DEPARTEMEN PENDIDIKAN NASIONAL

LEMBAGA MKU - SOSIOTEKNOLOGI

FAKULTAS SENI RUPA DAN DESAIN – ITB
JALAN GANESA NO. 10 TELP. 2508145-BANDUNG

TPB MID TEST

FIRST SEMESTER 2020/2021

SUBJECT : ENGLISH / KU-1024

DATE : SATURDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2020
TIME : 90 MINUTES

Choose 2 (TWO) texts and summarize them in approx. 150 words each. Your response will be judged on the
quality of your writing and on how well your response presents the main information in the passage,
coherence, and your paraphrasing skills. You will have only 90 (NINETY) minutes to complete the task.
NOTE: Uses of Google translate, Grammarly, Quillbot, etc. are NOT ALLOWED and may be taken into
consideration in the SCORING process.
TEXT 1:
Write a complete, objective, balanced, and accurate summary of approx. 150 words of the following text.

Adapted from https://www.timeshighereducation.com

The impact of Covid-19 on Higher Education

Recently, the foundations of the unique ecosystem of universities and college campuses,
where students live and study in close proximity to each other, have been impacted
significantly by the rapid spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. This has created
uncertainty regarding the implications for higher education.
Over the past weeks, education officials have been forced to cancel classes and close
the doors to campuses across the world in response to the growing coronavirus outbreak.
In addition, US institutions have switched classes to online learning, cancelled spring
break trips and students studying abroad in China, Italy and South Korea have been
encouraged to return home to complete their studies.
While class closures, dips in enrolment at the beginning of a new semester and
cancellations may be temporary, it’s hard to foresee whether the novel coronavirus will
result in long-term disruption to the higher education system.
Maximise online learning
The most effective tool in keeping student retention and maintaining access to learning
has been online courses. Universities across the US, in particular, have adjusted their
programs in response to the spread of the coronavirus.
Stanford University has called off the remaining two weeks of in-class lectures, urging its
professors to move any remaining lessons online. The University of Washington
announced a ban on on-campus classes until after spring break, after a member of staff
was diagnosed with coronavirus last week. Other universities, including New York’s
DEPARTEMEN PENDIDIKAN NASIONAL
LEMBAGA MKU - SOSIOTEKNOLOGI
FAKULTAS SENI RUPA DAN DESAIN – ITB
JALAN GANESA NO. 10 TELP. 2508145-BANDUNG

Hofstra University, New Jersey’s Princeton University and Seattle University are making
starting to make the move to virtual classes.
Develop robust systems
While the majority of colleges and universities around the world integrate some form of
online education into their coursework, moving all programs online may prove
challenging. While some universities may already have strong online systems, smaller
universities may struggle under the weight of the demand. University course creators
should work closely with their IT departments to ensure their programs are able to be
supported online.
One such university that is currently undertaking these measures is the University of
Southern California, which is testing its online platforms to ensure its technology can
handle its 7,000 plus lectures.
Educate students on best practices
With online learning the way to go, universities should also ensure students and staff are
protected while on campus.
While Covid-19 is a high risk for those over 60, traditional-aged university students face
relatively low risks from the disease. However in recent weeks, we have seen just how
quickly the novel coronavirus can spread in areas with a high concentration of people –
and university campuses are no exception.
Administrators should undertake simple measures to prevent the spread of the disease
on their campuses. This should include instructing students on the appropriate protocols
for hand washing, covering sneezes and coughs with their elbows, and self isolating if
they are experiencing flu or cold-like symptoms.
Educators should also be aware of students who have travelled extensively during the
spring break, and remind those who have been abroad in heavily affected places to be
mindful about returning to campus.
Gather information and apply learnings
Universities and colleges yet to implement changes to campuses in response to the novel
coronavirus should take cues from others who have already taken action. They should
analyse the steps already taken by other educators to understand what has worked, what
hasn’t worked and how to tackle the challenges they may face. With the spread of the
disease expected to worsen before it gets better, administrators should take quick action
to safeguard their campuses and students in preparation for potential closures.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. The higher education sector has withstood turbulent
economic times in the past, and it will withstand them again. In a digital age, universities
and colleges are better placed today more than ever to provide students with easy access
to continue their studies online.
DEPARTEMEN PENDIDIKAN NASIONAL
LEMBAGA MKU - SOSIOTEKNOLOGI
FAKULTAS SENI RUPA DAN DESAIN – ITB
JALAN GANESA NO. 10 TELP. 2508145-BANDUNG

TEXT 2:
Write a complete, objective, balanced, and accurate summary of approx. 150 words of the following text.

