Reading comprehension.2

NAIL IN THE FENCE

A Good Story for Great Friends.....Make sure you read all the way down to the last sentence!

There once was a little girl who had a bad temper. Her mother gave her a bag of nails and told her that every time she lost her temper, she must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the girl had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as she learned to control her anger, the
number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. She discovered it was easier to hold her temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the girl didn't lose her temper at all. She told her mother about it and the mother suggested that
the girl now pull out one nail for each day that she was able to hold her temper. The day passed and the young girl was finally able to tell her mother that all the nails were gone.

The mother took her daughter by the hand and led her to the fence. She said, "You have done well, my daughter, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one." You can put a knife in a person and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us .

Reading Comprehension

The Broken Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house. Because of my flaws, you have to do a lot of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you've watered them.

For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Moral:

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

Questions:

1. who had two large pots?

2. What did a water bearer in India have?

3. What hung on the ends of a pole?

4. How did he carry the two pots?

5. What had a crack in it?

6. What did one of the pots have?

7. What was perfect?

8. What delivered a full portion of water?

9. What did the other pot always deliver?

Kumpulan Soal Bahasa Inggris SMP

Read the text carefully and choose the best answer!

You can easily be accused of committing a tourism sin if you’re in Semarang and failed to visit the Ambarawa Railway Museum.

This museum is situated less than an hour’s drive from the capital of Central Java. During the Dutch colonial days, Ambarawa was a military zone and the railway station was used to transport troops to Semarang through Kedungjati. It is at 474m above sea level, giving you unpolluted fresh air to breathe.

The Ambarawa Railway Museum is well-maintained. It is a medium-sized building. The railway route is offered to visitors. You can enjoy the beautiful panorama during the route. All in all, this is a truly exciting treasure to visit.

(Source:Dit. PSMP, 2006)

1. What is the main idea of the above paragraph?

1. Semarang, a historical city
2. A military zone in Semarang
3. A tourism Sin
4. Ambarawa Railway Museum

2. How long does it take if you go by car from Semarang to Ambarawa Railway Museum?

1. two hours
2. one hour
3. not more than an hour
4. less than two hours

3. The following statements are correct, EXCEPT…
1. Ambarawa became a military zone during Dutch colonial
2. The railway is still used to transport troops to Semarang
3. The air is fresh and unpolluted
4. The visitors can enjoy the beautiful panorama by taking the railway route
4. Understand the second paragraph of the passage. What does the word “It” in the last sentence of the paragraph refer to?

1. The capital of Central Java
2. The museum
3. Semarang
4. Kedungjati

Iceland is a very unique island—in fact, it’s like nowhere else on earth. The interior of this island contains incredible contrasts. It has tundras, huge glaciers, volcanoes, and waterfalls. Swimsuit maker ‘Speedo’ sells a very large number of bathing suits in Iceland. The island’s climate is cool, but most people don’t pay money for heat. Energy is very cheap and it doesn’t cause pollution, because they use geothermal heat from under the ground. They use water from volcanoes, hot springs and geysers. Icelanders eat fresh fruit and vegetables all year, but they rarely buy them from other countries. Icelanders like to play golf all night during the summer.

Notes on vocabulary:

geyser : a hot spring that shoots water into the air.

glacier : a large body of ice that moves slowly over land.

tundra : a large, flat area of frozen land without trees.

5. The purpose of the text is ….

1. to invite people to visit Iceland
2. to tell about the activities of Icelanders
3. to describe an Island, called Iceland
4. to describe about swimsuit maker

6. What do the Icelanders mostly eat everyday?

a. Fruit and vegetables that are bought from other countries.
b. Fruit only
c. Vegetables only
d. Fruit and vegetables from their own country.

7. The following statements are true according to the text, EXCEPT…
a. We cannot find an island like Iceland in other part of the world.
b. The island of Iceland has very great contrasts.
c. The Icelanders get the heat from tundras.
d. The Icelanders get heat from volcanoes.

Cairo is the largest city in Egypt. Here you can always roll back the centuries. Modern Cairo has tall buildings and broad streets equal to any in the capitals of Europe or Australia. From the top floors of impressive blocks of flats, you can gaze at magnificent views across the river Nile.

However behind the modern buildings are narrow alleys where there is no sound of traffic. The only sounds that come to your ears are the calls of the stall-holders. Water sellers and herdsmen wander through the streets as their forefathers did thousands of years ago. Many of the poorer people still dress in the same way as their ancestors.

8. In which country is Cairo situated?

a. Egypt

b. Australia

c. In the capital of Europe

d. Behind the modern buildings

9. From where is the best place to absorb the views of the Nile?

a. the streets

b. the river

c. the top floors of flats

d. behind the buildings

10. “you can gaze at magnificent views across the river Nile.” The underlined words means…..

a. to look at something for a long time

b. to go

c. to guess

d. to get gasoline

FISHING IN THE HARBOUR

Last New Year’s Eve, my family joined some other families on a fishing trip at Greenwich Harbour to welcome the New Year. We went fishing so we could stay up late.

