ALL about EXPLANATION TEXT

Function : To explain each step of the process (the how) and to give reason (the way).
Definition : it tells how or why something happens, occurs, why something happens, why things are alike or different, how to solve a problem, and how something works.
The structure:
a. General statements : the phenomenon to be explained
b. Sequenced explanation : states a series of steps which explain the phenomena
Example:
How a Geyser Forms
A geyser field is usually located in an area where there has been recent volcanic activity. There can be hundreds of geysers in a geyser field. Their positions depend on the system of channels underground.
Cold surface water seeps underground. It flows through cracks in nonporous rock (rock that does not soak up water) and collects in channels of porous rock (rock that soaks up water). The water is heated by hot rock, and it begins to expand and boil. Water at the top boils off or spills over. This reduces the pressure and causes deeper water to boil much more violently, creating jets of steam and fountains of hot water.
Vocabulary:

Geyser : air mancur panas
Form : bentuk
Field : lapangan/padang
Usually : biasanya
Located : terletak
Area : dareah
There : ada
Recent : baru-baru ini
Volcanic : vulkanik (berkaitan dg gunung berapi)
Activity : aktivitas
Can be : bisa jadi
Hundreds : ratusan
Depend on : bergantung pada
Channel : saluran
Underground : bawah tanah
Cold : dingin
Surface : permukaan
Water : air
Seep : meresap/
merembes
Flow : mengalir
Through : melalui
Cracks : celah
Nonporous : tak berpori
Rock : batu
Soak up : menyerap
Collect : mengumpulkan
Heated : dipanasi/terpanasi
Hot : panas
Begin : mulai
Expand : mengembang
Boil : mendidih
Spill : tumpahkan
Over : diatas
Reduce : mengurangi
Pressure : tekanan
Cause : menyebabkan
Deeper : lebih dalam
Much more : lebih
Violently : dengan kasar/keras
Create : membentuk/
menciptakan
Jet : pancaran/
semburan
Steam : uap air panas
Fountain : air mancur

Translate, please!
 

Read the text to answer questions 1 to 5!
What Causes Weather?
Weather is the physical condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place. It includes temperature, air pressure and water content.
Weather is produced when air moves from place to place. This moving air is known as wind. Winds are formed when the cooler air moves in to replace the rising warm air. Warm air is usually less dense than cooler air; therefore, it creates low air pressure. Cool air is more dense and creates high pressure.
Usually we have fine weather when the air pressure is high and there are clouds, rain and snow when the air pressure drops.
1. What does the text explain?
a. Moving air
b. Air pressure
c. Low air pressure
d. Types of weather
e. The formation of weather
2. “Warm air is usually less dense than cool air …” (par.2)
The underlined word has the opposite meaning to ….
a. sparse
b. tick
c. solid
d. heavy
e. compact
3. The second paragraph mainly tells us that ….
a. Warm and cool air create air pressure
b. Winds are caused by warm air rising
c. Weather is produced by moving air
d. The moving air is called wind
4. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the text?
a. Weather is the physical condition of the atmosphere at a particular time
b. Weather is fine when the air pressure drops
c. Cool air creates high air pressure
d. Warm air is usually less dense than cool air
e. Weather happens when air moves from place to place
5. “… therefore it creates low air pressure.”
The word “it” refers to ….
a. Weather
b. Wind
c. Rain
d. Temperature
e. Warm air
The text is for questions 6 to 9.
Marijuana is a dry, shredded green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa. It usually is smoked as a cigarette or in a pipe. Marijuana smoke has a strong and distinctive, usually sweet-and-sour odor. There are countless street terms for marijuana including pot, herb, weed, grass, widow, ganja, and hash.
Long-term marijuana use leads to an addiction. The short-term effect of marijuana addiction can include problems with memory and learning, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, loss of coordination and increased heart rate. Smoking marijuana increases the possibility of developing cancer of the head or neck. Marijuana use also has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because it contains irritants and carcinogens. In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 per cent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke. Depression, anxiety and personality disturbance have been associated with marijuana addiction. Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school, compared with their non-smoking friends.
6. What is the text about?
a. Marijuana smokers
b. Bad effects of marijuana
c. The pros and cons of marijuana
d. Smoking marijuana
e. What marijuana looks like
7. Smoking marijuana has the following effects, except ….
a. Causing difficulty in thinking and problem solving
b. Increasing the possibility of head cancer
c. Promoting cancer of the lungs
d. Decreasing the heart rate
e. Causing loss of coordination
8. Why can marijuana use promote cancer of lungs and other part of respiratory tract?
a. It contains irritants and carcinogens
b. It has a strong and distinctive odor
c. It is usually smoked in cigarettes
d. It has smoke like tobacco
e. It leads to addiction
9. “Marijuana smoke has a strong ad distinctive,…” par 1.
The word distinctive has closest meaning to ….
a. Similar d. weak
b. Typical e. fresh
c. Nice
The text is for questions 10 to 13.
Seasons come to us regularly. We have probably noticed that it gets warmer in summer or dry season while it gets colder in the winter or wet season. However, do we know how these seasons change?
Season happen and change every year. This happens because the Earth tilts back and forth as it goes around the Sun. During the summer, the Earth tilts toward the Sun. it makes half of the Earth hotter. This condition is what we call summer. During the half of the year, the Earth tilts away from the Sun. As a result, it makes that half of the Earth cooler. This cool condition is then what we call winter.
The different parts of the world have the same season at different times. In the northern half of the world, winter happens during the months of December, January and February. The regions are such North America and Europe. On the other hand, the southern half of the world has winter during the months of June, July and August. The regions are like South America and Australia. How does the difference happen? The same season happens at different times because the top and the bottom halves of the Earth tilt away from the Sun at different times.



