Contoh TOEFL Reading 3 (PBT)

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The locations of stars in the sky relative to one another do not appear to the naked eye to change, and as a result stars are often considered to be fixed in position. Many unaware stargazers falsely assume that each star has its own permanent home in the nighttime sky. In reality, though, stars are always moving, but because of the tremendous distances between stars themselves and from stars to Earth, the changes are barely perceptible here. An example of a rather fast-moving star demonstrates why this misconception prevails; it takes approximately 200 years for a relatively rapid star like Bernard's star to move a distance in the skies equal to the diameter of the earth's moon. When the apparently negligible movement of the stars is contrasted with the movement of the planets, the stars are seemingly unmoving. 1. Which of the following is the best title for this passage? a. What the eye can see in the sky b. Bernard's star c. Planetary Movement d. The Evermoving stars 2. The expression‍ "naked eye" in line 1 most probably refers to a. a telescope b. a scientific method for observing stars c. unassisted vision d. a camera with a powerful lens 3. According to the passage, the distances between the stars and Earth are a. barely perceptible b. huge c. fixed d. moderate 4. The word "perceptible" in line 5 is closest in meaning to which of the following? a. noticeable b. persuasive c. conceivable d. astonishing 5. In line 6, a "misconception" is closest in meaning to a (n) a. idea b. proven fact c. erroneous belief d. theory 6. The passage states that in 200 years Bernard's star can move a. around Earth's moon b. next to the earth's moon c. a distance equal to the distance from earth to the moon d. a distance seemingly equal to the diameter of the moon 7. The passage implies that from earth it appears that the planets a. are fixed in the sky b. move more slowly than the stars c. show approximately the same amount of movement as the stars d. travel through the sky considerably more rapidly than the stars 8. The word "negligible" in line 8 could most easily be replaced by a. negative b. insignificant c. rapid d. distant 9. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? a. starts do not appear to the eye to move. b. the large distances between stars and the earth tend to magnify movement to the eye c. Bernard's star moves quickly in comparison with other stars d. although stars move, they seem to be fixed 10. The paragraph following the passage most probably discusses a. the movement of the planets b. Bernard's star c. the distance from earth to the moon d. why stars are always moving 11. This passage would most probably be assigned reading in which course? a. astrology b. geophysics c. astronomy d. geography FOR ANSWER KEY CLICK HERE.

Vocabularies:

• relative to: berhubungan dengan
• stargazers: orang yg suka memperhatikan bintang
• barely: hampir tidak
• perceptible: nampak. jelas
• prevail: terjadi, berlaku, menang
• negligible: tak berarti, dapat ditiadakan, sepele

Muhammad Ahkam Arifin Muhammad Ahkam Arifin is a Fulbright PhD student at Washington State University, US. He earned a master`s degree in TESOL from the University of Edinburgh & Applied Linguistics from the University of Melbourne.

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