Biography

 

A. Pengertian Biography Text

Biography atau disebut bio merupakan deskripsi mengenai kehidupan seseorang. bisa dari kehidupan pendidikan, pekerjaan, hubungannya dengan orang lain, kejadian yang ia alami, kepribadiannya hingga kematiannya.

 

Karya biografi merupakan karya non-fiksi, karena menceritakan kehidupan nyata seseorang. Namun seiring perkembangan zaman dan luasnya media sosial, sudah banyak terdapat karya biografi berbentuk literatur atau perfilman yang sifatnya fiktif untuk menghibur.

 

B. Struktur Umum Biography Text

Biography text menggunakan struktur umum (generic structure) recount text karena menceritakan kejadian di masa lampau.

 

1. Orientation (Pengenalan)| berisi pengenalan dengan memberikan informasi tentang siapa, apa, di mana, dan kapan peristiwa atau kegiatan itu yang telah terjadi di masa lampau.

 

2. Events (Peristiwa-peristiwa) | merupakan runtutan peristiwa yang terjadi, biasanya disampaikan dalam urutan secara kronologis (chronogical order) seperti, “In the first day, I …, And in the next day …, And In the last day …”.

 

3. Re-orientation (Kesimpulan teks) | yaitu pengulangan pengenalan yang ada di orientation dan events yang diceritakan. Bisa dibilang pada bagian ini adalah kesimpulan secara keseluruhan teks.

 

D. Pertanyaan untuk mempermudah dalam membuat Biography Text

Biography tidak hanya diperuntukkan bagi orang terkenal, namun kamu juga bisa membuat biography siapapun yang menarik bagimu. Misalnya teman atau guru. Penting bagi kamu untuk membuat pertanyaan bagus dalam menggarap kehidupan seseorang, kemudian kamu bisa memasukkan informasi tersebut ke dalam biography text dengan struktur recount text untuk menceritakan kehidupan orang tersebut. Berikut ini variasi pertanyaan dalam mewawancarai kisah hidup seseorang.

 

Early Childhood (masa kecil)

1. When and where were you born?

2. Who was the most influential person to you as a child?

3. Did you have any pets as a child? What kind?

4. What was your favorite game?

5. Did you have any nicknames?

6. What were you most afraid of as a child?

 

High School (sekolah menengah)

1. Who was your best friend? Are you still in touch with them?

2. What was your favorite subject to study?

3. What was your favorite sport?

4. Is there a teacher that you remember having been particularly influential?

5. How would you describe yourself as a student, both socially and academically?

6. What did you like most about school? Least?

7. What sort of extracurricular activities did you participate in as a teen?

8. Did you have a teen idol? If so, who was it and how did they spark your interest?

9. What was your favorit music/band/dance in high school?

 

College (perkuliahan)

1. Did you attend college? If so, which on? If not, why?

2. What are your most memorable college moments?

3. Who was your most memorable roommate?

4. Why did you decide to attend college?

5. What subject(s) did you study and why?

6. Did you get a degree? In what?

 

Career (karir)

1. What was your first job?

2. What was your best job?

3. What was your worst job?

4. Who was the biggest influence in your career?

 

Family (keluarga)

1. Do you have children? If so, how many and what age and gender are they?

2. What is your goal as a parent?

3. What does the word “family” mean to you?

4. How would your children describe you as a parent?

5. How do you describe yourself as a parent?

6. In what ways have your parents influenced you the most?

7. What is your relationship with your parents like today?

8. Do you have siblings? How many, are they older or younger?

9. Who are your closest to in your family?

10. Who do you admire most in your family and why?

11. Have you lost any family members to death?

 

Love (percintaan)

1. Who was your first love?

2. Have you had your hearth broken?

3. Have you broken any hearths?

4. Have you ever been married? To whom and for how long?

5. How did you and your spouse first meet?

6. Do you believe in love at the first sight?

7. What was the most special way you’ve shown someone that you loved them?

8. What was the most special way you’ve been shown you’re loved?

 

Politics/History (politik/sejarah)

1. What do you consider to be the most significant political event that has occured during your life?

2. Which political figure do you most admire?

3. Other than the present, which historical era would you like to have lived in?

4. What do you consider to be the most important war fought during your lifetime? In all of history?

 

General (umum)

1. What is your definition of “happiness”?

2. What is the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you?

3. What is your happiest memory?

4. Who is your biggest fan?

5. What do you like to do in your spare time?

6. What is your most embarrasing moment?

7. If you could possess one super-human power, what would it be?

8. What is your greatest fear?

9. What is your greatest hope?

 

The following text is for questions 1 to 4.

