Police in New Jersey believe they have solved one of the longest-running murder cases in the state’s history: the disappearance of five Newark teenagers in 1978, after tracking leads for 32 years. Two man were arrested on March 22 and charged with herding the teens at gunpoint into an abandoned row house, tying them up, and torching the building, setting a blaze so fierce police say the bodies were incinerated, destroying any evidence. Now prosecutors have a difficult task: prove the teens were murdered when their bodies were never found.
Murders without bodies were long considered one of the most complex challenges in the legal profession, but technological advances have made the once-unthinkable prospect more common. The absence of the critical piece of evidence − the corpse − poses unique problems for prosecutors and defense attorneys, according to Thomas “Tad” DiBiase, a Washington-based lawyer who runs a website chronicling “nobody” murders. He said the majority of such cases end in convictions or guilty pleas. “The body can tell you how the murder occurred,” he said. “It can tell you when the murder occurred. It can tell you where the murder occurred, so by taking away the body, you take away all those elements from a case − that makes it enormously difficult.”
The new jersey case was initially treated as a missing person’s case, and no connection was made between the fire and the teen’s disappearance. In the decades since, any clues have been all but obliterated. The fire site is now a housing complex, and additional case files were reportedly lost in a courthouse flood.
Q1 – The word their in underline word refers to …
The word their in underline word refers to …
(A) the teens
(B) the murderers
(C) the police
(D) the prosecutors
(E) the men
Answer: (A)
Their dalam kalimat: Now prosecutors have a difficult task: prove the teens were murdered when their bodies were never found merupakan kata ganti orang/benda (possessive pronouns). Pertanyaan The word their in underline word refers to … (Kata mereka yang digarisbawahi mengacu pada …) menanyakan orang/benda mana yang digantikan.
Untuk menemukan mana kata ganti orang/benda yang tepat perlu memahami isi bacaannya.
Now prosecutors have a difficult task: prove the teens were murdered when their bodies were never found.
Kini jaksa mempunyai tugas yang sulit: membuktikan bahwa remaja tersebut dibunuh ketika jenazah mereka tidak pernah ditemukan.
Kata jenazah mereka mengacu pada tubuh remaja (the teens) yang menjadi korban kejahatan. Jadi, the word their in underline word refers to (A) the teens.
Q2 – What can be inferred from the passage about the New Jersey case?
What can be inferred from the passage about the New Jersey case?
(A) The convicts need to find a good lawyer.
(B) The prosecutors have not enough evidence.
(C) The case needs to be closed.
(D) The murderers will never be put on trial.
(E) The discovery of the body has confirmed who the killer is.
Answer: (B)
What can be inferred from the passage about the New Jersey case? → Apa yang dapat disimpulkan dari bacaan mengenai kasus New Jersey?
Di sini, soal menanyakan kesimpulan yang dapat diperoleh dari bacaan yang diberikan. Jika dapat memahami semua bacaan, tentu cara ini akan sangat membantu. Sayangnya dengan cara itu membutuhkan banyak waktu, sehingga tidak disarankan saat mengerjakan soal ujian.
Salah satu cara yang bisa lebih cepat untuk dilakukan adalah mengeliminasi pilihan ganda yang diberikan
(A) The convicts need to find a good lawyer: pada bacaan tidak menyinggung mengenai pelaku narapidana (convicts) dengan penguasa hukumnya (lawyer). Sehingga pilihan (A) bukan simpulan yang dapat diperoleh dari bacaan. (Salah)
(B) The prosecutors have not enough evidence.
(C) The case needs to be closed: tidak bisa menjadi kesimpulan karena polisi menemukan dua terdakwa yang perlu diadili sehingga kasusnya tidak bisa ditutup begitu saja. Keterangan tersebut terdapat pada paragraf kedua. (D) The murderers will never be put on trial. (E) The discovery of the body has confirmed who the killer is.
Q3 – When was the murder of five Newark teenagers solved?
When was the murder of five Newark teenagers solved?
(A) In 1978
(B) On March 1978
(C) In 2010
(D) On March 2011
(E) When the body was found
Answer: (C)