indonesian)
instead of the Bakul Siah or Tenong Keranjang. Most Peranakans are not Muslim, and have
retained the traditions of ancestor worship of the Chinese, though some converted to Christianity.

The wedding ceremony of the Peranakan is largely based on Chinese tradition, and is one of the
most colourful wedding ceremonies in Malaysia . At Malacca weddings, the Dondang Sayang, a
form of extempore rhyming song in Malay sung and danced by guests at the wedding party, was
a highlight. Someone would begin a romantic theme which was carried on by others, each taking
the floor in turn, dancing in slow gyrations as they sang. It required quick wit and repartee and
often gave rise to laughter and applause when a particularly clever phrase was sung. The melodic
accents of the Baba-Nonya and their particular turns of phrase lead to the charm of this
performance.

The important wedding rites had to be commenced on auspicious days at specific times,
according to the pek ji, the eight Chinese characters annotating one's birth date and time. At these
rites, pantangs (taboos) were carefully observed - the wedding rituals had to be legitimised and
witnessed by elders, deities and ancestors. Marriages were typically match-made. Parents and
elders made the final decision, but the potential bride and bridegroom were also consulted in the
process. Wedding items commonly utilised the prosperous colours of red, pink, orange, yellow
and gold and were embellished with special motifs to ensure a good marriage. Similar to the
Chinese, Peranakans believed that good things always come in pairs, therefore many wedding
items came in pairs.

1. With what topic does this passage primarily deal? (1 point)

____________________________________________________________________
2. Mention the main ideas of paragraph 2, 3, and 4! (3 points)
________________________________________________________________________

3. Which of these statements would the writer agree with? Circle your answer. (1 point)
a. In Peranakan custom, the suitor will deliver the gift of a pinangan to the intended
bride’s parents.
b. Dondang Saying is a Malay wedding ceremonial fully adopted in Peranakan
weddings.
c. Peranakan wedding rites account for choosing the right day and time to hold a
ceremony.
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.
(1 point)
4. What pattern of organization does this paragraph use? Circle your answer.
a. Comparison/contrast
b. Cause and effect
c. Definition
d. Process
e. Argumentation

5. What could be inferred from the reason for early Chinese traders to take Malay peninsula
women or women from Sumatra as wives or concubines? (1 point)

6. In relation to question number 5, what did peranakan men later on do when seeking
wives? (2 points)

C. Use the context clues in the sentences to define the underlined words. The sentences are
taken from the passage in section B.(5 points)

1. Consequently, the Baba Nyonya possessed a synergistic mix of Sino-Malay cultural

traits.

traits means ____________________________________

2. Marriages within the community and of similar stature were the norm during that time.
stature means _________________________________________________

3. Most Peranakans are not Muslim, and have retained the traditions of ancestor worship of
the Chinese, though some converted to Christianity.

retained means

4. It required quick wit and repartee and often gave rise to laughter and applause when a
particularly clever phrase was sung.
wit means _________________________________________________________
5. The important wedding rites had to be commenced on auspicious days at specific times,
according to the pek ji, the eight Chinese characters annotating one's birth date and time.
auspicious means
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D. Complete the paragraph with the correct word from the box (10 points)

The Gurkhas weapon soldiers mutual wielded brigade

pride culture people blade the knife inseparable

How the Khukuri became part of British History6

Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective name which refers to all the units in the British Army that
are composed of Nepalese Gurkha soldiers. The ____________(1), which is 3,640 strong,
includes infantry, engineering, signal, logistic and training and support units. The
____________(2) are known for their khukuris, or kukris, a distinctive heavy knife with a
curved____________(3), and their reputation for being fierce and brave soldiers. Historically,
the Khukuri has been the national weapon and utility knife of the Nepalese people. It holds a
unique place in the Nepalese ____________(4) as more than just an exquisite example of local
craftsmanship, or even a symbol of national ____________(5), valor in battle, and personal
bravery; although it is all of these things and more. However, ____________ (6) first gained
notoriety in the West for its ferocious effectiveness against the British troops who encountered it
in the Anglo-Nepali War (1814 – 1816). The ____________ (7) respect each side gained for the
other in that war forged the British-Gurkha alliance that continues to this day. This emblematic
____________(8) continued to serve the Gurkha warriors who ____________ (9) it through
World War I, and World War II. During these conflicts, the knife gained high regard among
allied and enemy troops alike, for its effectiveness and utility. Because a Gurkha and his khukuri
are ____________ (10), it was formally adopted as official military issue gear under British
leadership – each Gurkha carries one as a part of his “kit,” in both parade and battle. No Gurkha
would ever think of going into combat without one. In this way, the khukuri has also become a
part of British history as well.

***

6
https://nepalkhukurihouse.com/default/khukuri_history; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigade_of_Gurkhas,
with adaptations, accessed 28th February 2019