SOAL-SOAL NARRATIVE

Text 1

A Sad Love Story of Orpheus

Orpheus loved music and singing since he was young. No wonder, he could not live without singing.
Indeed, he was a good singer. Every time he sang while playing the harp, both humans and animals
listen to him.

One day, Orpheus met a beautiful girl named Eurydice and he fell in love at first sight. At
that time, everybody liked Orpheus and the beautiful Eurydice was no exception. She finally married
him.

Unfortunately, one day Eurydice died from a bite of a poisonous snake. Orpheus was so sad
that he sang melancholy songs for days. Then, he came into a decision to take her back and went to
tell Zeus, King of the Gods.

Zeus’s heart was touched with Orpheus sad and touching song. Zeus said, “Go to Hades, the
King of the Dead, if you want Eurydice back. Sing a song with your beautiful voice to get his
sympathy and ask for her.”

Then, Orpheus headed to the World of the Dead. Dead people were carried to the World of
the Dead by a boat. A boatman would take them. However, he could not take Orpheus because he
was alive. So, Orpheus sang a song to ask the boatman. Upon hearing Orpheus’ song, the boatman
had not other choice except taking him. In front of a huge gate which was guarded by a three-
headed dog, Orpheus sang a song again and the dog opened the gate for him.

Finally, Orpheus arrived at a hall in a palace where King hades and Persephone, the queen,
lived. Humbly, he begged for Eurydice. Seeing how pathetic Orpheus was, King Hades said, “Go back
and Eurydice will follow you. Do not talk or look back to her along the way or she will go back to the
Place of the Dead and you cannot take her back.”

Orpheus listened to King Hades’ instructions, but near the World of the Living Orpheus took
a glance at Eurydice because he thought that it would be okay. At the same time, she cried and
disappeared. “Oh, what a shame!” he exclaimed. “I should have listened to King Hades.”

1. Why did Orpheus fail in bringing his wife back from the World of the Dead?
A. Because Orpheus sang very sadly.
B. Because Eurydice walked behind Orpheus.
C. Because King Hades did not want to let Eurydice go.
D. Because the Zeus did not allow him to meet his wife.
E. Because Orpheus failed to follow King Hades’ instruction.
2. “Oh, what a shame!” Orpheus exclaimed. (last paragraph)
What did Orpheus mean?
A. He felt sorry.
B. He felt happy.
C. He felt worried.
D. He felt ashamed.
E. He felt uncertain.
3. What can we learn from the story?
We have to ….
 A. Sing very well
B. Love our partner well
C. Follow instructions well
D. Sacrifice for other people
E. Do everything to get what we want
4. How does the writer describe Orpheus?
A. A handsome prince.
B. A romantic coward.
C. A faithful lover.
D. A cunning man.
E. A shame man.

Text 2

The Rabbit and the Bear

Long time ago, there was a rabbit who lived near to a bear. Unlike the bear, the rabbit was good at
shooting.

Knowing that the rabbit could shoot precisely, the bear always asked the rabbit to go with
him to hunt a buffalo for him. Afraid of the bear’s anger, the rabbit did as the bear told him.
However, the bear was mean to the rabbit because he would not let the rabbit went home hungry.

The bear had five sons but the youngest one loved to eat. His mother always gave him more
meat than the other sons. Every leftover that the youngest son had, he would play with it, like a ball.
He kicked it and every time the meat was in front of the door, he gave it a shot to the rabbit’s house
as if it was the goal post. The youngest bear did this to give the rabbit meal without his father
knowing.

5. How was the youngest bear according to the writer?

A. Poor.
B. Greedy.
C. Humble.
D. Generous.
E. Humorous.
6. Which statement is TRUE according to the story?
A. The rabbit refused to help the bear go hunting.
B. The rabbit was not allowed to taste his prey.
C. The mother bear was very kind to the rabbit.
D. All the baby bears were very kind to the rabbit.
E. The bear was a good hunter.
7. “He was very gluttonous.” (paragraph 2)
The word ‘gluttonous’ has almost the same meaning as ….
A. Fat
B. Glad
C. Greedy
D. Humble
E. Generous
8. What do we learn from the story?
A. Being a miser is sometimes important.
 B. Being honest is not always wise.
C. To be generous is not good.
D. All the glitters are not gold.
E. To love means to share.

Text 3

The Hermit and His Grains of Rice

Many years ago, there lived a hermit in a forest in Sumatra. He did not grow food but depended on
the jungle fruit to survive. Soon, there was a drought, and all the plants and fruit trees in the jungle
died.

