LITERASI BAHASA INGGRIS

[1] Paleontologists have argued for a long time that the demise of the dinosaurs was caused by
climatic alterations associated with slow changes in the positions of continents and seas
resulting from plate tectonics. Off and on throughout the Cretaceous (the last period of the
Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourished), large shallow seas covered extensive areas
of the continents. Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved in
seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today’s. The days
were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. The summers were not too warm, nor the winters too
frigid. The shallow seas on the continents probably buffered the temperature of the nearby air,
keeping it relatively constant.

[2] At the end of the Cretaceous, the geological record shows that these seaways retreated from
the continents back into the major ocean basins. No one knows why. Over a period of about
100,000 years, while the seas pulled back, climates around the world became dramatically more
extreme: warmer days, cooler nights; hotter summers, colder winters. Perhaps dinosaurs could
not tolerate these extreme temperature changes and became extinct.

[3] If true, though, why did cold-blooded animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and
crocodiles survive the freezing winters and torrid summers? These animals are at the mercy of
the climate to maintain a livable body temperature. It’s hard to understand why they would not
be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some scientists
believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics also point out that the shallow seaways had
retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the Mesozoic, so why
did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier fluctuations but not
with this one? Although initially appealing, the hypothesis of a simple climatic change related
to sea levels is insufficient to explain all the data.

[4] Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation
that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. Many plants and animals disappear abruptly from the
fossil record as one moves from layers of rock documenting the end of the Cretaceous up into rocks
representing the beginning of the Cenozoic (the era after the Mesozoic). Between the last layer of
Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. Scientists felt that
they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this
one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by
determining the amount of the element iridium (Ir) it contained.

[5] Ir has not been common at Earth’s surface since the very beginning of the planet’s history. Because it
usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in Earth’s core as the planet cooled
and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some meteorites, in which the solar system’s
original chemical composition is preserved. Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard
Earth, falling on both land and sea. (A) By measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a
given period of time, scientists can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed
amount of Ir in the boundary clay. (B) These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years
would have been required. (C) However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the
boundary clay could not have taken one million years. (D) So the unusually high concentration of Ir
seems to require a special explanation. (E)

[6] In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers
across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show
that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis
in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing; caused extreme episodes of
acid rain; and significantly raised long-term global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. This
disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less
than fifty years.

1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of the Late Cretaceous climate?
A. Summers were very warm and winters were very cold.
B. Shallow seas on the continents caused frequent temperature changes.
C. The climate was very similar to today’s climate.
D. The days were too hot, and the nights were too cold.
E. The climate did not change dramatically from season to season.

2. Which of the following reasons is suggested in paragraph 2 for the extinction of the
Dinosaurs?
A. Changes in the lengths of the days and nights during the Late Cretaceous period
B. Droughts caused by the movement of seaways back into the ocean
C. The change from mild to severe climates during the Late Cretaceous period
D. An extreme decrease in the average yearly temperature over 10,000 years
E. Seaways retreated from the continents back into the major ocean basins

3. Why does the author mention the survival of “snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles” in
paragraph 3?
A. To argue that dinosaurs may have become extinct because they were not cold-blooded
animals
B. To question the adequacy of the hypothesis that climatic change related to sea levels
caused the extinction of the dinosaurs
C. To present examples of animals that could maintain a livable body temperature more
easily than dinosaurs
D. To support a hypothesis that these animals were not as sensitive to climate changes in
the Cretaceous period as they are today
E. To show the examples of animals that could be related to the dinosaurs

4. The word “cope” in the passage is closest in meaning to?

A. adapt
B. move
C. continue
D. compete
E. collapse

5. The word “fluctuations” in the passage is closest in meaning to?

A. extreme
B. retreats
C. periods
D. variations
E. stability

6. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted
sentence in paragraph 4?
A. The fossil record suggests that there was an abrupt extinction of many plants and
animals at the end of the Mesozoic era.
B. Few fossils of the Mesozoic era have survived in the rocks that mark the end of the
Cretaceous.
C. Fossils from the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic up to the beginning of the
Cenozoic era have been removed from the layers of rock that surrounded them.
D. Plants and animals from the Mesozoic era were unable to survive in the Cenozoic era.
E. The beginning of the Cenozoic was marked by the disappearance of many plants and
Animals.

7. In paragraph 4, all the following questions are answered EXCEPT:

A. Why is there a layer of clay between the rocks of the Cretaceous and Cenozoic?
B. Why were scientists interested in determining how long it took to deposit the layer of
clay at the end of the Cretaceous?
C. What was the effect of the surprising observation scientists made?
D. Why did scientists want more information about the dinosaur extinction at the end of
the Cretaceous?
E. How did scientists find the explanations for dinosaur extinctions?

