2. “Some girls screamed because they were afraid of the dark.” Paragraph 3. What is the opposite meaning from the italic word?
a. Anxious
b. Fearful
c. Brave
d. Scared
Answer : c. Brave
2.2.2 Sentence Comprehension
A sentence is a collection of some words which express an idea. Frank and Vigliocco 2011:672 state that sentence deals with a structural combination of
concepts and a structure of predicate-argument. Sentence comprehension is the process of constructing propositional representation which composes the meaning
of the sentence. The meaning of the words in the sentence is also included in this part of the representation. By comprehending the sentence, the students are able to
get the ideas stated in the text, thus they can comprehend the text as well. Here is an example of question of sentence comprehension:
……………………………………………………………………………………... At night, we went to one of the hills there. There was a sacrificial ceremony. The
villagers sacrificed a buffalo head for the Mount Merapi. People were dancing and singing during the ceremony. They wore Javanese costumes. Yoga and I enjoyed the performance.
We wore very thick jackets because it was very cold. Taken from: Practice Your English Competence for SMPMTS Class VIII, Erlangga
Publisher, 2013:74.
Question: “They wore Javanese costumes.” paragraph 4
The underlined word refers to………….. a.
the viewers b.
the villagers c.
the writer and his aunt d.
the writer and his brother Answer: b. the villagers
2.2.3 Paragraph Comprehension
A paragraph deals with some related sentences which develop an idea about one topic, McWorther, 2012:144. He also confirms that there are 3
components of a paragraph. They are a topic, a main idea and supporting details. Besides, a paragraph is a series of sentences that are organized and coherent. All
of them are related as a single topic Indiana University, 2014. The paragraph
Paragraph 4
shows the reader where the subdivisions of an essay begin and end. Therefore, the paragraph helps the reader see the organization of an essay and grasps its main
points. The following item is the example of the question of paragraph comprehension:
……………………………………………………………………………………...
Since Aldo couldn’t stop crying, I decided to take him to the hospital. Soon after arrival, a doctor in charge examined Aldo’s ear. He, then, used a pair of pincers to take the insect out.
I was so surprised to see the insect. It wasn’t an ant, it was a young cockroach Gosh It was as big as a baby’s little finger.
Taken from: Practice Your English Competence for SMPMTS Class VIII, Erlangga Publisher, 2013:71
Question: What is the main idea of paragraph three? a.
The insect was not an ant. b.
Aldo was taken to the hospital. c.
The insect was a young ant. d.
A doctor used a pair of pincers to take the insect out. Answer: a. the insect was not an ant
2.2.4 Text Comprehension
