NAME : ALGA MEHDI

CLASS : THCA

PERSONAL ASSIGNMENT 1
(WEEK 4 / SESSION 5)
(120 minutes)
Resource: LN and PPT Week 3, 4 Session 4, 5

A. Reading Skill 3 and 4 (10 Points)

Study the passage and choose the best answers to the questions that follow.

Theodore Dreiser

[1A] Theodore Dreiser, the American author best known for the novel Sister Carrie
(1912), introduced a powerful style of writing that had a profound influence on the writers that
followed him, from Steinbeck to Fitzgerald and Hemingway. [1B] It was in Sister Carrie that
Theodore Dreiser created a fictional account that laid bare, the harsh reality of life in the big city
and in which Dreiser established himself as the architect of e new genre. [1C]
Dreiser was born in 1871 into a large family whose fortunes had in the recent past taken a
dramatic turn for the worse. Before Theodore’s birth, his father had built up a successful factory
business only to lose it to a fire. [4A] The family was rather abruptly thrust into poverty, and
Theodore spent his youth moving from place to place in the Midwest as the family tried
desperately to reestablish itself financially. [4B] He left home at the age of sixteen. [4C] After
earning some money, he spent a year at Indiana University but left school and returned to
Chicago, yearning for the glamour and excitement that it offered. [4D] At the age of twenty-two,
he began work as a reporter for a small newspaper in Chicago, the Daily Globe, and later worked
on newspapers in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Saint Louis, and New York City. In his work as a
reporter, he was witness to the seamier side of life and was responsible for recording events taht
befell the less fortunate in the city, the beggars, the alcoholics, the prostitutes, and the working
poor.
[5A] Dreiser first tried his hand at fiction by writing short stories rather than novels, and
the first four short stories that he wrote were published. [5B] Based on this, he was encouraged
to write a novel that would accurately depict the harsh life of the city, and the novel Sister Carrie
was the result of his effort. [5C] This novel chronicles the life of Carrie Meeber, a small-town
girl who goes to Chicago in a quest for fame and fortune. [5D] As Carrie progresses from factory
worker to Broadway star by manipulating anyone in her path, Dreiser sends a clear message
about the tragedy of life that is devoted purely to the quest for money.
Sister Carrie, unfortunately for Dreiser, did not achieve immediate success. [7A] The
novel was accepted for publication by Doubleday, but Dreiser was imeediately asked to make

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 major revisions to the novel. [7B] When Dreiser refused to make the revisions.
Doubleday published only a limited number of copies of the book and refused to promote or
advertise it.

[7C] Published in limited release and without the backing of the company, the novel was a
dismal failure, selling fewer than 500 copies. [7D]

After the failure of the novel that was so meaningful to him, Dreiser suffered a noervous
breakdown; he was depressed, stricken with severe headaches, and unable to sleep for days to
end. Having sunk to a point where he was considering suicide, he was sent by his brother to a
sanatorium in White Plains, New York, where he eventually recovered. [10A] After leaving the
sanatorium, he took a position as an editor for Butterick’s. [10B] He was successful in this
position, and was eventually able to purchase a one-third interest in a new publishing company,
B. W. Dodge, which republished Dreiser’s novel Sister Carrie. [10C] This new release of the
novel proved considerably more successful than the first release had been. [10D] In its first year,
the reissued version of Sister Carrie sold 4,500 copies, with strong reviews, and the next year it
sold more than 10,000 copies. The recognition that accompanied the success of the novel was
based not only the power of the description of the perils of urban life but also on the new trend in
literature that Dreiser was credited with establishing.

