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UJIAN SEMESTER GENAP T. A. 2021/2022

Name : ________ Subject : English Reading Comprehension

Class : XII Date : _________________

Passage 1
Through history, people have been the victim of pickpockets. Today, pickpocketing is one of the most rapidly
increasing crimes. Pickpockets are increasing in number and developing better methods to practice their skill.
Approximately one million American lose money to pickpockets every year, and no one is really safe from a
skilled pickpocket. His victims or ‘marks’ as they are called, can be rich or poor, young or old.
During the eighteenth century, pickpockets were hanged in England. Large crowds of people would
gather to watch the hanging, which was supposed to be a warning to other pickpockets. however in time the
practice was discontinued. The reason: while people attentively watching the hanging of a pickpocket, other
pickpockets skillfully stole the money of the spectators.
Police officers say that the most efficient pickpockets come from South America. Many of these expert
pickpockets are trained in special schools called “ Jingle Bell School” a pickpocket graduates from J.B.S when
he is able to steal a wallet from a dressed dummy that has bells inside its pockets.
Even the most well dressed respectable person may be a pickpocket. Some of the favorite places of
pickpockets are banks, airport, race track, supermarket, elevator and train and bus station. Oftentime a
pickpocket will work with another pickpockets as his partner. Another kind of pickpocket works outside or
inside bars and specializes in stealing from women is called a “ purse snatcher” to avoid of being the victim of a
pickpocket, it is important to be very cautious and alert when in the midst of a large gathering of people
1. The best title for the passage would be______________________________________________________________
2. The hanging of pickpocket were not continued because_________________________________________________
3. Based on the passage, pickpocketing is___________________ crime
4. The passage mentions that pickpockets steal in some places, such as ______________________________________
5. South American pickpockets are the most efficient ones because_________________________________________
Passage 2
A refrigerator is a machine for keeping things cold. It is sometimes called a fridge. People put food and drinks in it,
to keep those item cold or good ( unspoiled) for a longer time. In the refrigeration cycle, there are five basic
components: fluid refrigerant, a compressor, which controls the flow of refrigerant, the condenser coils, the
evaporator coils and something called an expansion device. In general, a refrigerator can be seen as a heat pump. It
takes heat away from the air inside the fridge. The heat gets added to the air from outside. For this, it usually uses
electricity.
There are also ice boxes available that do not use electricity because they are filled with ice to provide the colder
temperature. The ice can keep things cold until the ice melts. These ice boxes can be taken on camping trips.
Sometimes they are called coolers. Refrigerator- sized ice boxes were used before electricity was available. Most
modern refrigerators are available in a variety of colors, although normally fridges are white.
6. What is the function of heat pump?__________________________________________________________________
7. What did people use before electricity was available? ___________________________________________________
8. Who is the target reader of the text? _________________________________________________________________
9. “ it takes heat away from the air inside the fridge.” What does the word “it” refers to __________________________
10. “People put food and drinks in it, to keep those item cold or good ( unspoiled) for a longer time.” The synonym of
unspoiled is ______________________________________________________________________________________

Passage 3
Rafflesia Arnoldi is known as the largest flower in the world. It weights obout 7 kilograms. Its petal
grow to 0.5 meters long and 2.5 centimeters thick.Rafflesia has no steam, no roots, and no leaves. It is parasitic,
meaning it usually lives on another plant. It is named after Sir Stamford Raffles who found it in 1818.
Rafflesia Arnoldi can only bloom once a year. It blooms for only one week before it dies. Rafflesia
Arnoldi is also called the “corpse flower” because it has a very bad smell, like rotten meat. This giant flowers
has five wide orange petals surrounding a cup.
 Rafflesia Arnoldi can be found on sumatra islands. The govermenthas been trying hard to conserve this
rare flower because its number is getting smaller and smaller. The goverment is afraid if they do not do
something to protect this flower, it may become extinct.
The cause of the decreasing number of Rafflesia Arnoldi is mainly human. People cut down forests for
housing or farms so the flower no longer has a place to grow.
11. Based on the passage, “ parasitic” means_______________________________________________________
12. If Rafflesia Arnoldi was the last seen on october 1, 2021. When can we see it again?______________________
13. Why do people call Rafflesia Arnoldi “ the corpse flower”? because ___________________________________
14. What kind of tenses that commonly used in the text above? _________________________________________
Passage 4
To a woman who complained about her destiny. The master said, “it is you who make your destiny.” But surely
I am not responsible for being born a woman?” being born a woman isn’t destiny, that is fate. Destiny is how you
accept your woman hood and what you make of it?
15. Destiny is how you accept your woman hood. The underline word can be best replaced by ________________
16. Destiny is how you accept your woman hood and what you make of it. The underline word refers
to_____________________
17. After reading the passage, we can learn that______________________________________________________
Passage 5
A bank is an institution that deals in money, substitutes and provides other financial services. It accepts
deposits and makes loans. It derives a profit from the difference in the interest rates paid and charged,
respectively.
Banks are critical to our economy. The primary function of banks is to put their account holders’ money
to use by lending it out to others who can then use it to buy homes, businesses, send kids to college, etc.
When you deposit your money in the bank, your money goes to a big pool of money along with everyone
else’s and your account is credited with the amount of your deposit. When you write checks or make
withdrawals, that amount is deducted from your account balance. Interest you earn on your balance is also added
to your account.
18. Based on the passage above, there are some characteristics of a bank, they are
__________________________________________________________________________________________

