2. MAIN IDEA (Pokok Pikiran Paragraf)

A. CIRI KHAS PERTANYAAN

1. What is paragraph 1 about?

2. What does paragraph (3) tell you about?

3. What is the (third) paragraph of the text about?

4. What is the main idea of paragraph (2)?

5. What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

6. Paragraph (4) tells you about … .

7. The (fourth) paragraph is about … .

Untuk menjawab pertanyaan model di atas, caranya adalah sebagai berikut:

• Skimming (membaca cepat) hanya pada paragraph yang ditanyakan.

• Perhatikan kalimat inti dari paragraph.

B. BACALAH PARAGRAF-PARAGRAF BERIKUT, KEMUDIAN JAWABALAH PERTANYAAN BERIKUT INI UNTUK MASING-MASING PARAGRAF:

· What is the paragraph about?

· What is the main idea of the paragraph?

1. Read the text and answer the questions given.

The food in Mexico sometimes surprises tourists. it can be very spicy! Mexican cooks use a special kind of pepper. This pepper is so spicy that it almost burns your mouth. But most people start to like the spices after a while. They learn to like Mexican food very much.

2. Read the text and answer the questions given.

Large forests are important to us in many ways. They give us wood for building and heating. They are a home for many kinds of plants and animals. And for many city people, forests are a place to go for a vacation. People can learn about nature there. They can breathe fresh air and sleep in a quiet place. But there is one more reason why forests are important for everyone. The leaves on the trees in a forest help clean the air. Dirty air is a problem in many parts of the world. Without our forests this problem might be much worse.

3. Read the text and answer the questions given.

Diamonds are very expensive for several reasons. First, they are difficult to find. They are only found in a few places in the world. Second, they are useful. People use diamonds to cut other stones. Third, diamonds do not change. They stay the same for millions of years. And finally, they are very beautiful.

4. Read the text and answer the questions given.

There are many kinds of pollution. One kind is air pollution. This usually is a problem over cities. Water pollution is another problem. It is found in rivers, lakes, and oceans. Also, pollution of the earth is sometimes a problem near farms. And finally, there is even noise pollution, especially in crowded cities.

5. Read the text and answer the questions given.

Ozone is an unusually active form of oxygen produced by the discharge of electricity in the air. The fresh, pungent odor of the air after a thunderstorm is partly due to the presence of ozone produced in the air by lighting. The slightly irritating odor near x rays and other high-voltage machine is also due to the presence of ozone.

6. Read the text and answer the questions given.

Certainly money should not be your chief aim in life. But you ought not to despise it, for it can help you and your family obtains many of good things of life. It can buy an adequate diet, one of the bases of good health. When necessary, it can provide medicine and medical care. It can be the means for a comfortable house, for travel, for good books and for hobbies and recreation. It can make it easier for your children to secure an education. Finally, it can offer a great opportunity for you to help others.

7. Read the text and answer the questions given.

Computer language can be funny at times. For example, we say computers have a memory. We know they do not really remember or think. But we still say memory. Also, on many computer programs there is a menu. Of course, we are not talking about restaurants or food. This is a different kind of menu. Another funny example is the mouse in some computers. it is hard not to think about a real mouse when you hear the word. But do not worry: there are no little gray animals in the machine.

8. Read the text and answer the questions given.

The chemist is essential in our life today. Aviation uses lightweight aluminum, magnesium, high-octane gasoline – all processed or created by chemist. The automotive industry uses plastics, improved gasoline and oils, improved rubber and other creations or discovery of the chemist. Farming depends on the chemist for many fertilizers and insecticides. Medicine has received the miracle drugs and synthetic vitamins from the chemist. Indeed, the chemist today is irreplaceable.

9. Read the text and answer the questions given.

Certainly money should not be your chief aim in life. But you ought not to despise it, for it can help you and your family obtain many of good things of life. It can buy an adequate diet, one of the bases of good health. When necessary, it can provide medicine and medical care. It can be the means for a comfortable house, for travel, for good books and for hobbies and recreation. It can make it easier for your children to secure an education. Finally, it can offer a great opportunity for you to help others.

10. Read the text and answer the questions given.

You may question whether a poor mark in chemistry, for example, will look bad to the future employer who is considering you for a sales position. It will. Or at least it will throw some doubt into his mind. He will reason something like this: “He (you) was given a job to do, but he didn’t give that job a good effort. I wonder if he will postpone calling on a tough customer until a worker from other company has clinched the sale”.

11. Read the text and answer the questions given.

The 1989 Census Report tells us that in 1987, of all men 25 years and older, those who completed eight years of grade school received a median income of $2533. Those with four years of high school received a median wage of 3258. Those who stuck out four years of college received a median wage of $4407

12. Read the text and answer the questions given.

(1) The widespread illusion on this subject (working one’s way through college) is due to several misconceptions. (2) The first of these is the popular idea that the great objective is to get through college. (3)Getting through college is of no value whatsoever. (4) Many men have gotten through college who would be better off if they had never seen a college. (5) So would society. (6) Which is to say that there are no many ways of getting through college and some of them mean nothing. (7)What counts is what a man gets out of college as he gets through. (8) If he gets what he should, he will be immediately enriched and society will be blessed by his ability and his service. (9) But if he does not get these proper values, he has nothing. (10) The fact, therefore, that a man earned his through college means nothing unless the man got something as he went through. (11) Many of the earning men get little or nothing. (12) In one case play interferes with education. (14) In the other, menial, driving, all absorbing remunerative work does the same.

13. Read the text and answer the questions given.

You must never forget, though, that it takes a lot of hard work to become a good lawyer.

A boy must first spend at least five years in college in some states fear. And he must get high grades or he won’t be accepted by an accredited law school. If he is admitted to law school, he next must put in three years of still more intensive effort in order to win the cherished degree of Bachelor of Laws.

Even then his hard work in not done.

He has to pass the bar. This is an examination given by the various states to determine whether a man has a thorough knowledge and understanding of law.