Questions
1. Look at the three squares [ ] that indicate where the following sentence can be added to
paragraph 1.
This forceful first novel set a new path for American novels at the turn of the last
century.
Choose the appropriate square [1A]/ [1B]/ [1C] to add the sentence to the passage.
Answer is [1C]

2. Which of the sentences below explresses the essential information in the first highlighted
sentence in paragraph 2?
Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
A. Dreiser’s family had formerly been rich before it had become poor.
B. Dreiser was, unfortunately, born into a overly dramatic family.
C. The fortunes of Dreiser’s family had recently increased.
D. Members of Dreiser’s family suffered from the serious effects of a disease.
Answer is [A]

3. Which of the sentences below expresses the essential information in the second highlighted
sentence in paragraph 2? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave
out essential iformation.
A. Dreiser served as a witness in a number of trials that involved beggars, alcoholics, and
prostitutes.

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 B. Dreiser observed and wrote about the poorer classes as part of his newspaper job.
C. In New York City, during Dreiser’s time, there were many people who were less
fortunate than Dreisers.
D. Dreiser’s work involved working with beggars, alcoholics, and prostitutes.
Answer is [B]

4. Look at the four squares [ ] that indicate where for following sentences can be added to
paragraph 2.
At this young age, he moved alone to Chicago and supported himself by taking odd
jobs.
Choose the appropriate square [4A]/ [4B]/ [4C]/ [4D] to add the sentence to the passage.
Answer is [4C]

5. Look at the four squares [ ] that indicate where for following sentences can be added to
paragraph 3.
It was rather unusual for a novice writer to achieve so much so quickly.
Choose the appropriate square [5A]/ [5B]/ [5C]/ [5D] to add the sentence to the passage.
Answer is [5B]

6. Which of the sentences below expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence
in paragraph 3? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out
essential iformation.
A. Dreiser devoted his life primarily to trying to become rich.
B. In Dreiser’s novel, Carrie succceeds by moving from a low-level job to stardom.
C. Dreiser used one of his characters to demonstrate the negative aspects of lust for money.
D. Dreiser tried to warn Carrie that she was taking the wrong path in life.
Answer is [C]

7. Look at the four squares [ ] that indicate where for following sentences can be added to
paragraph 4.
These changes were intended to tone down some of the starker and more scandalous
descriptions.
Choose the appropriate square [7A]/ [7B]/ [7C]/ [7D] to add the sentence to the passage.
Answer is [7B]

8. Which of the sentences below expresses the essential information in the first highlighted
sentence in paragraph 5? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave
out essential iformation.
A. Dreiser recovered from an attemppted suicide at a sanatorium.

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 B. Dreiser’s brother went to a sanatorium after attempting suicide.
C. After being sent to a sanatorium, Dreiser considered committing sucide.
D. Dreiser’s brother stepped in to help Dreiser after Dreiser became depressed.
Answer is [D]

9. Which of the sentences below expresses the essential information in the second highlighted
sentence in paragraph 5? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave
out essential iformation.
A. In Dreiser’s novels, he recognized the power of urban life and new trends that existed in
it.
B. The success of Dreiser’s novel went unrecognized because it represented such a new
trend in literature.
C. Dreiser credited his urban upbringing and literaly background for the success that his
novel achieved.
D. Dreiser achieved acclaim because his writing was so powerful and because he established
a new trend.
Answer is [D]

10. Look at the four squares [ ] that indicate where for following sentences can be added to
paragraph 5.
This company was one that published magazines to promote sewing and the sale of
clothing patterns.
Choose the appropriate square [10A]/ [10B]/ [10C]/ [10D] to add the sentence to the
passage.
Answer is [10B]

B. Listening Skill 3 (4 Points)

Listen to each passage and the questions that follow. Then choose the best answers to the
questions.

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1-4)

Listen as a student talks to a librarian.

1. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question.

Why does the librariansay this:

A. To show that he is busy with someone else
B. To indicate that he is ready to help
C. To question why the student is there
D. To demonstrate that he is bothered by the question
Answer is [B]

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2. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question.

What does the librarian mean when he says this:

A. He does need to know the age of the magazine.
B. He does not know why the student asked the question.
C. He wants to know why the question was asked.
D. He is not sure why the student needs the magazine.
Answer is [A]

3. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question.