The old man had nothing to eat now, so he turned beggar. He went to a nearby village trying
to get some food. At first, the villagers were happy to help him. However, when he came continually,
they refused to give him any more food. They told him to grow his own food.

One day, while the hermit was sitting in his hut, sad and hungry, he began to think about
growing his own food. Just then, a boatman stopped by. Taking pity on the hermit he gave him some
grains of rice.

Before the boatman went away, he said, “These seeds will grow and give you everlasting
harvests if you work very hard. If you are tired of the work, the rice will turn into weeds.”

The old hermit worked hard to clear the land and sowed the seeds before the rains came.
Strangely, after a short period of time, the rice was ready for harvesting. The old man got a lot of rice
from the harvest. After each harvest, the plants grew back again right away. When the villagers
heard about the hermit and his wonderful rice, they flocked to his paddy field and took home as
much rice as they could.

One day, the hermit became so tired of harvesting the rice that he shouted, “Oh, stop
growing, you wretched thing!” As soon as he had said this, the rice turned into weeds.

9. What does paragraph 5 tell us about?

A. The rice stopped growing.
B. The hermit should clear the land.
C. The hermit was a successful farmer.
D. It needed a short time to harvest the rice.
E. The seeds should be sown before the rain came.
10. Why did the rice turn into weeds?
A. The hermit stopped growing the rice.
B. The hermit got angry with the villagers.
C. The villagers grew weeds instead of rice.
D. The hermit got tired of harvesting the rice.
E. The villagers took home as much rice as they could.
11. Which statement is TRUE about the hermit?
A. He lived in a small town in Sumatra.
B. He liked to give the villagers fruit and rice.
C. He went to the village to ask for some food.
D. He died in the jungle when there was a drought.
E. He hated begging though there was nothing to eat.
 12. One day, the hermit became so tired of harvesting the rice that he shouted, “Oh, stop
growing, you wretched thing!”
According to the story, how did the hermit feel?
A. Satisfied.
B. Excited.
C. Angry.
D. Proud.
E. Well.

Text 4

Long ago in Hamidi City there lived Baba. He was very rich, but he was a miser. He was the most
miserly man in town. He never gave anything to anyone. He never bought new clothes and washed
his old clothes because soap cost money. His clothes became very dirty and he smelled very bad. His
sandals were as old as his clothes. They had been mended many times. If people wanted to say that
something was old, they would say, “That is old as Baba’s sandals.”

One day Baba went to pray in the mosque. As usual he was wearing his old sandals. On his
way he met Bono.

“Why don’t you get some new sandals?” asked Bono. Baba said that he didn’t want to. While
Baba was praying, a naughty boy came along. He saw Baba’s old sandals. Next to them was a pair of
new sandals which belonged to a young man. The naughty boy exchanged the old sandals with the
new ones. When Baba came out of the mosque, he couldn’t find his old sandals but new ones in
their place. He remembered that Bono had talked about his sandals. He thought that Bono gave him
the new ones as a present. So, he put them on and went home. When the young man came out of
the mosque, he couldn’t find his new sandals. Someone told him that Baba had taken them. The
young man became very angry. He went to the police to have Baba arrested. Baba was fined
Rp10,000 for stealing the sandals. To pay that much money made Baba feel sick.

“That’s nonsense!” Baba protested. He was very angry with his old sandals.

“Sir!” said Baba to the judge, “Please help me! I will pay you Rp1,000 every month if you
keep my old sandals here. But, you must keep them locked up.” The judge thought it was a crazy
request, but he agreed. And so at last Baba was freed from his cursed sandals. He was very happy.

13. What is the text about?

A. Hamidi City.
B. Baba and his sandals.
C. Bono and his sandals.
D. Baba saved his money.
E. The experience of Bono.
14. Why had Baba never shared with other people?
A. He liked to save his money.
B. He didn’t have money.
C. He was very stingy.
D. He was very rich.
E. He wasn’t rich.
15. Paragraph one mainly talks about ….
A. The city where Baba lived
B. The characteristic of Baba
 C. The situation in Hamidi City
D. The description of Hamidi City
E. The lifestyle of Hamidi City people
16. “He was fined Rp10,000 for stealing the sandals.” (paragraph 3)
The underlined word means he ….
A. Paid money as a punishment
B. Gave money as a prize
C. Changed his money
D. Stole some money
E. Received money

Text 5

The Milkmaid and Her Pail

Patty, the milkmaid, was once walking down the road to the market with a pail of milk on her head.
As she went along, she began to think what she would do with the money she would get from the
milk.