8. Paragraph 5 implies that a special explanation of the Ir in the boundary clay is needed
Because
A. the Ir in microscopic meteorites reaching Earth during the Cretaceous period would
have been incorporated into Earth’s core
B. the Ir in the boundary clay was deposited much more than a million years ago
C. the concentration of Ir in the boundary clay is higher than in microscopic meteorites
D. the Ir usually exists in a metallic state and is found in high concentrations in some
meteorites
E. the amount of Ir in the boundary clay is too great to have come from microscopic
meteorites during the time the boundary clay was deposited

9. In paragraph 5 of the passage, there is a missing sentence.

“Consequently, the idea that the Ir in the boundary clay came from microscopic
meteorites cannot be accepted.”
Where would the sentence best fit?
A. (A)
B. (B)
C. (C)
D. (D)
E. (E)

10. The word “disruption” in the passage is closest in meaning to?

A. exhaustion
B. disturbance
C. modification
D. disappearance
E. rebuild

[1] Chickenpox is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the Varicella zoster virus;
sufferers develop a fleeting itchy rash that can spread throughout the body. The disease can last
for up to 14 days and can occur in both children and adults, though the young are particularly
vulnerable. Individuals infected with chickenpox can expect to experience a high but tolerable
level of discomfort and a fever as the disease works its way through the system. The ailment
was once considered to be a “rite of passage” by parents in the U.S. and thought to provide
children with greater and improved immunity to other forms of sickness later in life. This view,
however, was altered after additional research by scientists demonstrated unexpected dangers
associated with the virus. Over time, the fruits of this research have transformed attitudes
toward the disease and the utility of seeking preemptive measures against it.

[2] A vaccine against chickenpox was originally invented by Michiaki Takahashi, a Japanese
doctor and research scientist, in the mid-1960s. Dr. Takahashi began his work to isolate and
grow the virus in 1965 and in 1972 began clinical trials with a live but weakened form of the
virus that caused the human body to create antibodies. Japan and several other countries began
widespread chickenpox vaccination programs in 1974. However, it took over 20 years for the
chickenpox vaccine to be approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), finally
earning the U.S. government’s seal of approval for widespread use in 1995. Yet even though
the chickenpox vaccine was available and recommended by the FDA, parents did not
immediately choose to vaccinate their children against this disease. Mothers and fathers
typically cited the notion that chickenpox did not constitute a serious enough disease against
which a person needed to be vaccinated.
[3] Strong belief in that view eroded when scientists discovered the link between Varicella
zoster, the virus that causes chickenpox, and shingles, a far more serious, harmful, and longerlasting
disease in older adults that impacts the nervous system. They reached the conclusion
that Varicella zoster remains dormant inside the body, making it significantly more likely for
someone to develop shingles. As a result, the medical community in the U.S. encouraged the
development, adoption, and use of a vaccine against chickenpox to the public. Although the
appearance of chickenpox and shingles within one person can be many years apart—generally
many decades—the increased risk in developing shingles as a younger adult (30-40 years old
rather than 60-70 years old) proved to be enough to convince the medical community that
immunization should be preferred to the traditional alternative.

[4] Another reason that the chickenpox vaccine was not immediately accepted and used by
parents in the U.S. centered on observations made by scientists that the vaccine simply did not
last long enough and did not confer a lifetime of immunity. In other words, scientists considered
the benefits of the vaccine to be temporary when given to young children. They also feared that
it increased the odds that a person could become infected with chickenpox later as a young
adult, when the rash is more painful and prevalent and can last up to three or four weeks. Hence,
allowing young children to develop chickenpox rather than take a vaccine against it was
believed to be the “lesser of two evils.” This idea changed over time as booster shots of the
vaccine elongated immunity and countered the perceived limits on the strength of the vaccine
Itself.

11. The word tolerable in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) sudden
(B) bearable
(C) infrequent
(D) unexpected
(E) painful

12. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of the chickenpox virus?
(A) It leads to a potentially deadly disease in adults.
(B) It is associated with a possibly permanent rash.
(C) It is easily transmittable by an infected individual.
(D) It has been virtually eradicated in the modern world.
(E) It only spreads among children.

13. Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the highlighted
sentence?
(A) U.S. parents believed that having chickenpox benefited their children.
(B) U.S. parents believed that chickenpox led to immunity against most sickness.
(C) U.S. parents wanted to make sure that their children developed chickenpox.
(D) U.S. parents did not think that other vaccinations were needed after chickenpox.
(E) U.S. parents thought that they did not need medicine to cure the disease.

14. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2 about the clinical trials for the
chickenpox vaccine?
(A) They took longer than expected.
(B) They cost a lot of money to complete.
(C) They took a long time to finish.
(D) They were started in a U.S. lab.
(E) They were ultimately successful.

15. The word notion in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) history
(B) findings
(C) fact
(D) truth
(E) belief

16. According to paragraph 3, which of the following is true of Varicella Zoster?

(A) It typically attacks adults who are over 60 years old.
(B) It is linked to a serious disease that occurs more commonly in adults.
(C) It likely is not a serious enough threat to human health to require a vaccine.
(D) It is completely eradicated from the body after chickenpox occurs.
(E) It is more prevalent in children than in adults.

17. According to paragraph 3, all of the following is true about the chickenpox virus
EXCEPT:
(A) It causes two distinct yet related ailments.
(B) People did not view it as a serious public health threat.
(C) It tended to quickly become dormant and remain inoperative over time.
(D) Vaccination against it would help prevent the onset of shingles.
(E) It can be healed using the traditional alternative medicine.

18. The author uses booster shots as an example of

(A) a scientifically approved medicine to eliminate chickenpox
(B) a preferred method of chickenpox rash and fever treatment
(C) a way to increase the effectiveness of the chickenpox vaccine
(D) a strategy for parents to avoid vaccinating their child altogether
(E) a way to get chickenpox vaccine

19. The word countered in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) affirmed
(B) refuted
(C) supported
(D) defied
(E) forward

20. According to paragraph 4, many parents did not choose the chickenpox vaccine because
(A) they believed that the virus was weak and not especially harmful
(B) they thought that scientists did not have enough data to reach a conclusion
(C) they were unsure about the utility of the vaccine given its expected duration
(D) they were convinced it was potentially very toxic, particularly for older children
(E) they feared that the vaccination is against their religious belief