On our way to the harbour, we bought some beef mince at the butcher’s. We used the mince as bait. My parent’s friends brought the fishing rods for us to use. We were a bit late because we tried to find our way to the to find our way to the harbour and got a bit lost. We started a competition. We agreed that whoever got the most fish would keep all the fish caught that night. After fishing for nearly for nearly three hours, my mom mom got the most fish. All participants gave all their fish to us. It was not bad at all.

The next morning, we enjoyed some fresh fried yellow tail fish with steamed rice for breakfast. That was very special because we had never had it for breakfast before.

11. When did the writer and his family go to Greenwich Harbour?

a. Yesterday morning.

b. Last night.

c. On a fishing trip.

d. Last New Year’s Eve.

12. What activity did they do at the harbour?

a. Bought some beef mince.

b. Held a fishing competition.

c. Bought the fishing rods.

d. Cooked fresh fried yellow fish.

13. What tense are used in the above text?

a. Past Continuous Tense.

b. Simple Present Tense.

c. Simple Past Tense

d. Past Perfect Tense.

14. Who won the competition?

a. The writer. c. The writer’s mother.

b. The writer’s father. d. The parent’s friend.

15. The underlined phrase ‘for us’ in the second paragraph above refers to … .

a. The writer

b. The writer’s parents

c. The parent’s friend.

d. The writer and his family.

GOING TO THE BEACH

Last week, Mr. Achmadi and his family had a picnic. They went to Sanur and Kuta Beach. They left by car at three Saturday afternoon. Mr. Achmad drove his car carefully. They arrived at Sanur at six in the evening. Then, they went to a motel near Sanur Beach. They spent the night there.

The next day, they went to Sanur Beach. They went there on foot early in the morning because the motel is not more than a kilometer from the beach. They wanted to see the sunrise. After the sun rose, Mr. Achmad and his wife looked at a tourist painting in a small gallery. Their children, Abidin and Eny, enjoyed a boat trip. At ten o’clock they went back to the motel to have lunch there.

At four in the afternoon, they left for Kuta Beach. They saw what some foreign tourist doing. They spent two hours at Kuta Beach.

(English for Junior High School, Diknas)

16. Where did Mr. Ahmadi and his family stay before going to Sanur Beach?

a. In a motel at Sanur. c. In a motel at Kuta.

b. In a small gallery. d. They stayed at Sanur Beach.

17. What time did they go to Kuta Beach?

a. at three c. at four

b. at a half to four d. at ten

18. How do they go to Sanur Beach from the motel?

a. by a car c. by a bicycle

b. take a walk d. by a boat

19. What is the purpose of the text?

a. to entertain the readers c. to describe a place specifically

b. to tell someone’s experience d. to describe a place in general

Tania : …..

Lisa : Oh, really? Thank you.

20. The best expression of complementing above is …..

a. Happy birthday!

b. It’s a nice day to go swimming, isn’t it?

c. Would you come to my party?

d. You look completely beautiful in that dress

Raymond : Hi, Susan. Happy Birthday!

May God bless you.

Susan : Thank you, Raymond.

I’m glad you could come.

Raymond : So am I

21. The dialog above is the expression of …..

a. asking for agreement

b. congratulating

c. giving an invitation

d. refusing an invitation

Sita : look at you, Toni. You look so pale. Can I get something for you?

Toni : Yes, please. Can you get me a warm drink?

Sita : Sure. Wait a minute. O.K?

Toni : Thanks, Sita

22. The underlined sentences express …..

a. offering for a help – requesting something

b. asking for a permission - requesting something

c. asking for a permission – offering something

d. offering something – asking for a permission

23. Based on the advertisement. Bio-Fresh helps a person..

a. be a better speaker

b. fight off bad breath

c. maintain clean teeth

d. stay alert the entire day

SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco is my favourite city in the United States. It is beautiful, clean, not too big, and it has something for everybody. I love the streets and buildings in San Francisco. The streets wind up and down the hills, with beautiful old brick and wooden houses on either side.

One of my favourite things to do in San Francisco is to ride the cable car. It takes you to most parts of the city. It’s not a very comfortable ride, but it’s exciting and the views you get from the car are wonderful.

And I like the weather in San Francisco. It never gets too cold or too hot. The summers are pleasant. The fresh breezes blow off the ocean and the sky is always blue. It rains quite a lot in the winter, but it never gets very cold.

Another thing I enjoy about the city is the restaurants. The seafood restaurants, with crabs and lobster, are my favourites. You can also get great Chinese, Japanese, American and European food in San Francisco.

Comprehension questions:

1. What is interesting about streets in San Francisco?

2. Does the cable car only go to certain areas of the city?

3. Can you see the view of San Francisco from the cable car?

4. What’s the weather like there?

5. Does it rain a lot in the summers?

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