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 announcement from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
A group of secondary students from the Demonstration School of Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, visited the Bangkok Post office during a field trip to the capital.
Founded in 1972, the school is located in Pattani and is known among students and parents in the Deep South as one of the region’s top institutions.
Most of the students, who were in their teens, remembered little of life before the latest round of violence that broke out in 2004. The turmoil and uncertainty has affected their lives, but they told us that they have gotten used to the problems.
The teachers who accompanied them said that in the past, the school had a diversity of children since students from other provinces, such as Chumphon and other upper-South provinces, actively sought to join. But since the insurgency took place, the number of students from provinces other than Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat has drastically decreased.
Exercises
Section 1
Read the story. Then, answer the following multiple choice questions.
1. In which city did the students from the Demonstration School of Prince of Songkla University visit the Bangkok Post building?
a. Bangkok.
b. Pattani.
c. Chiang Mai.
2. Why did the students come to Bangkok?
a. They were escaping violence in the south.
b. They were studying at one of the southern region’s top institutions.
c. They were on a field trip to the capital.
3. When was the Demonstration School of Prince of Songkla University established?
a. In 1982.
b. In 1972.
c. In 1962.
4. Where is the Demonstration School of Prince of Songkla University located?
a. In Pattani.
b. In Chumphon.
c. In Narathiwat.
5. According to the article, how has the number of students applying to the school from other provinces except for the Deep South changed?
a. The numbers have remained the same.
b. Fewer students from other provinces are applying now.
c. More students are applying now.
Section 2
Read the story again. Then, decide whether the following statements are true or false.
6. The Prince of Songkla University Demonstration School was founded in 1972.
……………………
7. A group of postgraduate students from Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, visited the Bangkok Post office recently.
……………………
8. The students described in the story were mostly teenagers.
……………………
9. Pattani is in the Deep South of Thailand.
……………………
10. According to the story, violence broke out in the Deep South in 2004.
……………………
Section 3
Underline the grammatically correct prepositions in each sentence from the choices given.
11. The school, which was established in/at/by 1972, is in Pattani.
12. The Bangkok Post office was visited to/from/by a group of secondary students.
13. Most of the students who visited were too young to/into/for remember a time before the violence started.
14. The students said that they have become used with/to/of the problems
15. Fewer students who are not from/out/on Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat have apply to join the school in recent times.
Section 4
Mach each of the following words used in the story with the correct definitions from the choices given.
16. found
a, to look at something
b. to start something such as a business, an institution, etc.
c. to realise an effect of something
17. capital
a. money or property that you use to start a business or invest to earn more money
b. the city where a country or region has its government
c. the decorated top part of a tall stone post that supports a building
18. institution
a. a large organisation such as a bank, hospital, university, etc.
b. a hospital or building where people with special needs are taken care of
c. a custom or system that has existed for a long time among a particular group of people
19. uncertainty
a. nervous feeling that bad things might happen
b. to make sure that something is going to happen
c. a situation that causes you to feel unsure about the stability of something
Section 5
Specify whether each of the following words used in the story is used as a verb, noun, preposition, adjective or adverb.
20. known ……………
21. provinces ……………
22. among ……………
23. drastically ……………
24. top ……………
Vocabulary
- turmoil (n): a state of great anxiety and confusion
diversity (n): a range of many people or things that are very different from each other
insurgency (n): an attempt to take control of a country or area by force
drastically (adv): in an extreme way that has a sudden, serious or violent effect on something