10. What is the main idea of paragraph 2?
a. How seasons come to us
b. The weather condition in dry and wet seasons
c. Why seasons happen and change every year
d. The difference of seasons in some parts of the world
e. When summer and winter happen in some parts of the world
11. The same season happens at different times because the top and bottom halves of the Earth ….
a. Get cooler
b. Get warmer
c. Tilts toward the Sun
d. Tilt away from the Sun at different times
e. Tilt away from the Sun at similar times
12. Which statement is NOT TRUE according to the text?
a. The Earth tilts toward the Sun in winter
b. Half of the earth is cooler when the Earth tilts away from the Sun
c. In South America and Australia winter happens in June, July and August
d. The Earth tilts back and forth as it goes around the Sun
e. The weather gets warmer in summer
13. “… as it goes around the sun.” par 2.
the word “it” refers to ….
a. Summer
b. Winter
c. A planet
d. Season
e. The Earth

This text is for questions 14 to 16.
How Do Birds Fly?
Birds have a body “designed” for flight. Their bones are light, with space full of air, body tapered. They have powerful muscles to move their wings, and a breastbone like a ship’s prow to cut through the air! Their wings are specially shaped, and, like the tail, have feather of many shapes and textures, according to their job. Bird’s flight can be ‘gliding’ or ‘beating’. In the gliding flight, the bird slides through the air, wings stretched out, quite still, carried by currents of air. In ‘beating’ flight, the bird moves its wings like oars, using its tail like a rudder to change direction.
Most birds take off almost vertically from land or water, body straight and wings beating quickly. Once in the air, it leans its body forward and the wings bet more slowly. For landing, the movements are reversed-straightening it body and beating its wings quickly before landing.
14. The bird’s bones are ….
a. Solid and strong
b. Light and brittle
c. Solid, with spaces full of air, body tapered
d. Light, with spaces full of air, body tapered
e. Light and spherical
15. “Their wings specially shaped, and, like the tail, have feathers of many shapes and …”
(Paragraph 2) The word ‘shapes’ means ….
a. Forms d. parts
b. Characteristics e. appearance
c. Ships
16. In ‘beating’ flight, a bird uses its tail to….
a. Slide through the air
b. Straighten its body before landing
c. Change direction
d. Make the body straight
e. Make its body carried by currents of air

The text is for questions 17 to 21
Why do People Need Glasses?
When we use camera, the image of an object is focused on the lens which is produced upside-down and reduced on to the film.
With the eye, the lens is the pupil and the film is the retina. When an object is ‘in focus’ - that is, seen clearly - the image is formed on the retina.
If the image is behind the retina, that is long-sightedness, where a person sees best the things which are furthest away.
If the image is in front of the retina, that is short-sightedness, where a person needs to have things close to be able to see them clearly.
Just as a photographer would adjust his camera, so an optician carries out tests and finds the best lenses to enable a person to focus an image on the retina.
Many people wear glasses for reading, drawing, studying, watching television, computer work, and driving.
Any artificial light alters the elasticity of the eye and its ability to focus.
17. What is the text about?
a. Some eye problem
b. A description of the eye
c. An explanation of how eyes work
d. How an eye is similar to a camera
e. An explanation why people need glasses
18. Where is the image formed on a person who sees the best something which is far from him/her?
a. On his retina
b. Behind his pupil
c. Behind hi retina
d. In front of his pupil
e. In front of his retina
19. “Just a photographer would adjust this camera …” (par.5)
What is the synonym of the word ‘adjust’?
a. Adapt
b. Increase
c. Upgrade
d. Supply
e. Reduce
20. Which of these statements is NOT TRUE based on the text?
a. The retina works like the film of a camera
b. Any artificial light alters the elasticity of the eye
c. An image is seen clearly if it is formed on the pupil
d. The pupil on the eye works like the lens of a camera
e. An optician’s task is to enable a person to focus an image on the retina
21. ‘Any artificial light alters the elasticity of the eye and its ability to focus.” (Last paragraph)
What does the word ‘its’ here refer to?
a. Artificial light
b. Any light
c. The elasticity of light
d. The eye
e. The pupil of the eye
The text is for questions 22 and 23.
How does an Electric Lamp Work?
There are many types of electric lamps – and in each one, electricity is used in slightly different ways to give us light.
In ordinary light bulbs, there is a filament through which runs an electric current, and when this glows, it produces light. If a filament is exposed to air, it will break in a moment – that is why it is enclosed in a glass bulb in which there is a vacuum or gas which will not make it burn out. This type of lamp gives out a warm light.
There is also a filament in a halogen lamp, but the bulb is a little cylinder of quartz in which there are vapors of a halogen chemical. This also gives a beautiful warm light. Halogen lamps are often used for car headlights.
Fluorescent lamps give out a whiter light, with gas flowing through a current. This current stimulates the gas electrons which react by giving out light. The gases mostly used are neon, argon, sodium and mercury.

22. Light bulbs can give us light because ….
a. They give out a warm light
b. A filament is enclosed in a glass bulb
c. Gas in the bulbs flow through a current
d. A filament will break a moment if it is exposed to air
e. There is a filament through which runs an electric current, and when this glows it produces light

23. “In ordinary light bulbs, there is a filament through which …” (paragraph 2)
The antonym of word ‘ordinary’ is ….
a. Unusual
b. Messy
c. Awesome
d. Common
e. Excellent