TKA English Practice Test 2026 (SMA) — Set 1

The Weaver's Daughter

Long ago, in a village at the foot of a volcano, there lived a weaver named Nyoman and her daughter, Sari. Nyoman's cloth was so beautiful that traders came from across the island to buy it. Sari, however, did not like weaving. She thought it was slow and boring, and she preferred to run through the rice fields with her friends.

One year, the volcano began to smoke. The rain stopped, the rice fields dried up, and the traders stopped coming. The family had only a little rice left, and Nyoman became ill with worry.

“If only I had a cloth to sell,” Nyoman said weakly. “The king's festival is in seven days, and his servants pay well for fine cloth.”

Sari looked at the old loom in the corner. She had watched her mother work on it a thousand times, but she had never tried it herself. That night, she sat down at the loom. Her first rows were uneven, and twice she had to start again. Her fingers hurt, and she wanted to give up. But each time she looked at her mother sleeping on the mat, she picked up the threads again.

For six days and nights Sari worked, stopping only to cook rice for her mother. On the seventh morning, the cloth was finished. It was not as perfect as her mother's, but it was bright and strong.

Sari carried the cloth to the palace. The king's servant looked at it for a long time. “The pattern is not perfect,” he said, “but I can see the heart of the weaver in it.” He paid her three bags of rice.

When Sari came home, her mother held the cloth and cried. From that day on, Sari wove beside her mother every afternoon, and she never called weaving boring again.

How to Make Seed Balls

Seed balls are small balls of clay, compost and seeds. They are an easy way to plant flowers or trees on bare land, such as a school yard or an empty plot near your house. The clay protects the seeds from birds and hot sun until the rain comes.

What you need

• 5 cups of dry clay powder (or fine red soil)
• 3 cups of compost
• 1 cup of seeds (local flowers or small trees)
• water and a large bowl

Steps

1. Mix the clay, compost and seeds in the bowl. Make sure the seeds are spread evenly.
2. Add water a little at a time and mix with your hands until the mixture feels like soft dough. Do not add too much water, or the balls will fall apart.
3. Take a small amount and roll it between your palms into a ball about the size of a large marble.
4. Put the balls on a tray or newspaper and leave them to dry in the shade for 24 to 48 hours. Do not dry them in direct sunlight, because they may crack.
5. Throw or place the seed balls on bare soil, ideally just before the rainy season. You do not need to bury them.

Tips: Choose seeds of plants that grow naturally in your area, because they need less water and care. Keep dry seed balls in a paper bag, not a plastic one, so that they do not become damp.

My First Day as a Volunteer

Last December, I spent my school holiday as a volunteer at a turtle conservation centre on the south coast of Bali. I had seen photos of baby turtles online, so I expected an easy and fun week. I was wrong about the easy part.

On my first day, I arrived at six in the morning. The coordinator, Pak Wayan, gave me a pair of gloves and a bucket. My first job was not holding baby turtles; it was cleaning the tanks. For two hours I scrubbed algae from the walls while the young turtles swam around my hands. By eight o'clock my back hurt and my clothes smelled of seawater.

After a short breakfast, we walked along the beach to look for new nests. Pak Wayan showed me how to find the tracks that a mother turtle leaves in the sand. We found one nest with ninety-two eggs. Very carefully, we moved the eggs into a protected hatchery, where dogs and people could not reach them.

In the afternoon, I helped to feed the older turtles and wrote their weights in a notebook. I also explained the centre's work to a group of tourists in English. I was nervous at first, but they asked many questions, and one family even adopted a nest.

At sunset, we released twenty-five hatchlings. I watched them scramble towards the waves until the last one disappeared. I was tired and sunburnt, but I felt proud. That day I learned that protecting nature is not always exciting; most of the work is quiet, repeated and done by people nobody sees.

Schools Should Start Later

In many Indonesian cities, secondary school students must be at school by 6.30 or even earlier. Many of them wake up before five to avoid traffic. I believe that schools should start at least one hour later, for three main reasons.

First, teenagers need more sleep than adults. Health experts recommend eight to ten hours a night for people aged 13 to 18. However, the teenage body clock naturally shifts later, so most teenagers cannot fall asleep before eleven. If they must wake up at five, they sleep only about six hours.

Second, tired students do not learn well. When students lack sleep, their memory and concentration become weaker. Teachers often notice that the first lesson of the day is the hardest, because many students are still sleepy. A later start would make that valuable morning time more productive.

Third, a later start could make students safer. Many students ride motorbikes to school in the dark. Sleepy riders react more slowly, and this increases the risk of accidents.

Some people argue that a later start would cause problems for parents who work early, and that school would have to finish later in the afternoon. These concerns are understandable, but schools could open their doors early for students who need to arrive early, and use the extra time for quiet reading or breakfast.

In conclusion, starting school later is a simple change that could help students sleep better, learn better and travel more safely. It is time for schools and local governments to try it.

Screen Time: What Our Survey Found

The student council recently asked 120 Class XI students how many hours they spend on screens each day outside school lessons. The results are shown below.

Students spend the most time on screens at the weekend. On weekdays, the average is around four hours, with the highest figure on Friday. When asked what they do online, 45 percent said social media, 30 percent said games and videos, and only 15 percent said schoolwork. The remaining 10 percent said other activities, such as online shopping or chatting with family.

The survey also asked students how they feel about their screen time. More than half said they often use their phone longer than they planned. About one-third said screen time sometimes makes it hard for them to sleep. Several students also wrote that they check their phones as soon as they wake up, even before they get out of bed.

The student council does not want to ban phones. Instead, it plans to start a “Screen-Free Saturday Morning” challenge next month. Students who join will leave their phones at home and take part in sports, art or volunteer activities at school from 7 to 11 a.m. The council hopes that students will discover enjoyable activities that do not need a screen.