Kang Chol Hwan was born into a loyal family that had once lived in the large Korean community of Japan. In Kyoto, his grandfather had been supporter of Kim II Sung, North Korean’s Great Leader since 1945. In 1961 the grandfather returned with his family to North Korea and had important government post.

 

Within months, however, he was complaining to friends that North Korea was not the country he had expected. He was shocked to see so much poverty, which he eventually came to blame on the government’s stifl ing left for work and never returned. One morning in July 1977, when Kang was nine, his grandfather left for work and never returned.

 

A few weeks later, seven plain clothes security guard stormed into Kang’s house “Your grandfather betrayed the fatherland,” one of them stated” You must be punished.”

 

Kang’s parents and grandmother sobbed as they forced to pack their belongings into two army trucks. The family was driven off, but Kang’s mother was left behind, “spared” because her own father was regarded as a revolutationary hero. That was the last Kang ever saw her.

1. What was a reason for Kang’s grandfather never returned to Kang’s house?

     A. A supporter of Kim II Sung

     B. Accused of betraying North Korea

     C. Regarded as a hero

     D. As an important person in Korea

     E. Force Kang’s family to leave their homeland

 

Answer

2. What is mainly discussed in the last paragraph?

     A. The last minutes Kang gathered together with his mother

     B. The day Kang ever saw his grandma and grandpa

     C. The moment Kang’s father was regarded as a hero

     D. The last day Kang’s parents and his grandma sobbed

     E. The sad moment when Kang’s parents meet grandma

 

Answer

3. Why did Kang’s grandfather disappear?

     A. He left for work and went somewhere else

     B. He returned to North Korea

     C. He was supporter of Kim II Sung

     D. He went to the government’s office

     E. He was kidnapped and punished by the security guards

 

Answer

4. A few weeks later, seven plain clothes security guards stormed into Kang’s house.

The underlined word has the same meaning as ....

     A. Destroyed

     B. Attacked

     C. Knocked

     D. Involved

     E. Knotted

 

Answer

Lihat Pembahasan

 

The following text is for questions 5 to 7.

I, Milton Friedman was born on July 31, 1921, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the fourth and last child and fi rst son of Sarah Ethel (Landau) and Jeno Saul Friedman. My parents were born in Carpatho-Ruthenia of the Soviet Union, They emigrated to the U.S. in their teens, meeting in New York. When I was a year old, my parents moved to Rahway, N.J., a small town about 20 miles from New York City.

 

I was awarded a competitive scholarship to Rutgers University. I graduated from Rutgers in 1932. I financed the rest of my college expenses by the usual mixture of waiting at tables, clerking in a retail store, occasional entrepreneurial ventures, and summer earnings. Shortly, however, I became interested in economics.

 

In economics, I had the good fortune to be exposed to two remarkable men: Arthur F. Burns and Homer Jones. Arthur Burns shaped my understanding of economics research, introduced me to the highest scientific standards, and became a guiding influence on my subsequent career. Homer Jones introduced me to rigorous economic theory, made economics exciting and relevant, and encouraged me to go on to graduate work. On his recommendation, the Chicago Economics Department offered me a tuition scholarship. As it happened, I was also offered a scholarship by Brown University in Applied Mathematics, but, by that time, I had definitely transferred my primary allegiance to economics. In 1976 I won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for my achievements in the fields of consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and for his demonstration of the complexity of stabilization policy. In 1977, at age 65, I retired from the University of Chicago after teaching there for 30 years.

5. Who influenced Milton Friedman on economic research?

     A. Sarah Ethel

     B. Jeno Friedman

     C. Arthur F. Burns

     D. Homer Jones

     E. Alfred Nobel

 

Answer

6. What is the main idea of paragraph 3?

     A. Milton Friedman was very committed in his interest and talent in economics

     B. Homer Jones shaped Milton Friedman understanding of economic research

     C. Arthur Burns introduced Milton Friedman to rigorous economic theory

     D. Brown University offered Milton Friedman a tuition scholarship

     E. Milton Friedman was offered a scholarship by the Chicago Economics Department in Applied Mathematics

 

Answer

7. What did Milton Friedman do in financing his college expenses?

     A. He was a teacher during summer

     B. He had a job in entrepreneur company

     C. He worked as a clerk in a retail store

     D. He sold tables to people

     E. He taught economics in the university

 

Answer

Lihat Pembahasan

 

The following text is for questions 8 to 10.