Why does the student say this:

A. She does not remember what she just said.
B. She realizes that she had just interrupted the professor.
C. She recognizes that she has just said something incorrect.
D. She does not understand what the librarian just said.
Answer is [C]

4. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question.

What does the librarian mean when he says this:

A. His services are free of charge.
B. He has a lot of free time.
C. He wants the student to feel relaxed.
D. He is always eager to help.
Answer is [D]

C. Listening Skill 4 (6 Points)

Listen to each passage and the questions that follow. Then choose the best answers to the
questions.

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1-2)

Listen as an advisor discusses a student’s course load with the student.

1. Listen again to part of the discussion. Then answer the question.

How does the student seem to feel about taking the maximum number of courses?
A. It is too much work.
B. It is the best thing to do.
C. It is only done when necessary.
D. It is required in graduate school.
Answer is [B]

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2. Listen again to part of the discussion. Then answer the question.
Which sentence best expresses what the advisor might say to the student?
A. “You really need to work harder in your classes.”
B. “Graduate schools prefer students who take a lot of classes.”
C. “You should do better work in fewer classes.”
D. “It’s important for you to take more classes.”
Answer is [C]

PASSAGE TWO (Question 3-4)

Listen to a conversation between two students.

3. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question.

How does the man seem to feel about the assignment?
A. It will be interesting.
B. It will be worth the effort.
C. It wll be impossible to do.
D. It will take a lot of effort.
Answer is [D]

4. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question.

Which sentence best expresses how the woman feels about the assignment?
A. This assignment will be enjoyable.
B. It will be so hard to do this assignment correctly.
C. The assignment will take too much time.
D. It will be enjoyable to respond to the survey questions.
Answer is [A]

PASSAGE THREE (Question 5-6)

Listen to a conversation between two students and lecturer.

5. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question.

Then answer the question.

A. It is too simple.
B. It is remarkably effective.
C. It is overly embellished.
D. It is unnatural.
Answer is [B]
6. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question.
Which sentence best expresses how the student seems to feel about the assignment?
A. “This sounds like a very creative assignment.”
B. “It always helps to do your best.”

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 C. “This is too complicated to do.”
D. “This isn’t one of my specialities.”
Answer is [D]

D. Writing: Agree Disagree Essay (80 Points)

Individually, write at least 300 words agree/ disagree essay based on the following topics:
“Do you agree or disagree that taking an online course is less effective than the traditional or
regular class? Give some reasons and examples to support your writing”. Write at least 5
paragraphs covering: introduction, main, and closing parts.

Nowadays technology has shifted various things, including the method of education on
campus. Not only to manage administration, technology is also increasingly used to hold various
lectures. Utilization of online lecture methods provides many advantages, both for students and
lecturers. Even in some countries, online learning outcomes tend to be better considering
students can maximize the effective learning for them.

In my opinion each of the learning methods (online or regular) each has their own
strengths and weaknesses and to assess the effectiveness of the learning method depends on the
point of view of the people who follow the learning, for example a employee who has high
mobility will be more effective in following the online learning method compared to regular
learning methods, or young people who do not have much ability and have a lot of free time will
be more effective in following regular or conventional learning methods because it can optimize
the time availability, to practice soft skills and hard skills in a university environment.

Most online college activities indeed free students to set their own study schedules,
without having to come to class. Therefore, this method is ideal for those who need flexibility in
pursuing education, such as employees or housewives. However, online lectures also have
certain schedules for class meetings, for example through web conferences. In fact, there are also
online college organizers who incorporate scheduled face-to-face meetings in their learning
system. Meanwhile, conventional lectures do "force" lecturers and students to come to class. But
on the other hand, students are also given the freedom to manage their own study time to do
assignments or add references to the material being discussed in class.

Each learning method whether online or regular has advantages and disadvantages of
each of these things is not a determining factor for the success of students in pursuing their
education, I more agree the opinion that the success of education depends on the lecturers and
students themselves, not affected by the method what learning is used, but more to the sincere
intentions of the Lecturers and Students themselves.

Note: font Times New Roman 12 and line spacing 1.5

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