Soft Skill Meeting 3

1.  Which of the following is NOT true?

a.  Winners placed olive wreaths on their own heads

b.  The games were held in Greece every four years

c.  Battles were interrupted to participate in the games

d.  Poem glorified the winners in song

Answer:  c.  Battles were interrupted to participate in the games

Reason:  In the first paragraph is written “and any wars in progress were halted to allow the games to take place”.  So the battles not were interrupted but halted or stopped.

2.  The word “elite” in line 5 is closest in meaning to…

a.  Aristocracy

b.  Brave

c.  Intellectuals

d.  Muscular

Answer:  a.  Aristocracy

Reason:  Elite and aristocracy have the same meaning “the most powerful members of a society”.

3.  Why were the Olympic Games held?

a.  To stop wars

b.  To honor Zeus

c.  To crown the best athletes

d.  To sing songs about the athletes

Answer:  b.  To honor Zeus

Reason:  In the first sentence of the first paragraph is written “In 776 B.C., the first Olympic Games were held at the foot of Mount Olympus to honor the Greeks chief god, Zeus

4.  Approximately how many years ago did these games originate?

a.  800 years

b.  1200 years

c.  2300 years

d.  2800 years

Answer:  d.  2800 years

Reason:  If we count from the first year the games held in 776 b.c to the present by 2012, the results is 2788 years old or about 2800 years.

5.  What conclusion can we draw about the ancient Greeks?

a.  They were pacifists

b.  They believed athletic events were important

c.  They were very simple

d.  They couldn’t count, so they used “Olympiads” for dates

Answer:  b.  They believed athletic events were important

Reason:  In the first paragraph is written “The Greeks emphasized physical fitness and strength in their education of youth”.  So they believed athletic event like Olympic Games were important.

6.  What is the main idea of this passage?

a.  Physical fitness was an integral part of the lives of the ancient Greeks

b.  The Greeks severely punished those who did not participate in physical fitness programs

c.  The Greeks had always encouraged everyone to participate in the games

d.  The Greeks had the games coincide with religious festivities so that they could go back to war when the games were over

Answer:  a.  Physical fitness was an integral part of the lives of the ancient Greeks

Reason:  The best answer because this article narrating about Olympic Games which important for the ancient Greeks.

7.  In line 14, the word “deeds” is closest in meaning to

a.  Accomplishments

b.  Ancestors

c.  Documents

d.  Property

Answer:  a.  Accomplishments

Reason:  In Indonesian, deeds and accomplishments have the same meaning “prestasi”.

8.  Which of the following was ultimately required of all athletes competing in the Olympics?

a.  They must have completed military service

b.  They had to attend special training sessions

c.  They had to be Greek males with no criminal record

d.  They had to be very religious

Answer:  c.  They had to be Greek males with no criminal record

Reason:  In the first paragraph is written “the games were open to all free Greek males who had no criminal record”.

9.  The word “halted” in line 16 means most nearly the same as…

a.  Encourages

b.  Started

c.  Curtailed

d.  Fixed

Answer:  c.  Curtailed

Reason:  In Indonesian, encourages means “menyemangati”, started means “dimulai”, curtailed means “dibatasi” and fixed “masih atau tetap”.  So curtailed is the most nearly the same as halted.

10.  What is an “Olympiad”?

a.  The time it took to finish the games

b.  The time between games

c.  The it took to finish a war

d.  The time it took the athletes to train

Answer:  b.  The time between games

Reason:  In the second paragraph is written “The Greeks attached so much importance to the games that they calculated time in four year cycles called “Olympiads”, dating from 776 b.c”.

STYLISTIC PROBLEMS

1.  The defendant refused to answer the prosecutor’s questions …..

a.  Because he was afraid it would incriminate him

b.  For fear that they will incriminate him

c.  Because he was afraid that his answers would incriminate him

d.  Fearing that he will be incriminated by it

Answer:  c.  Because he was afraid that his answers would incriminate him

Reason:  The sentence composition more complete than others, so the information that is given more clearly.  And there is match in tenses well.

2.  Mrs. Walker has returned …..

a.  A wallet back to its original owner

b.  To its original owner the wallet

c.  The wallet to its originally owner

d.  The wallet to its original owner

Answer:  d.  The wallet to its original owner

Reason:  The sentence composition more complete than others, so the information that is given more clearly.  The difference of option c and d is in Indonesian, originally means “semula or awalnya” but original means “asli”.  So the best answer is d.  The wallet to its original owner.

3.  The hospital owes …… for the construction of the new wing.

a.  The government twenty million dollars

b.  For the government twenty million dollars

c.  To the government twenty million dollars

d.  Twenty million of dollars to the government

Answer:  d.  Twenty million of dollars to the government

Reason:  In Indonesian, it means “Rumah sakit berhutang dua puluh juta dollar pada pemerintah untuk membangun sayap yang baru”.  There is a complete independent and dependent clause.

4.  Sarah ….. that she could not attend classes next week

a.  Told to her professors

b.  Said her professors

c.  Told her professors

d.  Is telling her professors

Answer:  c.  Told her professors

Reason:  The tenses is must be past tense because the event was happened.

5.  The artist was asked to show some paintings at the contest because …..

a.  He painted very good

b.  They believed he painted well

c.  Of their belief that he was an good artist

d.  The judges had been told of his talents

Answer:  d.  The judges had been told of his talents

Reason:  Because the context is right and there is a sequence of tense “past tense with past perfect tense”

6. If motorists do not observe the traffic regulations, they will be stopped, ticketed, and have to pay a fine.

Correction :

If motorists do not observe the traffic regulations, they will be stopped, ticketed, and fined.

Reason :

The sentence above must be parallelism. Stopped and ticketed, both of them are verb…but have to pay a fine is a new clause, so it must be change with verb too, such as ; fined.

7.Fred, who usually conducts the choir rehearsals, did not show up last night because he had  an accident on his way to the practice

Correction :

Fred, who usually conducts the choir rehearsals, did not show up last night because he had had an accident on his way to the practice.

Reason :

Because the accident is already happen. It is perfectly ‘finish’. So, we should use the past perfect tense, S+Had+V3

8.A short time before her operation last month , Mrs.Carlyle  dreams of her daughter who lives overseas.

Correction :

A short time before her operation last month , Mrs.Carlyle  had dreamed  of her daughter who lives overseas.

Reason :

Because ‘the dream process’ is perfectly ‘finish’,  so we should use the past perfect tense.

9. The atmosphere in Andalucia is open, warm, and gives a welcome feeling to all who have the good fortune to visit there.

Correction :

The atmosphere in Andalucia is open, warm, and welcome to all who have the good fortune to visit there.

Reason :

The sentence above must be parallelism. Open and warm, both of them are adjective.  So must be following with adjective too. Gives a welcome feeling is a new clause. Change it with welcome.

10. Some of the people were standing in the street watched the parade, while others were singing songs.

Correction :

Some of the people were standing in the street watching the parade, while others were singing songs.

Reason :

The sentence above must be parallelism. Standing and Singing, both of them are verb in present continuous / the happening event. So watched must be change with the same tenses too.