By Ajarn Helen Jandamit
Photos courtesy of Bangkok Post
University Tips is here to help you prepare for the English exams and tests that are coming your way. It gives you practise answering questions similar to those you may have at school and also on the University Entrance Examination.
Read the following story from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
A 700-year-old temple in Suphan Buri’s Muang district has made headlines again by giving out amulets of a god holding an iPad and of a famous Japanese cartoon character wearing a Thai headdress and distributing them to visitors as souvenirs, media reports said.
Sampa Siw Temple is already famous for depicting the Japanese cartoon character Doraemon, among others, in murals of Lord Buddha’s stories of past lives and future lives. The murals are said to attract people to the temple to learn about Buddhism and history.
Reports said the temple became the talk of the town again when it began handing out amulets and lockets depicting the first Japanese “Anime Ambassador” and “iPad god.”
The temple invited nine famous monks in Suphan Buri to perform religious incantations over these amulets. A monk at Sampa Siw Temple said that the amulets and lockets are given to visitors to the temple as souvenirs, as well as to children as rewards for their showing an interest in Buddhism.
Exercises
Section 1
Read the story. Then, answer the following reading comprehension questions.
1. What is the story about?
a. Religious traditions in Thailand.
b. Unusual amulets and lockets produced by a Thai temple.
c. Famous pagodas in Suphan Buri.
2. What is one of the reasons why the temple gives out the amulets and lockets, according to the story?
a. To promote Japanese comics.
b. To warn visitors not to use mobile phones at the temple.
c. To reward children who show an interest in Buddhism.
3. What is Doraemon wearing on the temple’s amulets?
a. A Thai headdress.
b. A red locket.
c. Sunglasses.
4. Where is the temple?
a. Suphan Buri’s Muang district.
b. Japan.
c. Bangkok.
5. What does the temple hope to teach people with their murals?
a. How to use the new iPad.
b. The life of Doraemon.
c. Lord Buddha’s stories of past lives and future lives.
Section 2
Read through the story again and decide whether the following statements are true or false.
6. The story describes Doraemon as a Japanese Anime Ambassador.
………………………………………………………………
7. Nineteen famous monks chanted over the temple’s amulets.
………………………………………………………………
8. There is a painting of a god with an iPad on the wall of Sampa Siw Temple.
………………………………………………………………
9. Sampa Siw Temple is 700 years old.
………………………………………………………………
10. Sampa Siw Temple has been in the news more than once.
………………………………………………………………
Section 3
In each of the following groups of synonyms there is one word that has a different meaning. Underline the word that does not share the same meaning with the other words in each group.
11. famous/well known/famed/wicked/renowned
12. visitor/guest/caller/commoner
13. ambassador/reporter/representative/spokesman
14. attack/attract/appeal/fascinate
15. reward/award/prize/price
Section 4
Write down noun forms of the following words used in the story.
16. Attract ………………
17. Famous ………………
18. Invited ………………
19. Religious ………………
20. Depicting ………………
Section 5
In each of the following sentences there is one grammatically incorrect word. Select the grammatically incorrect word in each group from the choices given.
Vocabulary
- amulet (n): a piece of jewellery that some people wear because they think it protects them from bad luck, illness, etc.
headdress (n): a covering worn on the head on special occasions
depict (v): to show an image of somebody or something in a picture
locket (n): a piece of jewellery in the form of a small case that you wear on a chain around your neck and in which you can put a picture, piece of hair, etc.
incantation (n): special words that are spoken or sung to have a magic effect