THE SCIENTIST HELP SHEEP DIES

 

Keith Campbell, a prominent biologist who worked on cloning Dolly the sheep, died at 58, the University of Nottingham said Thursday. Campbell, who had worked on animal improvement and cloning since 1999, died October 5, 2012, University spokesman Tim Utton said. He did not specify the cause, only saying that Campbell had worked at the University until his death.

 

He began researching animal cloning at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh in 1991. In 1996 the experiments led to the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell. The sheep was named after the voluptuous singer Dolly Parton. Researchers at the time said that the sheep was created from a mammary gland cell, and that Parton offered an excellent example.

 

The creation of the sheep captured the public imagination and instantly became a scientific sensation. The experiments drew not only admiration but also anger from some who raised questions about the ethics of cloning. Animal rights activists were outraged, while the church of England expressed reservations. Dolly was put down in 2003 after she developed a lung disease. Campbell’s interest in cellular growth dated back to his college days studying microbiology in London.

8. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?

     A. Campbell never felt leaving for the university

     B. Campbell stopped working because of his sickness

     C. Campbell focused his research dealing with humans

     D. Campbell started researching animal cloning as his experiments

     E. Campbell focused his research not only on the animal experiments

 

Answer

9. Why did the experiments not draw admiration perfectly?

     A. Animal rights activists were outraged

     B. The public imagination became a scientific sensation

     C. Some people felt dissatisfied with the experiment results

     D. Some people were angry from their question about the ethics of cloning

     E. The experiments did not show the representative results of the cloning ethics

 

Answer

10. Why was the sheep named after Dolly Parton?

     A. The researchers admired her

     B. She was a voluptuous singer

     C. She was a very popular singer

     D. The mammary gland cell was taken from her

     E. She was the one who inspired the researchers

 

Answer

Lihat Pembahasan

 

The following text is for questions 11 to 14.

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) — Astronomer and Scientist. Galileo developed a superior telescope and made many significant discoveries in astronomy. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by the inquisition for his support for the Copernican theory that the sun was at the centre of the solar system.

 

Galileo was born in Florence, Italy in 1564 to a poor but noble family His parents recognized their child's innate intelligence and talents and so made sacrifices to have him educated. At his father's insistence, Galileo studied the profitable career of medicine. But, at the University of Pisa, Galileo became fascinated in a wide range of subjects. He was also critical of many of Aristotle's teaching which had dominated education for the past 2,000 years.

 

Galileo was appointed to be a mathematics professor at the University of Pisa, but his strident criticisms of Aristotle left him isolated among his contemporaries. After three years of persecution, he resigned and went to the University of Padua, where he taught maths. His entertaining lectures attracted a large following and he was able to spend the next 18 years pursuing his interests in astronomy and mechanics.

11. Something that we can learn from Galileo Galilei's biography is ...

     A. We must always believe whatever the society believes to avoid getting persecuted.

     B. We must never go against the believe of the society to avoid getting imprisoned.

     C. We should believe in something and stay faithful to it no matter how hard.

     D. We must sacrifice everything to get ourselves educated.

     E. We should spend 18 years to pursue our interests.

 

Answer

12. From the fact that Galileo Galilei was imprisoned for supporting the Copernican theory, which later was proven to be true, we know that Galileo Galilei was ...

     A. Reckless

     B. Stubborn

     C. Tenacious

     D. Arrogant

     E. Foolish

 

Answer

13. According to the biography, why did Galileo Galilei resign from his teaching job at the University of Pisa?

     A. He had attracted many followers.

     B. He was persecuted for three years.

     C. He was appointed as a mathematics professor.

     D. He had a better offer from the University of Padua.

     E. He wanted to pursue his interests in astronomy and mechanics.

 

Answer

14. "His parents recognized their child's innate intelligence and talents and so made sacrifices to have him educated." (Paragraph 2) The underlined word is closest in meaning to ...

     A. Acquired

     B. Ingenious

     C. Multiple

     D. Inborn

     E. Strident

Share :