She said to herself, “And what shall I do with the money? I shall buy eggs! Yes, yes, I shall
buy eggs! And what shall I do with the eggs?”

“Oh, I know. I shall hatch them into fat chickens. And what shall I do with the chickens?
Umm… I will sell them in the market. And then what shall I do with the money?” she asked herself all
over again.

“I will buy a beautiful dress, of course.” She laughed loudly enjoying her daydream. “I will,
then, go to the ball in that dress and all handsome young men will say, ‘Will you marry me, pretty
maid?’”

“And I will toss my head and say: No, sir!”

Uttering these words, Patty tossed her head about in the air. As she tossed her head back,
the pail fell off and the milk was spilt. Now all her dreams were gone!

17. What was Patty doing as she was walking to the market?
A. She was dreaming.
B. She was daydreaming.
C. She was selling of pail of milk.
D. She was wearing a beautiful dress.
E. She was tossing her head about in the air.
18. Why did she fail to reach all her dreams?
A. Because she laughed loudly.
B. Because she stumbled over a stone.
C. Because she spilt the milk out of the pail.
D. Because she tossed he r head about in the air.
E. Because she refused to marry one of the men.
19. What did Patty want to buy a beautiful dress for?
A. In order to look beautiful and rich.
B. To make young men ask her to marry.
C. In order to marry a handsome young man.
D. To enable her to toss her head about in the air.
 E. In order to attract all handsome young men.
20. What is the moral of the story?
A. Don’t judge someone because of his appearance.
B. Don’t accuse someone without evidence.
C. Think twice before saying something.
D. Don’t overestimate yourself too high.
E. Be careful with what you’re saying.

Text 6

The Old Chest

In India there are many wild animals. Like tigers and panthers, which are very fierce and cruel. An
English lady was once living with her husband and her baby girl in a very wild part of that country.

One day, the lady was alone with her child in their little wooden house. She was sewing,
when all at once she heard a thump overhead, as if something had fallen on the roof. She thought
little of it since she was used to strange sounds. But by and by she heard a heavy breathing in the
next room. She got up from her chairs as softly as she could and crept to the doorway. It was only
covered by a curtain. She pulled the curtain aside and peeped through it.

In front of her there was the largest panther she had ever seen and he was looking straight
into her eyes. For a moment the lady was too afraid to move. What could she do? She thought of a
big box that stood by the wall. The box was big enough to hold herself and her child.

She dropped the curtain just as the panther moved. He was a great coward and stopped
before making up his mind to spring. That was a good time for the lady to creep into the chest with
her baby. She left a chink open between the lid and the side to have air to breathe and she held the
lid up with her hand.

She was hardly settled when she heard the sniff of the panther, coming right up to the box.
Through the chink which she had left open, she felt the hot breath of the animal upon her face. She
heard his great claws scraping the edge of the lid and trying to lift it up, but the chink was too
narrow for his great claws scraping the edge of the lid and trying to it up, but the chink was too
narrow for his paw to enter. But, if the paw could not, the tongue could. Soon he began to lick her
fingers, rasping them so that she could hardly bear the pain.

There was still worse to come. All at once the panther sprang to the top of the chest. His
weight pressed the heavy lid down upon the lady’s fingers. The pain was so dreadful that she could
bear it no longer and she screamed with all her might.

From outside there was a shout in reply. It was her husband’s voice. The panther heard it
too and it seemed to scare him. He made a dash for the window, but just as he reached it, a shot
rang out from a rifle. The lady heard the heavy brute fall onto the floor and then she fainted.

Her husband was full of joy to think that he had come home in time to save his wife and
child. The old chest was not very pretty but it was kept by the lady with great care because it was so
useful in a time of danger.

21. What is the story about?

A. A terrible life in India.
B. An escape from India.
C. A big and fierce panther.
 D. Saved from a panther’s attack.
E. Saved from a wild part of the country.
22. The lady left a chink pen between the lid and the side so that ….
A. She and her baby could breathe
B. She could hide herself and the baby
C. She could watch the panther carefully
D. She could shout as loudly as she could
E. The panther might not know where they were
23. The last thing the panther did to the lady was ….
A. To lick her fingers with his tongue
B. To spring up to side of the chest
C. To blow his breathe upon the lady’s face
D. To rasp her fingers with his sharp claws
E. To press the heavy lid down upon her fingers by his weight
24. What can we learn from the story?
A. Think twice before you do something.
B. Do not always depend on someone else.
C. An old and not pretty thing may save one’s life.
D. Do not give evidence for what you’re not sure of.
E. Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.