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 by Anchalee Kongrut from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
Two years ago, Kantat Aopchai left his job as a teacher to sell nam tao hoo, or soy milk, from a food cart in front of Wat Rai Khing in Nakhon Prathom province. The 27-year-old inherited the recipe for delicious and fresh soy milk from his mum.
Freshly made soy milk has long been part of Thailand’s street food culture.
“As well as being a type of health food, the drink is part of our local breakfast culture,” Kantat said.
Soy milk and pa tong ko (deep fried crullers known as the Chinese doughnut) is a quintessential breakfast for Thais, almost like boiled rice and porridge for the Chinese. In almost every street and market, there’s at least one nam tao hoo hawker offering the beverage.
Soy beans have long been known as a source of protein. But while Thais take this cheap drink for granted, in other parts of the world soy milk has evolved into a fashionable beverage. There’s soy latte and soy milk with hazelnut and other flavours. In addition, there’s bottled and canned soy milk.
Kantat sells around 200 bags of soy milk and 600 crullers every day. According to a research conducted by a leading beverage packaging company, Thailand is second in the world in the consumption of soy milk per head. Hong Kong is in first place. There people consume soy milk at the rate of 18 litres a year per head, while Thais drink 12 litres, a little ahead of Singaporeans. China, where soy milk is believed to have originated 2,000 years ago, consumes around 10 litres per head per year.
In Southeast Asia, people still prefer to buy freshly-made, hot or cold soy milk from street food hawkers. Consumers also buy ready-to-drink soy milk in UHT packages and bottles. In other parts of the world, ready-to-drink soy milk in UHT boxes, tin cans or bottles are popular.
Kantat believes that his customers love to see the hot steam evaporate from the soy milk pot.
“Perhaps they like to customise their drinks by picking various toppings to eat with pa tong ko,” he said. “It’s a comfort food that can fill up and warm your belly.”
Exercises
Section 1
Read the story. Then, answer the following multiple-choice questions.
1. Who did Kantat learn how to cook nam tao hoo from?
a. His father.
b. His sister.
c. His mother.
2. How old is Kantat?
a. 25 years old.
b. 27 years old.
c. 29 years old.
3. What are deep fried crullers also known as?
a. Freshly made soy milk.
b. Chinese doughnuts.
c. Street food hawkers.
4. Which of the following places consumes more soy milk than any other?
a. Hong Kong.
b. Singapore.
c. China.
5. How many crullers does Kantat sell each day?
a. Around 60 crullers.
b. Around 160 crullers.
c. Around 600 crullers.
6. What was Kantat’s previous job?
a. He worked for a hotel.
b. He was a freelance artist.
c. He was a teacher.
7. Which of the following do people in Southeast Asia people prefer to buy, according to the story?
a. Ready-to-drink soy milk in UHT packages.
b. Ready-to-drink soy milk at supermarkets.
c. Freshly-made soy milk from street hawkers.
8. Where is soy milk believed to have originated?
a. China.
b. Singapore.
c. Thailand.
Section 2
Read through story again. Then, decide whether the following statements are true or false.
9. Nam tao hoo is made from soy.
………….
10. Kantat sells around 2,000 bags of soy milk every day.
………….
11. The consumption of soy milk per head in Thailand was ranked third in the world.
………….
12. Soy beans are regarded as a source of protein.
………….
Section 3
Fill in the blanks in the following passage with the correct words from the choices given.
…..13….. Thailand, the market for ready-to-drink soy milk …..14….. unchanged, …..15….. few major players and few flavours. .....16….. years ago, a food company launched a new soy milk product in …..17….. ice-cream flavours. The project failed. That was surprising for a …..18…... that was swamped by flavoured tea and a large selection …..19….. drinks in candy-colours.
13.
a. In
b. On
c. At
14.
a. remain
b. remains
c. remaining
15.
a. with
b. for
c. at
16.
a. Much
b. Many
c. More
17.
a. variety
b. various
c. vary
18.
a. markets
b. marketing
c. market
19.
a. of
b. in
c. with
Section 4
Find words used in the story that are synonyms of the following words.
20. instructor ……………………
21. customers ……………………
22. inexpensive ……………………
23. trendy ……………………
24. maybe ……………………
Vocabulary
- recipe (n): a set of instructions that tells you how to cook something and the items of food you need for it
cruller (n): a fried pastry often made from dough
quintessential (adj): representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality, characteristic, etc.
hawker (n): a person who makes money selling goods by going from place to place and asking people to buy them
evaporate (v): if liquid evaporates, it changes into gas, especially steam
customise (v): to make or change something to suit the needs of the owner
