Soal 8

From the last paragraph, we can infer that …

Jawaban: Feeling lonely aggravates the heart condition of the elderly.

Read the following paragraph to answer question number 9-10

The United Nations predicts Earth will have to feed another 2.3 billion people by 2050, mostly concentrated in urban centers far from farmland. Conventional agriculture may not be able to meet that demand, but luckily NASA has been working for decades to tackle food production both on Earth and in space. Feeding astronauts during long-term space exploration means stretching resources to grow plants in space—including minimizing water use and energy consumption and eliminating soil.

NASA initially pioneered these techniques on the ground by building the country’s first vertical farm. Inside a decommissioned hypobaric chamber left over from testing the Mercury space capsule, technologists stacked rows of hydroponic trays like bookshelves against the walls. Then systems for lighting, ventilation, and circulating water were added using off-the-shelf parts. Various crops were planted on the stacked trays to test how well they would grow in water and without the benefit of sunlight or open air. This innovative approach to farming created a foundation for the industry of controlled environment agriculture, or CEA.

CEA combines plant science and environmental control to optimize plant growth and maximize efficiency, frequently incorporating vertical growth structures. Technology enables the filtering of contaminants from crop water and delivers precise nutrient balances. Artificial lighting provides only the necessary wavelengths at the right time, intensity, and duration, while environmental controls maintain ideal temperature and humidity. This approach could help feed burgeoning future generations, said Nate Storey, chief science officer at Plenty Unlimited, one of several companies building on NASA’s plant-growth research.

Soal 9

It is stated in the passage that …

Jawaban: NASA has maximized a farming method requiring a little water.

Soal 10

From the first paragraph, it can be predicted that …

Jawaban: In the future, there will not be enough land for conventional agriculture.

TEXT 1

An actor creates and performs a character by using cognitive empathy or Theory of Mind (ToM). It is the ability to represent others’ mental states. ToM plays a critical role in understanding and navigating social situations. Reflection into the character's mental life depends on the actor’s approach to character performance. This may be an important part of the character-creation process. This process involves the exploration of the history, motivations, beliefs, and values of the character. This exploration often goes well beyond the information contained within the script. In other words, for many actors, creating a character involves a complex application of ToM, which includes several brain regions such as the temporoparietal junction and posterior cingulate/precuneus.

The temporoparietal junction works in processing and judgments of self and others. According to some studies, overcoming self–other interference and ToM is a deeply integrated process. Findings show that simulating others has been shown to influence self-knowledge. In this simulation, trait and memory measures become similar to a simulated other after adopting their perspective. Some brain regions are deactivated when trained actors use the first-person fictional perspective of a character to answer questions. This is in contrast to a situation when actors answered questions from their own perspective. It suggests that acting may involve the suppression of self-processing.

(Adapted from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

TEXT 2

According to a recent study, when actors take on a new character, they may be able to suppress their everyday self. This implies that theater training may have a big impact on the fundamental mechanisms of the human brain. Researchers in this study worked in collaboration with Flute Theater. They created and delivered interactive productions of Shakespeare for autistic individuals and their families. They used a series of sensory drama games, known as the Hunter Heartbeat Method.

The team used wearable brain imaging technologies and physiological measurement devices. They were first introduced at UCL's Department of Biomedical Engineering. Both devices were used to evaluate the brain activity of actors as they rehearsed scenes from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The findings showed that when the actors heard their own name during the performance, their response was suppressed in the left anterior prefrontal cortex of the brain. This is usually associated with self-awareness. The same result was witnessed consistently in six actors who were tested when rehearsing several times over a week. Meanwhile, when the performers were not in acting conditions, they responded normally to hearing their own name.

According to the lead researcher, this is the first time that neuroscientists have been able to record brain activity in actors as they perform a role. We hope that this study will help us understand what theater training does to the brain and to build new connections between neuroscientists and theater professionals.

(Adapted from https://www.sciencedaily.com)

Soal 11

According to Text 1, cognitive empathy or ToM ….

Jawaban: is an important skill for actors to suppress themselves to create a new character

Soal 12

The italicized word “They” in Text 2 Paragraph 1 refers to ….

Jawaban: researchers

Soal 13

Which of the following sentences from Text 2 is an opinion?

• According to a recent study, when actors take on a new character, they may be able to suppress their everyday self.
• They used a series of sensory drama games, known as the Hunter Heartbeat Method.
• The findings showed that when the actors heard their own name during the performance, their response was suppressed in the left anterior prefrontal cortex of the brain.
• The same result was witnessed consistently in six actors who were tested when rehearsing several times over a week.
• We hope that this study will help us understand what theater training does to the brain and to build new connections between neuroscientists and theater professionals.

Jawaban: We hope that this study will help us understand what theater training does to the brain and to build new connections between neuroscientists and theater professionals.

Soal 14

The results of the evaluation of actors’ brain activity when performing a character can be found in ….

Jawaban: Text 1 Paragraph 2 and Text 2 Paragraph 3

Soal 15

What is the relationship between Texts 1 and 2?

Jawaban: Text 1 explains that in the character-creation process, an actor suppresses their self-processing, and Text 2 further elaborates the brain mechanisms.

Soal 16

Earthquake is any sudden shaking of the ground caused by the passage of seismic waves through Earth’s rocks. Seismic waves are produced when some form of energy stored in Earth’s crust is suddenly released, usually when masses of rock straining against one another suddenly fracture and “slip.” Earthquakes occur most often along geologic faults, narrow zones where rock masses move in relation to one another. The major fault lines of the world are located at the fringes of the huge tectonic plates that make up Earth’s crust.