Geografi | Ragam jenis bioma

Di dalam lingkungan planet bumi ini terdapat tiga unsur yang saling berhubungan, yakni massa daratan (land mass), samudera (ocean), dan atmosfer (atmosphere). Hubungan antara ketiganya menghasilkan banyak ragam bentang alam dan menyebabkan perbedaan iklim. Kekuatan yang dihasilkan dari hubungan (interaksi) tersebut menghasilkan komunitas vegetasi yang memiliki kemampuan adaptasi yang sama terhadap lingkungan regional. Komunitas ini dikenal dengan sebutan bioma. Bioma dapat dibedakan menjadi enam jenis, yakni: a) bioma tundra; b) bioma taiga (hutan boreal); c) bioma savana (padang rumput); d) bioma hutan hujan tropis; e) bioma gurun; dan f) bioma hutan iklim sedang.

Bioma tundra memiliki iklim regional yang sangat ekstrim dengan suhu rata-rata rendah, mengalami musim salju, dan mengalami musim panas yang pendek. Salah satu daerah yang termasuk ke dalam bioma ini adalah Kutub Utara dan Pegunungan Alpen di benua Eropa. Bioma taiga berkedudukan di daerah yang memiliki iklim sub-arktik; suhu rata-rata sangat dingin dan mengalami musim panas yang sangat pendek. Daerah yang tergolong ke dalam bioma ini antara lain Skandinavia, Russia bagian Timur, Amerika utara, dan sejumlah wilayah di Asia bagian Utara. Bioma savana meliputi kawasan antara yang beriklim tropis basah dan kering; membentang dari daerah tropis hingga sub-tropis. Curah hujan pada bioma ini tidak teratur sehingga tingkat kesuburan tanahnya sangat rendah. Kawasan yang termasuk sebagai bioma tundra antara lain Afrika bagian Timur, Amerik Tengah, Australia, dan Asia Timur. Bioma hutan hujan tropis memiliki sifat yang paling kompleks dengan jumlah vegetasi yang sangat banyak dan beragam. Hal ini dipengaruhi oleh iklim mikro yang sesuai dengan kehidupan berbagai jenis tumbuhan. Indonesia, Brasil, Afrika bagian Barat, dan Pulau Madagascar merupakan contoh dari bioma ini. Bioma gurun memiliki ragam kehidupan yang sangat terbatas. Tumbuhan di kawasan ini memiliki karakteristik sebagai penyimpan air, seperti tanaman kaktus. Bioma gurun ditandai dengan adanya prairie (di Amerika Utara), steppa (di Asia), pampas (di Amerika Selatan), dan veld (di Afrika). Bioma hutan iklim sedang berada di Eropa Barat, Eropa Tengah, Asia Timur (khususnya Korea dan Jepang), dan Amerika bagian Northeast (Timur Laut). Vegetasi pada bioma ini tumbuh pada saat terjadi iklim semi dan mengalami fase gugur, kemudian kering, hingga datangnya musim dingin.

Referensi:
Sumardi S, Susilawati SA, Sunarhadi MA. (2009). Geografi 2: Lingkungan Fisik dan Sosial SMA/MA. Jakarta: Pusat Perbukuan Nasional Departemen Pendidikan Nasional. hal. 10-14.

Latihan Soal | Bahasa Inggris untuk SLTA

Once upon a time there was a poor widow who had an only son named Gori. They were so poor that they did not have anything but a cow. When the cow had grown up too old, Gor's mother sent the cow with him to the market to sell it. On his way to the market, Gori met a butcher who had some beautiful beans in his hand. The butcher told the boy that the beans were of great value. He then persuaded the silly lad to sell the cow for the beans.

Gori brought the beans happily. When he told his mother about it, his mother became so angry that she threw the beans out of the window.

When Gori woke up in the morning he felt that the sun was shining into a part of his room, but all rest was quite dark and shady.

He jumped to the window. What did he see? The beanstalk grew up quite close past Gori's bedroom's window. He opened the window and jumped to the beanstalk which ran up just like a big ladder.

He climbed and climbed till at last he reached the sky. While looking around, he saw a very huge castle. He was amazed. Then Gori walked along the path leading to the castle. There was a big tall woman on the doorstep. Gori greeted her and asked for the giantess' mercy to give him breakfast because he felt very hungry. Although the giantess grumbled at first, finally she gave Gori a hunk of bread and cheese and a jug of milk.

Gori had not finished when the whole house began to tremble with the noise of someone's coming. "Oh! It is my husband!" cried the giantess. "What on earth shall I do?"

Hastily the giantess opened a very big cupboard and hid Gori there.

Answer the following questions based on the above passage!

1. Where did Gori sell his cow?
a. At a castle
b. At the market
c. At the giant's castle
d. At the butcher's house
e. On his way to the market

2. What is the story about?
a. Gori and a butcher
b. Gori and the giantess
c. Gori and beanstalk
d. A poor widow and her son
e. The giantess and her husband

3. "Oh! It's my husband!" cried the giantess. "What on earth shall I do?". From the sentence we know that the giantess is .... her husband.
a. afraid of
b. angry with
c. annoyed with
d. fed up with
e. displeased with

4. Gori's mother looked very furious when he told that ....
a. the beans were precious
b. the butcher bought his cow
c. he had sold his cow to a butcher
d. he traded the cow for the beans
e. he met a butcher on his way to the market

5. What do we learn from the passage?
a. Sincerity makes Gori get something precious.
b. Gori's mother was a furious mother.
c. Poverty makes people hopeless.
d. The giantess took pity on Gori.
e. Gori was an innocent boy.

Daftar Pustaka:
Sukur SG. 2008. Kumpulan Pembahasan Soal Ujian Nasional: Bahasa Inggris. Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Indonesiatera. hal. 30-31.