Adapted from https://www.weforum.org

Can Coronavirus save us from climate change?

By Peter Soroye, Jeremy Kerr, Tim Newbold

There had to be a silver lining to the nearly universal lockdown of the COVID-19
pandemic. One of the small benefits has been a temporarily lighter human footprint in
many ecosystems.

Wildlife sightings are increasing, air quality is improving and carbon emissions are
dropping. While these glimmers of positivity cannot come close to eclipsing the tragic
human cost of the coronavirus, many are now asking what the pandemic will mean for
wildlife around the globe.

Global carbon dioxide emissions for 2020 are expected to fall by up to eight per cent due
to shutdowns, although the resumption of global activity could increase emissions and
offset some of these gains. While this is a significant reduction in our expected emissions,
it’s far from enough to turn the tide on climate change’s impacts on biodiversity.

Climate change can’t be stopped by COVID-19. This past April and May were both tied
for the warmest on record, and if this trend continues then June will be the 426th month in
a row where global average temperatures are above the 20th-century average. This
serves as a strong reminder that even if we stop all carbon emissions today, we will still
be fighting to reduce emissions and sequester carbon for a long time. The stakes are
dangerously high.

Lessons from the bees

We’ve known for a while that bumblebees and many other species have been declining
over recent decades. Finding the driver of these declines is especially important for a
group of pollinators that performs irreplaceable ecosystem and agriculture services.

Recently, we showed that there is strong evidence that climate change has played a role
in the declines of bumblebees across North America and Europe. In this new work, we
found a mechanism that links climate change to these pollinator declines: climate chaos.

The most common way to describe climate change is as the progressive rise in
temperature, observed over decades, following the growth in atmospheric carbon
concentrations, mostly due to human activities. Although gradual temperature changes
can pose deadly threats, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events seems to
DEPARTEMEN PENDIDIKAN NASIONAL
LEMBAGA MKU - SOSIOTEKNOLOGI
FAKULTAS SENI RUPA DAN DESAIN – ITB
JALAN GANESA NO. 10 TELP. 2508145-BANDUNG

be rising sharply as the greenhouse effect grows. Heatwaves, for example, are both
longer and hotter.

Wildlife can tolerate some degree of warming, either by finding ways to move away from
risky weather or evolutionary adaptation. But it’s much more difficult for species to
tolerate increasingly chaotic extremes in weather such as prolonged drought and heat
waves, or tropical storms.

100 years of bumblebee data

For bumblebee species, we could predict local extinction and colonization of new areas
by estimating whether recent climate change had subjected species to temperatures
beyond any they are known to have tolerated in the past.

Through a series of tests with a dataset including over 100 years of bumblebee
observations, we found that species have disappeared in places where temperature
spiked above what they could tolerate. Species across North America and Europe are
consistently being pushed to the edges of these limits during the year, much more often
than they ever were for most of the 20th century. Increasing intensity of land use —
including increased pesticide use — also harms bees, but these effects are distinct from
the dangerous signal of climate chaos.

While our recent study focused on bees, increasing extremes from climate change
should, in principle, affect other species in the same way. If this is the case, then the
increasing temperature or precipitation extremes above (or below) the limits of what
species can tolerate could rapidly and abruptly begin reshaping ecosystems around the
globe by as early as 2030.

Climate change isn’t locked down and it isn’t practising social distancing. It is accelerating
the erosion of the planet’s life support systems and the decline of species that humanity
would be hard pressed to do without. Concerted global action can make dangerous
situations better, whether it’s a pandemic or the climate crisis.

TEXT 3
Write a complete, objective, balanced, and accurate summary of approx. 150 words of the following text.

ADAPTED from http://news.gatech.edu

Can Resilience Promote Civil Discourse?

