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Soal No.52 Literasi Bahasa Inggris

Bahasa Inggris SBMPTN 2022

Throughout history and around the world, various cultures have used animals as symbol. Symbols are things to which people give meaning, that stand for, or represent something else. The meaning of symbols depends on the cultural context. In this context, they appear and shape how we think about things.

The cross, a nation’s flag, and the swastika are all symbols that are imbued with different meanings in different cultural contexts. There is no inherent meaning in the symbols themselves. Many symbols are also polyvocalic. They can signify multiple abstract concepts simultaneously and cannot be easily articulated in words.

Animals are used to symbolize various characteristics that we see in ourselves, or want to project onto others. Thus, animals can be lustful, deceitful, murderous, or promiscuous. They can also symbolize more positive qualities, such as love, altruism, and sacrifice. The Roman writer Aelian’s book, On the Nature of Animals, a collection of stories about animals, tells us that the octopus is sneaky, fish are well behaved, and owls are wily like a sorceress. This type of discussion of animals that is partly scientific and fanciful would remain popular through the classical world and into the Middle Ages. Medieval bestiaries were filled with images of animals, a bit about their natural history, and what the animals symbolized, accompanied by a moral lesson.

Animals are like us but also unlike us. Because of this ambiguity, they are a perfect vehicle for expressing information about ourselves to ourselves. As we've noted, we both bestialize and humanize animals. Although we can use animals to highlight a person’s good qualities (brave like a lion), we more commonly use animals negatively (cunning like a fox) and, especially to denigrate racial minorities.

In cultures around the world, zodiacs feature animals too. The term zodiac, in fact, is Greek for “circle of little animals.” .... It also tells stories about the present and the past. In Western astrology, for example, personality of a person can be predicted from the relationship at the time of their birth between the planets and constellations, most of which are named after animals. So, a person who was born when the Sun was in the constellation Taurus will have the characteristics associated with the bull; steady, stubborn, and stable.

Adapted from DeMello, M., 2021, Animals and society

 

The word “polyvocalic” in paragraph 2 means …. 

A. Having multiple sounds 

B. Having many concrete meanings 

C. Having many symbols and translations 

D. Consisting of various figurative animals 

E. Being open to conceptual interpretations

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