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Some Indonesians may miss something when their meal does not come up with chilies or chili
chunks. The hottest ones are the most sought after by chili lovers. Not just spicy, chilies turn out to
contain some important nutrients such as energy, carbohydrates, sugar, fiber, fat, protein, vitamin A,
vitamin B6, vitamin C, iron, magnesium, potassium, water, and capsaicin. Capsaicin is what makes chili
taste spicy and hot. Despite its spicy taste, chilies turn out to have many health benefits.
The first benefit of chilies is for stomach health. Capsaicin in chilies can nourish the digestion by
increasing the digestive juices in the stomach and fighting bacteria that cause infection. In addition,
chilies also help fight diarrhea caused by bacterial infections.
Chilies can also reduce pain. Applying an ointment or cream containing capsaicin is thought to help
reduce soreness, pain after surgery, migraines, psoriasis, thrush due to chemotherapy or radiation, joint
problems such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, nervous system problems such as diabetic
neuropathy, sudden and sharp pain in one side of the face, and nerve pain in the area of the body
infected with chickenpox virus. In addition, capsaicin is also thought to reduce back pain, muscle and
soft tissue pain in fibromyalgia, relieve symptoms of prurigo nodularis skin disease, and relieve
symptoms of runny noses that are not associated with allergies or infections. Capsaicin works by first
stimulating and then reducing the intensity of pain in the body. That is why when applying a cream
containing capsaicin, we will feel the pain, but the pain will usually subside after the first use.
The other benefit of chilies is that they are believed to be able to strengthen lung tissues and help
prevent or treat chronic lung diseases where the small air sacs in the lungs are damaged by smoking. In
addition, chilies can also thin the mucus in the lungs so that it can be easily removed from the lungs.
According to research in China, a long term consumption of capsaicin is thought to reduce blood
pressure levels. In addition, other studies also reveal that capsaicin is thought to reduce cholesterol and
prevent blood clots causing heart disease.

1. In which paragraph does the writer emphasize
the benefits of chilies for the respiratory tract?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 5
2. Based on the passage, one way to use chilies
to reduce pain is by ....
(A) taking it with other drugs
(B) consuming it when the body hurts
(C) rubbing it directly on the affected place
(D) applying it as a mixture of external drugs
(E) making it into a potion to take when falling
sick
3. Which conclusion is the most appropriate to
draw based on the passage?
(A) Although chilies have many benefits, its
consumption should not be excessive.
(B) Chilies can be used as an alternative
treatment for various diseases.
(C) People who do not like chilies may have
more health problems.
(D) Treatment using chili must be done wisely.
(E) Chili lovers have good quality health.
4. Who needs to be convinced by the writer
through this passage?
(A) Farmers in particular
(B) Readers in general
(C) Fried food sellers
(D) Vegetable sellers
(E) Chili lovers

The catastrophe called the Great Dying, which occured between the Permian and Triassic periods
wiped out 90 percent of the planet’s marine life and 70 percent of all plant and animal life. The most recent
popular scientific belief about what caused it was the impact of a large object from space, but the
examination of sediment and fossils deposited at the time has led two groups of scientists to revise this
belief.
Animals and plants both on land and in the sea were dying at the same time and apparently from the
same causes – ’too much heat and too little oxygen,’ said Peter Ward, a University of Washington
paleontologist. In their research published in Science Exprees, the groups found increased levels of sulphur
and depleted oxygen in the ancient rock. Ward and his team of researchers from the United States and
South Africa thought that the sulphur came from continued volcanic eruptions in an area known as the
Siberian Trap. The eruptions warmed the Earth, trapped, Sunlight, and depleted oxygen in the air.
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At the same time, the Earth’s shifting tectonic plates lowered the levels of the ocean, exposing seabeds
and releasing methane trapped in the sediment there, further increasing the global warming. The
temperatures kept rising so that it got hotter and hotter until it reached a critical point causing everything to
die. Teperatures around the eorld rose 8 degrees, killing off plants which served as food for animals, thereby
starving them. In addition, oxygen levels dropped to about 16 percent of the atmosphere, whereas normal
levels today are at 21 percent.
Therefore, it is believed that widespread volcanic eruptions that led to global warming was likely the
cause of massive extinction 250 million years ago, not the impact of an asteroid or comet.

5. The phrase “wiped out” in paragraph 1 can be (C) suggest the readers about the cause of
replaced by___ the Great Dying
(A) fell abruptly (D) give argument on the cause of the Great
(B) destroyed completely Dying
(C) cleaned up (E) conclude about the cause of the Great
(D) washed away Dying
(E) ruined partly
8. What most likely motivates the writer to write
6. What is the main idea of the passage? the text?
(A) the extinction of global life (A) there are confusions about the real
(B) research conducted by scientists causes of the Great Dying
(C) the effect of the shifting of the tectonic (B) limited information about the real causes
plates of the Great Dying
(D) Prof. Ward, the antropologist (C) many readers’ misconception about the
(E) the cause of the Great Dying. cause of The Great Dying
(D) there are common scientific
7. The author’s intention of writing the sentence misconception about the cause of the
..” Animals and plants both on land and in the great dying
sea were dying at the same time and (E) there are doubt about what the great
apparently from the same causes – ’too much dying is
heat and too little oxygen”..in paragraph 2 is
to__
(A) debate on the cause of the Great Dying
(B) give a hypothesis on the cause of the
Great Dying

The text has incomplete sentences. Choose one word or phrase from each number that best completes the
sentences.

The idea that red means stop and green means go has impacted our lives in more ways than just traffic
signals. We (9)_____ from a young age that the color red means danger and green means it is okay to move
forward. But why were those particular colors chosen for traffic lights in the first place? For something we have to
look at every day, why couldn’t they have been prettier colors like magenta and turquoise?
Well, it is important (10) _____ that before traffic lights for cars even became a thing, there were traffic signals
for trains. (11)____, railroad companies used red to mean stop, while to mean go, and green to mean caution. As
you could imagine, train conductors ran into a few problems with white (12) ____ go. For instance, one train
conductor mistook a bright star for a white light and thought he was all clear. (13) ____ incidences like that,
railway companies eventually moved green meaning go, and it has been that way ever since.
As far as red goes, it has always been a color (14) ____ danger, long before cars were even around. This
most likely started because it is the color with the longest wavelength so it can be seen from a greater distance
than other colors. As far yellow goes, it (15) ____ drives because it has a slightly shorter wavelength than red, but
not as short as green.
Adapted from http://www.rd.com/advice/travel/traffic-lights/Accessed 2 April 2017
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9. (A) are taught 13. (A) Since

(B) were taught (B) When
(C) were being taught (C) Although
(D) had been taught (D) In spite of
(E) have been taught (E) Because of

10. (A) to know 14. (A) indicated that

(B) knowing (B) that indicates
(C) to be known (C) that is indicated
(D) having known (D) indicates
(E) to have known (E) indicated

11. (A) First 15. (A) used to caution

(B) Firstly (B) using it to caution
(C) At first (C) was used to caution
(D) In the first (D) was using it to caution
(E) At the first (E) was used to cauntioning

12. (A) mean

(B) means
(C) meant
(D) meaning
(E) that is meant