By Victor Rogers

For a variety of reasons 2020 has been stressful, frightening, and just plain exhausting.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, some of us have lost loved ones. Many are working
from home, and others are unemployed. Wildfires ravaged the west coast as hurricanes
DEPARTEMEN PENDIDIKAN NASIONAL
LEMBAGA MKU - SOSIOTEKNOLOGI
FAKULTAS SENI RUPA DAN DESAIN – ITB
JALAN GANESA NO. 10 TELP. 2508145-BANDUNG

and tornadoes battered the Southeast. Protests against racism and police brutality were
held around the globe.

And, of course, there is next week’s election, which in some cases has pitted relatives and
friends against each other. At times it seems impossible to talk about politics and current
events without ending in a shouting match and hurt feelings. Is it possible to have a civil
discussion with someone who doesn’t share the same views?

“A need to focus on being right often leads to missed opportunities to understand one
another,” said Tiffiny Hughes-Troutman, licensed psychologist and director of the Center for
Assessment, Referral, and Education (CARE) at Georgia Tech.

Psychological flexibility means recognizing and adapting to various situational demands,

and being proactive instead of reactive in acknowledging and owning one’s response.

Sonia Alvarez-Robinson, executive director of Georgia Tech Strategic Consulting, says:

“This time of disagreement and discourse is challenging all of us,” she said. “But we need to
keep our focus on what unites us at Georgia Tech — our common mission to develop
leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. Regardless of the
outcome of the election, our mission remains solid. No matter which candidate we support,
vote for, or agree with, our students are our first priority and we need to keep that front and
center.”

Alvarez-Robinson said vigorous disagreement with another person can often feel like an
adverse event, and if prolonged it becomes a chronic stressor.

“We often have physiological responses to being in conflict with another person — our heart
rate goes up, we might have pain in our gut, we might have skin irritations, or even have
trouble breathing. These are all signs of stress and distress,” she said.

Stressors caused by conflict can also have a negative impact on personal and professional
relationships.

“Research has shown that diversity brings richness, new ideas, insights, and growth that
does not happen in a homogeneous group,” said Alvarez-Robinson, who has a doctorate in
human and organizational behavior. “Yet studies have also shown that diversity of values,
especially when they are deeply rooted, can make productivity and group efficacy more
difficult.”

Alvarez-Robinson is the principal empowerment officer of Tech’s Resilience Employee

Resource Group. She suggests using resilience as a skill to help grow from the difficulties
experienced through discourse. “Resilience can help groups manage diversity of values
while also healing from hurt that is created when people become emotionally charged in
their disagreements.”
DEPARTEMEN PENDIDIKAN NASIONAL
LEMBAGA MKU - SOSIOTEKNOLOGI
FAKULTAS SENI RUPA DAN DESAIN – ITB
JALAN GANESA NO. 10 TELP. 2508145-BANDUNG

Alvarez-Robinson suggests employing the following coping strategies during this stressful
time:

Quiet your mind. We are bombarded with messages, information, stories, opinions, and
our mind is trying to make sense of all of it.

Keep Reality in Perspective. Uncertainty can cause anxiety and fear, which can lead us to
create our own worst imaginings of what will happen next. It is important to discern between
fear that is imagined and danger that is real.

Engage in self-care. Heightened negative emotions can make us feel beaten down and
depleted in our energy. We need to rejuvenate, recharge, and restore our positive emotions
by taking care of ourselves. Get out into nature, manage media consumption, set
boundaries, and say kind things to ourselves.
Put worries in their place. There is a lot to worry about, but worrying can only be
productive if we put it into its place. List the things that you are worried about and put them
into one of three buckets: what I can’t control (then you have to release it), what I can
partially control (then figure out what you will do about it), and what I totally control (then
make a plan to take action to resolve it).

ANSWER SHEET
(Save this answer sheet as UTS NIM NAME)

NAME :
NIM :

SUMMARY 1

SCORE
TI TR TO
DEPARTEMEN PENDIDIKAN NASIONAL
LEMBAGA MKU - SOSIOTEKNOLOGI
FAKULTAS SENI RUPA DAN DESAIN – ITB
JALAN GANESA NO. 10 TELP. 2508145-BANDUNG

SUMMARY 2

SCORE
TI TR TO