19. “it accepts deposits and make loans” ( paragraph 1) . the word “it” refers to____________________________
20. “ Banks are critical to our economy.” The underlined word has a similar meaning to ______________________
Passage 6
There was once a starving wolf in a sorry state. He had been obliged to flee from a pack of dogs, and for many
days he had found nothing to eat. He spied a little a white sheep and thought: “ At last ! here’s a meal for me.” “
Little white sheep, he said to her, “ could you bring me a drop of water from the river? As you can see, I am very
unwell. If you can bring me something to drink, I will be able to find something to eat. Said the little sheep, “ then
you will already have found yourself something to eat”? then, the little sheep skipped off to the opposite direction.
21. The wolf was sick because____________________________________________________________________
22. The wolf called the sheep because he wanted to ask her to __________________________________________
23. The sheep skipped off to the opposite direction because ____________________________________________
24. The text above is called a ___________________________text.
Passage 7
All the plants of a particular area or period are flora. Plant life is a part of the ecosystem and its condition
is related to the condition of the local habitat. Science of the structure of plants is called botany, and scientist
who study plants are called botanist. people can find many kind of trees and flowers there.
Some people know that forests are important for their products. They are also important to keep the soil
fertile and to prevent floods. The humus holds rain water during the wet seasons, stores it and then waters
the fields during dry season.
For many years, people have not obeyed the government regulations and cut down the trees carelessly.
As a result, thousands hectares good forest become waste. People should know that without forests, nothing
can prevent the water from running down to lower land. In wet seasons, this will cause floods which will
destroy the farm lands and villages.
25. People who studies and knows much about plants is _______________________________________________
26. What does the word “ they” in paragraph two refer to? ______________________________________________
27. What does hold the water during the wet seasons? _________________________________________________
28. What will destroy the farm lands and village? _____________________________________________________
29. What does the word “ it” in paragraph two refer to?_________________________________________________
 Passage 8
One day, when the sun shone brightly, Chip and Dale found a piece of wood. They got an idea of making a see-
saw with it. All afternoon, Chip and Dale played see-saw cheerfully. But when they came home they found that
some of their nuts were gone. They were very angry. “let’s pretend to go out to play tomorrow.” Suggested
Chip. “ but always watch our nuts.” The next day, when they were playing see-saw, they saw a squirrel walking
towards their house. “ hmm.. give me a nut, “ whispered Dale. Chip gave a nut to Dale. Then he put the nut on
one end of the see-saw. When the squirrel went to steal some nuts, Chip and Dale jumped together on the other
end of the see-saw. The nut flew through the air and dropped down right between the ears of the squirrel who
ran with scare
30. Who are the main characters of the story? ________________________________________________________
31. What did they find one day? ___________________________________________________________________
32. What did they make with it? ___________________________________________________________________
33. What happened when they came home? __________________________________________________________
34. Did they plan to do something? If they did, what was it? ____________________________________________
Passage 9
Human body is made up of countless millions of cells. Food is needed to built up new cells and replace the worn
out cells. However, the food that we take must be changed into substances that can be carried in the blood to the
places where they are needed. This process is called digestion.
The first digestive process takes place in the mouth. The food we eat is broken up into small pieces by
the action of teeth, mixed with saliva, a juice secreted by glands in the mouth. Saliva contains digestive juice
which moisten the food, so it can be swallowed easily.From the mouth, food passes through the esophagus (the
food passage) into the stomach. Here, the food is mixed with the juices secreted by the cells in the stomach for
several hours. Then the food enters the small intestine. All the time the muscular walls of the intestine are
squeezing, mixing and moving the food onwards.
In a few hours, the food changes into acids. These are soon absorbed by the villi (microscopic branch
projections from the intestine walls) and passed into the bloodstream.
35. How can we swallow the food easily? ___________________________________________________________
36. From the text above, we imply that __________________________________________________________
Passage 10

Nelson Mandela was a civil rights leader in south Africa. He fought Against apartheid, a system where non – white
citizens were segregated from whites and didn't have equal rights. He served a good portion of his life in prison for his
protests. He became a symbol for his people. Not long after that he became president of south Africa.
Nelson Mandela was born on July 18th in Mvezo, south Africa. His birth name is Rolihlahla. He got the Nickname
Nelson, from a teacher in school. Nelson was a member of Thimbu royalty and his father was chief of the city of
Mvezo. He later attended school college at the college of fort hare and the university of Witwatersrand, Mandela got his
fellow activists Against apartheid.
Nelson Mandela became the leader in the African National Congress ( ANC). Firstly, he pushed hard for the
Congress and the protester to follow Mohandas Ghandi’s non – violence approach. At one point he started to doubt
that this approach would work and started up an armed branch of ANC . He planned to bomb certain buildings. He
wanted to make sure that no one would get hurt during the bombing. He was classified as a terrorist by the South
African government. They sent him to prison.
Mandela spent 27 years in prison. His prison sentence brought international visibilty to the anti- apartheid movement.
He was finally released through international pressure in 1990.
Once released from prison, Nelson continued his Campaign to end apartheid. His hard work and life long effort paid
off when all races were allowed to vote in 1994 election. Nelson Mandela won the election and became the president of
south Africa. There were several Times during the process where violence threatened to break out. Nelson was a strong
force in keeping the calm and preventing a major civil war.

37. What does the text talk about? The text talks about _________________________________________________
38. Write down some statements that we can make as the moral value of the text!
______________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
39. Nelson Mandela fought for ____________________________________________________________________
40. When did his hard work and life long effort paid off? ______________________________________________