Wild waters

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.

For three successful seasons of Discovery Channel’s River Monsters, host, biologist and extreme angler Jeremy Wade has taken viewers on his journey, finding out about freshwater fish tales of giant killers. Along the way, he discovers that sometimes fact is stranger than fiction.

Wade’s journey begins in the US, where he takes viewers to Florida, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma in search of all-American aquatic man-eaters.

In the remote Indian Himalayas, he searches for the sareng. To his surprise, Wade learns that the locals consider the fish sacred. Will Wade listen to warnings from the local people that he’ll be cursed for life if he touches the creature, or will he keep looking for the giant fish.

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Exercises

Section 1

Read the story. Then, answer the following multiple-choice questions.

1. What is the purpose of this article?

a. To advertise an adventure tour.
b. To warn people not to catch dangerous fish.
c. To announce a programme that will be shown on television.

2. What does Jeremy Wade do for a living?

a. He’s a fisherman.
b. He’s a zoo keeper and biologist.
c. He’s a biologist and a TV host.

3. Where is Jeremy from?

a. Florida.
b. India.
c. The story does not say.

4. Judging from the article, which of the following best describes Jeremy’s character?

a. He’s adventurous and likes the outdoor life.
b. He likes indoor office work.
c. He likes to cook and eat fish.

5. Where does Jeremy’s journey begin in the River Monsters series?

a. In the remote Indian Himalayas.
b. In the US.
c. In the Sareng River.

Section 2

Read the story. Then, decide whether the following statements are true or false.

6. Jeremy’s TV series focuses on dangerous fish.

…………………………………

7. Jeremy looks for the sareng in Indonesia.

…………………………………

8. Some people consider the sareng to be a sacred fish.

…………………………………

9. River Monsters will be broadcast on the Discovery Channel.

…………………………………

10. Missouri is located in the US.

…………………………………

Section 3

Match each of the following vocabulary words with the definitions that best suit the way the words are used in the story.

11. Monster

a. a person who is very cruel and evil
b. an animal or a thing that is very large or ugly
c. a child who behaves badly

12. Season

a. to add salt, pepper, etc. to food
b. any of the main weather periods of the year
c. a period of time when a series of television programmes is shown

13. Local

a. a person who lives in a particular place
b. a pub near where you live
c. affecting only one part of the body

14. Viewer

a. a person watching television
b. a person who looks at or considers something
c. a small box with a light in it, used for looking at slides

Section 4

Write down the past tense forms of the following verbs used in the story.

15. Listen ..............................................

16. Consider ..............................................

17. Keep ..............................................

18. Take ..............................................

19. Discover ..............................................

Section 5

Fill in the blanks in the following passage with the correct words from the choices that follow.

In Zambia on the Zambezi River, crocodiles and hippos …..…20……….known for being deadly predators, but Wade is looking …..…21……… a fish said to be able to swallow a child.

…..…22……… he hears of a recent attack in Mongolia, Wade …..…23……… the Taimen — a giant fish so rare it has …..…24……… a legend.

20.

a. were
b. am
c. is
d. are

21.

a. for
b. at
c. through
d. around

22.

a. What
b. Where
c. When
d. when

23.

a. suspect
b. suspected
c. suspects
d. suspecting

24.

a. became
b. becoming
c. becomes
d. become

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